Don't think these two are even in the same league. American standard quality control went down the toilet several years ago. I know, I know......*eyes roll*. For what it is worth, I have American standard toilets - the Cadet 3s - good ones right before all the problems started happening with them. I've been happy with mine, but I suspect that's uncommon with more recent customers. Bought ours in '07. I have four of them and I've only had one clog. My then four year old used enough toilet paper to fill the ENTIRE bowl and then proceeded to flush. One plunge required, but I'm not entirely sure it didn't have something to do with the offset flange in that bathroom. My point is, at one time the quality was there with AS, but I'm not sure if it is applicable at this point in time.

If you have the budget, you can't go wrong with a Toto from what I'm told. Specifically, the Drake seems to be the model name stuck in my head as being a good one.

Highly recommend the ADA height (sometimes referred to as comfort height) with a soft close lid. Also made sure to install an outlet behind the toilet in the master. Hooked up a washlet purchased from Costco. Second best splurge I made for my house. :)

I bought my 1.6 Totos in 2003. Had to have them shipped in. Very pleased with them and in some ways they are better than the old 3.5-5 gallon units.
But now most all toilet manufacturers have improved their units. So keep on gathering information until you have a deadline for choosing.

I like Duravit better than Toto. Especially the wall mounted variety.

I've owned and installed many brands of toilets in my decades of home ownership. The Totos are the only ones that never clog.

Of course Totos are in the same league as AS. AS cadet 3s are more expensive than many Totos. I can clog my Toto and can't clog the AS. I have an AS from 2010 and have zero quality issues.

Toto has some cheap units and the cadet 3 is better than those without question. I have an upgraded Toto - fancy looking and with the better outlet - and it is very good but it isn't as reliable as the cadet 3.

Sorry to confuse you. They are both fine toilets. Toto is a fancy name and a great toilet. But that doesn't make it perfect or better than all alternatives.

We are happy with our totos...I'd never do american std. I remember years ago when at work, they were held up as something to shoot for for their plan of "zero working capital". Their focus was entirely on their finances and quality went, shall we say, down the toilet. They installed commercial grade at work and all they ever did to the toilet paper was turn it into confetti that floated around the bowl, but never went down....I think they inadvertently invented the "double flush"...

I'm above average in height yet find the comfort height to be uncomfortable when I encounter it. If I ever require it due to disability then I'll just get it then.

I have two standard height Drakes. Reliable, can't remember in three years having a clog. I had to clean a fill valve due to some build-up but this was due to our water, and very easy to DIY. I like the soft-close lid but do find myself accidentally slamming other people's hard-close lids.

Keep in mind if you have to make one fewer call to a plumber, then you've paid for any cost difference.

We have five of the Toto Drake two-piece elongated ADA height models. Got lucky and found them on sale for something like 40% off when one of our local big box stores decided to move to a new location across town.

Don't know if they are the "best" but we're very very happy with them. Ours get periodic heavy use - especially our downstairs powder rooms. (We host parties about once a month with up to 70 guests.) Not a single problem in three years.

I can never understand the enthusiasm for TOTO.
Independenttesting (and here) isn't as gung-ho.

This post was edited by worthy on Fri, Apr 12, 13 at 16:28

I like the cadet 3 it has 10 year warranty as opposed to the drakes one year

When I renovated my condo, I put in a Toto Aquia and it was fine and looked great. A couple houses later the house came with a lower end 1.6 gpf Toto, and it had to be the worst toilet I've ever used, requiring two or even three flushes for solids. I replaced it with a dual flush Foremost and have been really happy with that one. Since then brand name has been meaningless to me. I picked the Foremost based on review recommendations, and will be doing so from now on.

The last toilet I installed was a smooth-sided American Standard. If you haven't seen these- the sides are smooth, with the trap hidden. We love it because it is so easy to clean. Not so easy to install, though, as the bolts are hidden, and it weighs about 120 lbs. It has worked flawlessly so far.

We have toto and we have gerbers (we started out with Mansfield junk that couldn't flush dust without clogging). Both were purchased and installed by the same plumbers. We replaced them at different times and decided to try the gerber after we had had the one toto for a couple of years.

Anyhow-the toto does the job (sorry I can't think of the model). My 10 and 8 year olds have clogged it but not often. My complaint is that it is a very loud flush. Loud enough that it annoys me but it IS successful at least 95% of the time.

Gerber viper-like it better. It has clogged maybe once or twice AND it's not loud. We have one that is right height for the master 'throne' and one that is standard height that is in the 1/2 bath.

When we build I will go with Gerber again. Not as pricey as Toto but as good of quality in our experience and much quieter.

Autumn-
Interesting. When I bought my current house 8 years ago, it had three Gerbers installed. The previous owner left behind a plunger next to each toilet and I quickly found out why: I was using the plungers about once a week. I replaced all the Gerbers with Toto Ultramax models and have had no problems since. I guess it may depend on the particular model of Gerber you buy.

Also, for those interested in comparative ratings of a number brands/models of toilets, the site below -- based on a working plumber's experience -- is useful . Most of his top-rated toilets there are Totos.

Here is a link that might be useful: Terry Love Plumbing

kudzu-that is very interesting and you must be right. We haven't had a problem at all. The mansfields clogged DAILY. Likely there is a quality or at least flushability range within brands then.

Are Totos noisy?

john-
I don't think Totos are noisy...they're about the same as the average toilet. They do flush quickly and fill quickly, so whatever noise there is doesn't last long.

This is why I read these boards: Frequently a topic comes up and lets me realize that I am woefully ignorant on a topic. Today y'all have made me realize that I know NOTHING about toilets. So, in the spirit of this thread, please help me understand . . .

What makes an expensive toilet better than the $99 special from Lowes?

I know the Toto toilets have the spray gadgets -- and I think that might be a splurge that would attract my attention -- but as far as just the basic toilet, how can one clog up more than another? What shapes, what details make one better than another?

I've never owned any toilet that was better than any other toilet, so I genuinely don't know.

MrsPete-
The low-flow toilets that are now required to be sold use as little as 1/5 of the water as the old toilets we grew up with. To work well they depend on careful engineering of the trap so there is an efficient flush with this reduced amount of water. You can't tell by just looking at them, but some toilets do this better than others. For example the Toto has a somewhat larger trap diameter than many toilets and this makes a big difference in clogging or not. I used to think that all toilets did the same thing until I had experience installing and using a variety of brands.

Some of the money you pay for expensive toilets can be a premium for the style rather than better operation, just like a lot of items around the house. I have bought the $99 toilets before: some were ok, some were terrible. I finally decided I was willing to pay several hundred dollars for something I could install and forget about for the next 40 years, rather than get a plunger out every couple of weeks.

Read the review links in this thread and decide for yourself.

I never thought I could love a toilet - then I got a Toto, nothing fancy, just their bottom of the line two-piece Drake to replace the 25 yo toilet in my beach cottage that I was repeatedly calling a plumber to fix. Love from first flush to last. You flush, then... nothing. The bowl empties completely and the tank fills in an instant. Love, I tell you. Love.

I've since moved back to the house I grew up in and I have 3 AS toilets from the 1960s. They use almost 4 gallons of water per flush - they do the job, but it takes forever for the tanks to fill and it makes me crazy listening to the process. I feel guilty wasting so much water per flush. I have three new bottom of the line two-piece Toto toilets in the garage that I bought for a steal on Amazon, waiting for install until I get some new floor tile in place. My plumber offered to buy the old toilets from me, so perhaps "best" is in the hand of the be-flusher, as beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

When looking at Toto's you need to learn the different flushing mechanisms. The carusoe and promenade use gravity flushing which works similar to most basic toilets. The Drake has the upgraded flushing mechanism and design. This includes the siphon jet action, larger flush valve and trap. After several days of research and reading reviews I went with the eco drake which uses only 1.28 gpf.

Here is a link that might be useful: Toto Toilet FAQ