This commode dates from a time when toilets used 10 gallons of water per flush (gpf) or more. Today’s high-efficiency toilets by comparison use as little as 1.28 gpf, and they are much more streamlined and attractive to boot.

Overall the Professor finds the idea of owning a used toilet that belonged to a deceased celebrity a little unsettling, notwithstanding the urge to use “Plunger in the Rye” as the headline for this post. It is hoped that whomever wins the auction will “enjoy” the piece as memorabilia and won’t try to hook this water-guzzler up to the household plumbing.

A lot of things can go wrong with toilets, from “phantom flushing” to leaks to running. Unsure of what’s causing these various problems? The Professor recommends you read through this page on toilet repair up at doityourself.com that can help identify the cause of many common toilet troubles. Very often the problems can be solved by replacing the toilet handle, a piece that tends to wear out over time.

To spare yourself these troubles in the first place, the Professor recommends that when shopping for a new toilet, you research the durability of this important piece in the models you are looking at. One particularly impressive example of toilet handle testing is this video of the durability testing that American Standard’s Champion 4 toilets are subjected to – watch and learn!

When selecting a toilet, homeowners have the choice between round and elongated bowl designs.

Round-front toilets have been around the longest and typically extend 25 to 28 inches from the wall. Newer to the scene and designed to be more comfortable, elongated bowls typically extend 29 to 31 inches from the wall.

Because the toilet sits opposite the door in many smaller bathrooms, a regular elongated toilet can restrict the size of the door or its swing – or just make navigating small powder rooms difficult.

A third option is called compact elongated, which combine the best of both worlds: comfort and space savings. Compact elongated toilets, such as the Compact Cadet 3, offer the comfort of an elongated bowl in same 27½-inch footprint as a conventional round-front bowl.

This space-saving feat is accomplished by reengineering the trapway so that it is closer to the wall but still fits standard 12-inch rough in designs.

It is important not to confuse bowl size (distance from the wall to the front of the bowl) with a toilet’s rough-in dimensions, which denotes the distance from the wall to the center of the toilet flange in the floor).

Do you read in the bathroom?  Many people multitask on the toilet, which isn’t too surprising, consider how many people text and drive.

A 2008 study sponsored by American Standard shows that people are doing a lot of things inside their bathrooms besides the obvious.

1. A full 88 percent use at least one electronic device in the bathroom.

2. More than a third read their mail — both snail mail and e-mail.

3. 15 percent talk on the phone, and three percent watch TV.

A. The Professor (thanks, but way before his time)

B. Thomas Crapper

C. Sir John Harington

Crapper’s got the name, but Sir Harington wins you the game.

Harington invented his water closet design in the 16th century. It was truly a throne fit for a king… or queen. Harington’s godmother, Queen Elizabeth I, had the first one installed in Richmond Palace. Harington’s modern flush toilet model flourished, becoming a common fixture in Europe over the 18th and 19th centuries.

Toilet design has continuously evolved since then. In 1992 the U.S. Congress passed legislation requiring new toilets to drain just 1.6 gallons per flush, instead of the average 3.5 gallons. Manufacturers, such as American Standard, are seeing how low toilets can go to conserve water resources and save consumers money without sacrificing performance.

Visit Discovery News to learn more about potty pioneers!

A chance encounter with the casting director of the television show saved the day, and Peter agreed to let the crew of Construction Intervention renovate the shop for an episode of the show. The Farmacy’s electrical wiring was re-done, structural problems with the building were fixed, a long soda counter was installed, and two new bathrooms that now feature WaterSense-certified toilets and faucets from American Standard were built.

Having comfortable and inviting bathrooms was important to Peter, who wanted a safe, clean environment for neighborhood kids to wash their hands before digging into a slice of his strawberry-rhubarb pie. The Professor also notes that the new water-saving fixtures also compliment his eco-friendly philosophy of buying locally and sustainably made products.

Congratulations, Peter! The Professor tips his hat to you.

The proposal will re-define showerheads as shower valves, allowing only a single showerhead using no more than 2.5 gallons per minute of water per showering compartment. Unless challenged, the new definition would take place by June 18.  (Source: Supply House Times).

American Standard is all for water conservation and we back many federal, state and local government initiatives, such as the EPA WaterSense program.

This action, however, is a significant step backwards from everything we now know about safe bathing for people of all ages, heights and abilities. Smart shower systems designed by experienced professionals have controls for different showerheads in the same shower enclosure, set at different heights for children, aging-in-place and universal accessibility.

The new definition also threatens to increase costs to build schools and other institutions that require multiple showering areas, since separate shower valves will be required for every showerhead.

Professor Toilet urges everyone to contact the DOE re: Docket No. EERE-2010-BT-NOA-0016

1.  Leave comments for the DOE.

2. Send an email.

3. Write to: Docket No. EERE-2010-BT-NOA-0016, U.S. Department of Energy, 1000 Independence Avenue, SW, Washington, D.C. 20585

PS:  Professor Toilet would prefer to see government action along the lines of   “cash for flushers.” (Of course, the Professor brings it back to toilets.)   Water conservation rebates implemented in many cities and counties around the nation have encouraged many homeowners to replace old water wasters with toilets that perform better on less water.

It’s likely that very few people make a hobby of reading toilet reviews the way the Professor does, but this take on the superior flushing ability of the Champion 4 up at HomeDepot.com is a must-read. Follow the link above for the touching story of how the virtually clog-free toilet kept an Atlanta resident out of federal prison and saved the life of a mother-in-law whose regular diet apparently consisted of “broccoli, cabbage, and gravel.” Enjoy.

There are several aftermarket retrofit kits available today that promise to transform a standard toilet into a dual flush model that can “save more water than a high priced high-efficiency toilet.”

Unfortunately, these gadgets simply regulate the amount of water entering the bowl and do nothing to alter the water flow in or out of the bowl.  Since bowl design is the most important factor in a toilet’s performance – and even more critical in low-flow toilets – these kits promise far more than they deliver.

As the Professor has previously explained, standard and dual flush toilets have different flushing mechanics.  While standard toilets depend on siphonic action to “pull” waste out of the bowl, dual flush toilets rely on the “push” of water to clear the bowl.  More advanced technology, such as the WaterSense-certified H2Option Dual Flush Toilet, combines the traditional siphonic “pull” force with the newer “push” action associated with the washdown flush.

Because standard toilet bowls are not specifically engineered for less water, homeowners will have as much luck using these retrofit kits as they would adding a brick to the toilet tank.  Both strategies try to “trick” toilet science and will likely result in incomplete flushes.  Worse, users will likely overcome this problem by – you guessed it – flushing again.  Multiple flushes eliminate any possible water savings.

In addition to voiding the American Standard warranty on toilets, installing these types of gadgets will frustrate homeowners and discourage any future use of proven water saving technologies such as HETs and dual flush toilets.

Physics, as it turns out, is it right up there with “can’t fool Mother Nature.”