All toilets in the US must meet specific standards established by the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) and the American National Standards Institute (ANSI).
Specifically, toilets must pass ASME/Ansi112.19.6 “Hydraulic requirements for Water closets and Urinals.”
This means the toilets must, in separate tests after one flush: leave no more than 25 out of 2,500 polyethylene granules; leave no more than two inches of a water soluble ink line drawn on inch below the rim: and successfully dilute a blue dye solution from 1:40 to 1:100.
By most accounts this standard is not rigorous enough – virtually all toilets put through the AMSE/ANSI test pass without problems.
A more rigorous test was developed by more than a dozen municipalities and companies in Canada and the US – it was called the “Maximum Performance Testing of Popular Toilet Models”. Results were presented at the 2003 AWWA conference. Results are available on the California Urban Water Conservation Council Web site.
Test media was more realistic, soy bean paste was used to better simulate human waste.
Benchmark of 250 grams (about 8.8 ounces) of waste successfully being flushed was set. (The 250 grams represents the average maximum male stool size)
The types of toilets tested included Gravity Models, Pressure-Assist Models, and Vacuum Assist Models.
General Observation from Report:
- Toto Brand Ranked High
- Briggs Ranked Low
Urban Edge current uses Briggs Toilets at the following developments: Academy. In a sample review of Urban Edge developments, there were many reports of clogging and leaking from Briggs Brand Toilets.
|
