With an upfush (macerating) toilet, your wastes can be pushed in any direction, horizontally, downwards or upwards, since it uses pressure over gravity. You can install a macerating toilet anywhere in your home, including the basement, but before doing so, you must check out the pros and cons of upflush toilet.
The pros of upflush toilets are durability, flexibility, portability, cost-effectiveness, and extended warranties. They are also ideal for smaller spaces, easy to maintain, and raise home value. However, they are noisy, expensive, susceptible to clogs and smells, require electricity, and must be flushed daily.
With that said, I’ll take you through the upflush toilet’s strengths and drawbacks, problems, and how it functions to help you decide if it’s a good fit for your home. Therefore, read this guide before buying and installing one in your home.
Pros and Cons of Upflush Toilet To Know Before Installation
| Pros | Cons | |
| 1. | Durable | Noisy |
| 2. | Flexible | Prone to clogging |
| 3. | Cost-effective | Costly to purchase and fix |
| 4. | Portable | Depend on electricity |
| 5. | Saves on space | Must be flushed daily |
| 6. | Raises the value of a home | Not beneficial to most homes |
| 7. | Extended warranties | Local building codes may prohibit it |
| 8. | Easy to maintain | You must clean it well to avoid smells |
| 9. | Works well with other sanitary ware |
Pros of Upflush Toilets
An upflush toilet could be the ideal solution for you, whether you’re trying to install a bathroom in the basement or remodel an older house to include an additional bathroom.
Let’s look at some of the benefits that come with upflush toilets:
1. More Flexibility
Macerating (upflush) toilets provide a level of versatility that regular toilets cannot match. Since many standard toilet flushing systems rely on gravity, they are ineffective in rooms below the sewage line, such as the basement.
Some homeowners may not want to drill through their walls or flooring. If you’re among them, use an upflush toilet.
Upflush toilets incorporate a pump mechanism that can move waste upwards seamlessly. You won’t even have to bother about the location of your plumbing and drainage systems in the house.
As a result, upflush toilets are ideal for attics and other transient circumstances in which you do not want to bore holes into the wall or floor or entirely remodel your plumbing system.
2. Upflush Toilets Are Many Savers
An upflush toilet is considerably less expensive to build than a full-standard toilet. Installing one can help you avoid spending thousands of dollars on multiple plumbing fittings and paying a plumber for days.
As a result, upflush toilets are an excellent solution for financially challenged homeowners who cannot afford to spend their fortunes installing an extra toilet.
Macerating toilets can save you money by eliminating the need to excavate and tear down walls and flooring in your house. That frequently necessitates expert assistance, and the expenses can quickly escalate based on the piping design you already have.
Furthermore, upflush toilets are incredibly water efficient. Most upflowing toilets now utilize up to 1.28 gallons of water, meaning you will save yourself from costly water bills.
Most regular toilets use up to 1.6 gallons of water every flush, implying that an upflush toilet might save up to 70% of that amount.
3. Highly Portable
Another helpful feature of macerating toilets is their mobility, which allows you to relocate them around your house as desired. Though it mainly relies on the model, the market has tons of “all-in-one upflush toilets” that you can purchase and relocate about the home by unscrewing a few bolts.
4. You Can Attach Them to Other Sanitary Ware
An upflush toilet system enables you to connect other regularly used bathroom gear, such as showers and sinks, and use the same drainage system as long as they are compatible and properly built. It reduces the cost of installation.
It is worth noting that although it is simple to execute, you must consider certain design factors.
5. They are Durable
Upflush toilets last as long as conventional toilets. Popular brands like SaniFlo and Liberty Pumps before components demand replacement.
Macerating toilets can serve you for 10-15 years, depending on how you clean and maintain them. Furthermore, because they disintegrate waste before being forced through the plumbing fittings, upflush toilets seldom clog.
6. Aesthetics is Not Compromised
There’s almost no distinction between an upflush toilet and the conventional one-piece or two-piece toilet in terms of appearance, stability, and comfort. While an upflush toilet has a pump unit and a macerator system, all other fixtures, such as the toilet bowl, seat, and flushing handles or buttons, are almost identical.
7. Require Minimal Maintenance
All upflush toilets are sealed and set to use and require extremely little maintenance throughout the pump’s life. The manufacturers crafted them to resist stains and stay dazzling clean for an extended period.
8. Off-grid Location
The ability to install upflush toilets in locations remote from the primary drain line is a significant advantage. It can pump wastewater up to 150 feet horizontally and 15 feet vertically.
9. Enhance the Value of Your Home
Adding a full bathroom to your house may improve its worth by over 20%, based on HouseLogic findings. You may save money and receive a higher ROI by adding an Upflush toilet.
Furthermore, you may save more money by installing an upflush toilet yourself.
10. Warranty
Most upflush toilets have an extended three-year warranty. So, use them without hesitation.
Cons Of Upflush Toilets
Upflush toilets have some drawbacks you should know. They include:
1. They are Noisy
If you’re shopping for a toilet with a quiet flush, an upflush toilet might not be the ideal choice. The shredding of material in the pump will undoubtedly make some noise since it boasts a mechanism to churn waste and prepare it for pumping.
If you have kids or the elderly in your household, you may want to reconsider installing upflush toilets in your house.
2. Higher Initial Cost
The initial cost of macerating toilets is often high, particularly if you choose brands like SaniFlo. Most conventional gravity-fed toilets will cost no more than $600, while upflush ones can cost up to $1000.
3. You Will Need Electricity
If you live off the grid or don’t have access to energy due to a power outage, an upflush toilet may not be ideal for you. The same holds for any component linked to the macerator’s drainage mechanism.
It is due to the system’s reliance on power to function. A macerating toilet is most suited for households with a steady power source unless you own a portable generator.
4. Can Get Overworked
Experts don’t recommend macerating toilets in households with many people because the pump can fail if strained.
Upflush Toilet Problems Solved
Like other toilets, these too have their share of problems, some of which are listed below.
1. Upflush Toilet Won’t Stop Running
If you flush anything a macerator cannot handle, it will become clogged. It could also happen with the pump.
If one of them cannot function correctly, the toilet may continue to flush, and you cannot turn it off.
Fix
Unplug the toilet, lift the tank lid, and remove the clog using tongs. If the problem is with the pump, you’ll need to separate it from the toilet to check and service it.
2. The Toilet Smells Bad
Scale accumulates in the tank with time, and because the tank is always partially filled with water, the minerals can combine with waste and generate a foul stench.
Fix
To avoid this problem, descale your upflush toilet regularly according to the manufacturer’s recommendations.
3. Drains Experience Backup
When a macerating toilet acts as the outlet for other restroom fixtures and water backs up into the drains, it signifies you have a blocked or faulty pipe.
Fix
Start by checking the circuit breakers and the power outlet, then listen for abnormal sounds from the pump. Check the membrane and micro switch, which gauge water level and signal the pump when to turn on.
How Upflush Toilet Works
Upflush toilets can serve the same purposes as regular toilets. The waste is deposited into the basin and flushed with high-pressure water.
The main difference is that after flushing, upflush toilets discharge waste into the component behind a wall.
A pump is the most critical component of an upflush toilet. A blade cuts up the waste in this container before pushing it into the main drain system.
Sometimes, plumbers hide the pump behind a wall with an extended line linking it to a toilet bowl. At times, they place behind your toilet as a unit.
Since upflush toilets do not depend on gravity, you can install them in areas underneath the main drain line. You can establish them in basements, off-the-grid homes, and sailing boats.
Final Remarks on Pros and Cons of Upflush Toilet
From the post, the merits of upflush toilets far outweigh the demerits, so you can significantly benefit from installing one in your home. However, get a top upflush toilet if you want a dependable macerator toilet in the basement or below the sewer line that will last for years.
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