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A $6000 Toilet?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
A toilet is hardly a high-end design consideration for most of us, but I can’t help thinking how cool it would be to have one of those high-tech versions.

Wouldn’t you feel like the master of your master bath when the throne lifts automatically as you walk in the room, heats up before you plunk your bottom down, and rinses you clean before you get up?
Wouldn’t your guests have added comfort with a toilet that emits fragrances to mask unsavory odors or one that makes tinkling noises to camouflage body functions?
These Toto Neorest toilets (Toto is a Japanese company that manages human waste) have hands free flushing, self-cleaning mechanisms and eco-friendly flushes. The top of the line versions cost almost $6000.
I thought it was a ridiculous accessory for the totally self-indulgent until I saw one of those toilets priced at $2240 on the Better Homes and Gardens shopping site.
I mean, that’s a price some people would pay for a flat screen TV, right?
So what do you say? Would you consider investing in a high-tech toilet or would it be money down the drain?
Permalink | Comments (6) | Post your comment | Categories: fantasy furniture




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Comments
By BPJ
June 10, 2008 3:11 PM | Link to this
No, I wouldn’t pay that for any toilet. But for much less money (than the “discount” price quoted above), we have recently purchased some “dual-flush” toilets. These are common now in Europe: one button flushes all that is necessary for “number one”, the other button flushes more water for “number two”. It’s very sensible, and easy to operate.
By MB
June 10, 2008 3:25 PM | Link to this
BPJ, where did you get your dual-flush toilet?
I think you’re right that that’s the way to go, as it were.
By Andy S
June 10, 2008 3:51 PM | Link to this
Toto actually has a factory in Morrow, just south of Atlanta, that employees almost 500 people.
Dual-flush sounds like a good idea, but the reality is different than the theory. What ends up actually happening is you get two flushes, neither of which are particularly good. That means big flushing again, which wastes more water than three little flushes saves.
Better to buy a WaterSense certified toilet. WaterSense is the EPA’s parallel to EnergyStar, which everyone is familiar with on their appliances. A toilet that is WaterSense certified flushes with less water and has repeatedly flushed a certain amount of “material” in one flush, so they are still one-flush solutions.
By BPJ
June 10, 2008 3:52 PM | Link to this
I found mine on a site called faucetdirect.com
There are models by Kohler, Toto, and a couple of other manufacturers.
By randyt1999
June 10, 2008 10:49 PM | Link to this
It seems self indulgent, but I have thought of getting one with a bidet someday. In the low end house I have, that government mandated 2.5 gallon flush means I have to flush two or three times to makr things go down.
Also, I have been in England 4 times in the last 6 months and agree with the writer above that those two stage flushes just make for more cleaning.
By MB
June 11, 2008 2:20 PM | Link to this
Thanks for the response, BPJ, and thanks for the tip, Andy. Good to know.