Changes in bathroom commodes are aimed at flushing less money — and water — down the drain.

But bathroom designers and equipment dealers sometimes find it difficult to market equipment that is more complicated and costly than the familiar devices that have been in the house 40 years.

“New toilets have raised things to a whole new level,” says Cheryl Sych, a designer at Plumbers Equipment in Ross.

John R. Kuhns, owner of Three K Cabinets in Latrobe, agrees, and sees some irony in consumer suspicion of commode expense.

“So there you are with a $2,500 couch in your formal living room that you sit on twice a year, and then you have your toilet that you use, say, five times a day,” he says, “So tell me what is more practical.”

Toilets tend to be an unspoken part of the house and of design.

“Most people buy a house or move into an apartment, and the toilets are there,” says Gray Uhl, director of design for the New Jersey-based American Standard Corp. “That is the first time they think about them. And that’s what most people want. They want to never think about it and never worry about it.”

Professionals who deal with commodes tend to agree that when a bathroom renovation is begun, great concentration is spent on vanities, countertops, flooring, shower equipment and cabinets. Finally, homeowners realize they have to deal with one of the most important pieces of equipment in a bathroom.

It is a piece of equipment that is responsible for 30 percent of all residential water use, according to the federal Environmental Protection Agency. That agency also says steady growth in the efficiency of commodes could reduce water use by 89.7 billion gallons a year.

But Derek Marasco from Jemco Plumbing in Springdale says most people are looking for a more basic sense of performance.

“They want to flush it and forget it,” he says.

Not easy being green

While business professionals tend to agree efficiency and green design play major roles in modern commodes, they also admit they often are ignored.

“A lot of people would go with the size of the old toilets they have if they had the chance,” says Wayne Thorniley, owner of Peterson’s Custom Kitchen & Bath Boutique of Greensburg.

If they are replacing toilets more than 17 years old, they can’t. In 1992, the U.S. Energy Policy Act insisted every toilet flush 1.6 gallons of water, far less than those old ones that most often dumped 3.5 gallons.

Commodes now have moved to even higher efficiency of 1.28 gallons, but Abe Sambol from Stein’s Custom Kitchens & Baths from Oakland says that seldom is the element of choice.

“Most often, the biggest elements are whether a toilet is round or elongated and the height,” he says.

Like chairs and couches, commode use can be centered on comfort. Sambol believes the higher heights offered in what are sometimes called “comfort commodes” can win a purchase.

But he also believes the elongated shape is not to be ignored. That creates a narrower bowl and “if it fits in your room, that is the way to go,” he says.

Sych says “in the showroom, you have to get people to sit on them” to illustrate the difference, particularly in the height.

Old toilets used to be 145/8 inches high; now it is common to find them at 16 1/4 or 16 1/2 inches. That makes for less bending at the knee and a more comfortable seating position.

Such matters as shape, style and color often become the key issues, even if the efficiency is the area of more importance, savings and cost, retailers and designers agree.

Marasco says color choices have become much more sedate since the “colors of the ’70s and ’80s” brought avocado to the bath. These day, retailers say most consumers are interested in whites and faded whites, with blacks maintaining some popularity.

“Most people just want it to flush,” Marasco says. “And they want it to be convenient and comfortable.”

Of course, price is an important matter, too.

Sych says it is easy to spend $5,000 on a high-end commode by one of the name brands. But it also is possible to buy a stylish, efficient commode for $500 or to find one that works well but has less fashion for $200.

Kuhns says many customers have no idea of what commodes cost, and think they run between $150 and $200.

While it’s possible to get a toilet for that amount, he adds, it won’t be a good model.

“If you have someone thinking a bathroom project is going to cost $5,000 or $6,000, they are certainly going to think a commode costs $150,” he says,

Remodeling magazine does a yearly breakdown of renovation projects in sections of the United States. Its 2008-09 average for mid-range bathroom remodeling in the Mid-Atlantic states is $15,899.

But while comfort, dependability, shape, height and price seem to guide the selection of a commode, efficiency appears to be the key for designers.

Meeting all the standards

“We want our commodes to make water-sense and fashion-sense,” says Lenora Campos, a spokeswoman for the Georgia-based Toto USA.

American Standard’s Uhl agrees, saying “green is a driving factor in our design,” but adds that the company wants to make sure “the commodes not only look good, but perform just as well.”

Toto and American Standard, like other manufacturers, are governed by the Energy Policy Act of 1992. They also are challenged by the Environmental Protection Agency’s WaterSense program, which in 2007 raised the bar by creating what it calls higher-efficiency toilets.

Manufacturers are not required to meet those standards. They simply draw the line for better products.

Because commodes are responsible for 30 percent of the water use in residences, Campos says, “there is a great necessity in saving water” through commode design.

But Uhl suggests most consumers are unfamiliar with such issues, because the purchase of commodes is not a common event.

When consumers replace a commode, he says, it is not unusual for it to be 40 years old. They most likely have not had to deal with making a decision on a 1.6-gallon or 1.28-gallon flush.

That creates a challenge for manufacturers and others, such as the EPA, to get the word out about efficiency, Uhl says.

Dealing with such issues also can create some worries, Kuhns and Marasco say.

They point to customers who worry about whether enough water is being flushed to handle cleaning or whether an older house’s plumbing will function properly with newer equipment.

But Campos points out that is the purpose of the WaterSense program. To earn its rating, a commode must function properly and meet cleaning standards set by the program.

Some commodes can claim that efficiency, she adds, but she advises checking for WaterSense approval.

She admits there were some problems connected with toilets in the early days of the 1.6-gallon flush standard. Development since then has been aimed at eliminating those issues.

Uhl says consumer knowledge of “WaterSense and the testing connected with it” is helpful when selecting an item.

But even if all the efficiency standards are being met and a new commode fits well into a redesigned bathroom, he suggests there is one real definition of success.

“It has to perform,” Uhl says.

High efficiency by the numbers

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency ‘s WaterSense program aims to define efficiency in commode use in the way similar to the way the Energy Star program sets levels for appliances.

• To be considered high-efficiency, a single-flush commode must use 1.28 gallons water or less and be able to clean 350 grams of waste material.

• The 1.28 gallon amount is 20 percent lower that the 1.6 gallons-per-flush amount demanded on toilets in this country since 1992.

• The 350 gram amount is 100 grams greater than the well known Maximum Performance (MaP) testing developed by a Canadian-Californian group.

• EPA estimates there are 222 million residential toilets in use. If 10 percent of them are replaced with 1.28 gallon commodes annually, it would result in a savings of 89.7 billion gallons of water annually.

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