Changing a macerator toilet to normal toilet

Doozergirl

Of course you can use toilet paper in a macerating toilet. As someone's said, it'll be the super cushioned quilted stuff that doesn't break down as well as normal loo roll and someone will have used half the roll to wipe their backside. It doesn't need to be economy class, regular Andrex type paper is soft on your bum and the loo. You don't want to be putting cotton wool, wipes or sanitary products in it either - but you shouldn't put them in any toilets.

My ensuite is a macerating toilet - it has only blocked once in 7 years when a 3 year old put an actual jay cloth in it. My husband always uses way too much loo roll and it always copes admirably.

It has been replaced once when the motor gave up the ghost - which is usal at around 5 years.

Any building problem can be solved with money, the decision is based on how cost effective it is. Personally, if there is a cheap way to route the pipework 'normally' it would have been done as macerators themselves aren't cheap. I have no issues having a macerating toilet in our ensuite. We know how to behave with it and it's fine. The other choice was a massive pipe down the middle of the front of the house and digging drains uphill - pretty impossible.

lincroft1710

janer65 wrote: »

If you can't put toilet paper down the toilet we think it is a useless toilet.

Don't go to Greece for your holidays!

AnotherJoe

janer65 wrote: »

Yes Silvercar that is our assumption, what we don't know is would the costs be prohibitive or worthwhile to get rid of the macerator toilet?
Is it actually always possible to have a normal toilet or are there some situations where it is not possible at all however much you are willing to pay?

There are no such situations. However, if it cost a million pounds and needed the entire building gutting to replace this toilet, your guide of "however much you were willing to pay" isn't very useful

There are of course plenty of situations where it varies as to impracticality on building and/or cost grounds and thus where some would opt for conventional and some macerator.

AdrianC

This gets posted every time there's a turdmincer thread. For very, VERY good reason...


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janer65

Thanks xylophone, yes we will try and get a plumber to check the macerator and give us a quote for having a normal toilet.


Thanks Doozergirl for sharing your experience, we are concerned that even if we fitted a new better macerator you still have to take care what is put down there. We may need to rent the property out at some point as my husband may have to work overseas in the future

Cakeguts

From what I know about letting property doing this with a toilet like this is going to lead to phone calls to the person managing the property most evenings, early morning, Christmas Day, New Year's day and any other day when people have been having a party or large lunch.

janer65

Thanks for the link AdrianC, had never thought about hair, mine is falling out all the time and although I use a drain cover some definately manages to go down the sink/bath drains.

EachPenny

Doozergirl wrote: »

Personally, if there is a cheap way to route the pipework 'normally' it would have been done as macerators themselves aren't cheap.

On the whole I'd agree with that, but there are situations where a loft conversion company (or customer) might go for a more expensive but quick to fix solution.

For example, being offered a macerator might sound more attractive than having to put up with disruption and dirt in the first floor bathroom whilst the soil pipe is run through and connected up. (some customers are funny about that kind of thing )

And there was that example a couple of weeks ago where it looked like the loft convertors had put in a macerator for no other reason than they couldn't be arrised to do a professional job.

AdrianC

EachPenny wrote: »

For example, being offered a macerator might sound more attractive than having to put up with disruption and dirt in the first floor bathroom whilst the soil pipe is run through and connected up. (some customers are funny about that kind of thing )

The connection to the existing soil pipe would normally be done outside, since the soil pipe normally runs down the back wall - so no need to disrupt the interior.

It should be as straightforward as extending the soil vent upwards, and tapping off that for the new bathroom.

So long as there's adequate fall in any horizontalish sections of soil pipe, there's no reason why the new bathroom would even need to be directly above the old one - especially in a terrace, which doesn't tend to be a very wide property.

janer65

AdrianC unfortunately the loft bathroom is towards the front of the house and the first floor bathroom is at the back, anyway hopefully we can find a plumber who can quote and advise us