What Are the Pros and Cons of TOTO Toilets?

TOTO comes up in almost every bathroom renovation conversation, usually recommended without much explanation of the trade-offs. Here is what it genuinely does well, what owners actually complain about once it is installed, and who is better served by something else.

Quick summary

• TOTO’s strengths are the parts you stop noticing: the flush, the glaze, and parts still available years later.
• The two things that catch people out when ordering are the seat and the electrical outlet. Neither is included.
• The most common owner complaint is bowl streaking, not flushing power — and TOTO’s own literature explains why.
• A standard TOTO installs like any other toilet. Only wall-hung models and bidet seats need extra planning.

The Pros

1. The flush is quiet and rarely needs a second go

Most current TOTO bowls use TORNADO FLUSH: angled nozzles that spin water around the bowl instead of sheeting it down from holes in the rim. TOTO calls it “360 degrees of cleaning power that reaches every spot”. Many models are also rimless, so there is no ledge underneath for waste to build up behind — as much a cleaning feature as a flushing one.

This is what owners mention a year later, usually because they have stopped thinking about it.

Summary: The reason plumbers recommend TOTO.

2. The glaze reduces how often you clean

Most bowls are finished with CEFIONTECT, a fired ceramic glaze far smoother than standard glazing, so waste and minerals have less to grip. Many add PREMIST, wetting the bowl before each use so less sticks in the first place.

Summary: A real convenience — but a maintenance improvement, not a maintenance elimination. See the first con.

3. Parts stay available and stay consistent

TOTO uses the same fill valves, trip levers and seat fittings across many models and many years. A Drake bought today takes parts a plumber already recognises, and a Drake bought a decade ago can still be repaired.

A toilet is a fifteen-to-twenty-year fixture. The difference between a small part and a whole new toilet is whether the part still exists.

Summary: The quiet argument for TOTO, and why plumbers reach for the familiar lines.

4. The WASHLET system is genuinely integrated

A WASHLET+ bowl, in TOTO’s words, “conceals the WASHLET supply connections for a seamless installation” — the seat’s water line runs inside the bowl skirt rather than down the wall, so there is no visible hose or tee.

If a bidet seat is anywhere in your plans, now or in five years, a WASHLET+ ready bowl costs nothing extra today and saves an untidy retrofit later.

TOTO NEW Glaston Two-Piece Toilet - 1.28 GPF Universal Height, Washlet+ Connection

Summary: The best reason to choose TOTO specifically, rather than a good toilet generally.

5. Heights and rough-ins that fit real houses

TOTO offers many models in both Regular Height (about 15 inches / 380 mm to the seat) and Universal Height (about 17 to 18 inches / 430–460 mm), and several bowls in a 10-inch (254 mm) rough-in for older homes where the drain sits closer to the wall than the modern 12-inch standard.

The Drake has the widest choice: both heights, elongated and round, 1.28 and 1.6 GPF, 12-inch or 10-inch rough-in. Newer one-piece models — Aurora, Redington, Ultramax — are Universal Height and 12-inch only, so check before planning around one.

Not every brand bothers with the 10-inch variant. In older Ontario housing stock it is the difference between a straightforward swap and moving a drain.

TOTO toilets with a 10-inch rough-in

Summary: More sizes to fit what is already in the floor, which is where most toilet orders go wrong.

The Cons

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1. Streaking is the most common owner complaint

This is the counterweight to the glaze, and TOTO effectively concedes it. Alongside TORNADO FLUSH and CEFIONTECT, its product sheets list water spot size as a feature in its own right, explaining that “a large water spot reduces the places where waste can cling to the bowl”.

That is the whole mechanism. The water level is set by the weir at the top of the trapway. A siphonic single-flush bowl like the Drake or Ultramax holds a large water spot; a dual-flush washdown bowl uses less water and holds a smaller one, leaving more bare porcelain exposed. More bare porcelain, more places for a mark to show.

If streaking is your main concern, choose a siphonic single-flush model over a dual-flush Aquia, and keep PREMIST enabled.

Summary: Low water use and a spotless bowl pull against each other. That is physics, not a defect — but choose the bowl style accordingly.

2. Many bowls do not include a seat — or a supply line

Of the 226 TOTO toilets we stock, 28 are listed as “Less Seat” — about one in eight. The tank and bowl arrive; the seat is separate. The naming is honest, but it sits at the end of a long product title and is easy to read past. The same goes for the supply line, sold separately on many models, and auto-flush, available only on S7 and S7A sets with the kit sold separately again.

The Entrada, Promenade II and several Drake configurations are the ones most often ordered this way. Check whether the title ends in Less Seat, and if it does, add a SoftClose seat or a WASHLET bidet seat to the same order, matching round or elongated to your bowl.

Summary: Not a flaw in the toilet, but the most frequent cause of an incomplete delivery.

3. The WASHLET seat shape does not suit everyone

WASHLET seats are contoured, with the rear housing sitting higher than a standard seat. Most people never think about it; a minority find the angle uncomfortable, and it comes up often enough in owner discussions to mention before you spend the money. Sit on one first if you can.

Summary: A bidet seat is a personal-fit product. Try one rather than buying on specification alone.

4. A WASHLET needs a grounded electrical outlet

Every electric bidet seat needs power within reach of the toilet, and most Canadian bathrooms have no outlet behind the bowl. Adding one is straightforward for an electrician and awkward once the tile is finished — so book it before the delivery date. If it genuinely cannot be done, a non-electric seat is the alternative: cold water only, but no wiring.

Summary: A planning requirement rather than a fault, but it derails installations weekly.

5. It costs more, and the electronics are on a different clock

A TOTO costs more than a big-box fixture, and nothing changes that on the day you pay. The argument for the difference — longer service life, parts that still exist in ten years — is real but long-term. For a unit you will not own in three years, that trade does not pay off for you.

The ceramic will outlast you. The electronics will not: a WASHLET has a heater, a pump and a circuit board, and carries an appliance-length warranty rather than a fixture-length one. TOTO covers the S7 and S7A for two years residential, one year commercial.

Summary: Treat the bowl as a fixture and the seat as an appliance. Budget accordingly.

6. The names take real effort, and the range keeps moving

Drake II is discontinued while the standard Drake and Drake Transitional continue. UltraMax II is discontinued and replaced by the current Ultramax — same family name, different toilet. On the seat side S2, S5, S7 and S7A are current; the older C2 and C5 are both gone, replaced by the S2 and S5 respectively.

Then there is Universal versus Regular height, elongated versus round, 10-inch versus 12-inch rough-in, WASHLET versus WASHLET+, Slim Seat versus regular, and a 1G suffix meaning 1.0 GPF instead of 1.28. The Canadian range is also narrower than the American one, so a model you find on a US review site may not be sold here.

Every distinction exists for a reason, but together they make TOTO harder to shop than a brand with three models — and a guide you read two years ago may describe something no longer made.

Summary: Check a model is current and sold in Canada before you plan around it. Anything in Ready to Ship is in the warehouse now.

So Should You Buy a TOTO?

There is no universal answer, and TOTO is not automatically the right choice.

TOTO NEW Redington One-Piece Toilet - 1.28 GPF Universal Height, Washlet+ Connection

A TOTO makes sense if:

• This is your own home and you plan to stay in it
• You want a bidet seat now, or want the option later
• Your bathroom is older and needs a 10-inch rough-in
• Someone in the house would benefit from a taller seat

Something else may serve you better if:

• It is for a rental, a flip, or a unit you will not keep — a simpler fixture is the sensible spend
• You want bold colour or a decorative silhouette. TOTO is deliberately minimal; see our TOTO vs. Kohler comparison
• There is no way to add an outlet and a warm-water bidet is the whole point

Before You Order

• Measure your rough-in — finished wall to the centre of the closet bolts. See our rough-in size guide.
• Decide your height — see Standard or Universal height.
• Read the end of the product title — for Less Seat, WASHLET+ Connection and 1G.

Need Help Choosing?

If you are weighing a TOTO against another brand, or are unsure which height, rough-in or seat you need, use the chat on our website to reach an expert — including when a different brand is the better fit.

Browse the full TOTO collection, or see TOTO smart toilets and TOTO parts and hardware.