We Flushed a Couple Toilets... for Good!
This is probably going to be one of the crappiest blog posts you'll ever read. A real dump. Just stinks. But I guess I'll get off the pot and get on with it. (Was that enough toilet puns for ya?!) In a quick unplanned turn of events, we decided to kick a few of our problematic toilets to the curb! And yes, I know you were wondering... the black toilet from the main floor bath is gone!
I was chatting it up with the window guy during our bedroom window replacement about how just about everything in this house is original and we've got small problems brewing all over the place. After he wrapped the project so quick and cheap, I asked what else his crew can do and if he knew a good plumber. I had been watching a lot of YouTube videos trying to psych myself up to try to replace a toilet or two but plumbing projects scare the crap out of me and I just couldn't muster up the confidence. And I knew I'd never be able to talk Zach into it. He connected me with a guy who said he'd replace my toilets for $75/toilet! Sounded like a steal especially when he said I could order the toilets for pick-up at our local Menards and he'd pick them up for me and even haul away the old. SOLD!
We've had problems with two toilets upstairs since we moved in. The kids' jack-and-jill bathroom toilet double flushes every time. It had what looks to be a big blob of rust or something at the bottom of the bowl which always makes it look like something else is stuck down there. Yuck.
And the toilet in our bathroom water closet had fill problems. It took FOREVER to fill and would just run and run. Like literally more than 2 minutes, which is a long time for a toilet to fill.
And then there was the black toilet off the kitchen. Even though it was probably the most expensive toilet in the house, there is nothing scarier than looking into the Black Sea wondering what was in there. Gross.
The real straw that broke the toilet lid was when a five-year-old at Abbey's birthday party refused to go potty on it and asked if we had "a regular one" somewhere else to use. HA!
Selecting a Replacement Toilet
So we started the hunt for a new toilet not realizing there were so many options! Tall or regular height. Round or elongated seat. Button top or regular lever. White or off-white. I took a poll on Instagram stories to see what folks thought about height and shape (if you're not following us on Instagram yet, give us a follow at www.instagram.com/foreverhomefix/). It was neck and neck but tall and elongated won by a splash.
I considered for a minute ordering different toilets for each room, but decided just to standardize it and get the same one for all rooms figuring I'd buy a quality one that should last so that we don't have to do this again in these rooms anytime soon. We went with an American Standard tall height, elongated bowl, regular lever for flushing. I wanted the option to be able to sit things on top of the toilet so decided against the button on the top. This one was on sale (yay!) and is supposed to be able to flush a bucket of golf balls, so that sounded like a pretty good quality in a toilet!
Watching the guys install these, I am dang glad we didn't attempt that job. The weight alone and the water control - no way. Plus these things have had 20 years of people sitting on them. Gross.
Here's a peek at our new porcelain! Hopefully these are the crappiest before and afters we every give you! ;) Ok, I know I said I was done with the puns, but had to stick one more in here.
Our Bathroom Water Closet
I've been working on some early prep work and planning for some bathroom updates going into the en suite now that our bedroom is pretty much done. I repurposed the old curtain rod and curtains I had on the windows originally in our bedroom and am trying them out in here. And had been working to find some art to make this water closet a little more finished looking. Found this at Hobby Lobby. Simple but really pretty. I'm considering more color in the bathroom overall, but this should be able to roll with us no matter what I do in here.
This room in particular is why I didn't want a button top toilet. I use a cute little basket from Target for holding Kleenex, spray and scents.
Kids Jack-and-Jill Bathroom
Visually no real change in here from when we made their cute brother-sister bathroom with my "love each other" brainwashing decor, but functionally it's so much better.
Main Floor Powder Room
Goodbye black toilet. Hello knowing what's in there! The tank of the new toilet is a lot more compact on this toilet than the black one so we've got some painting to do to get back behind the tank where we couldn't reach before. I'm thinking about doing a few more updates in here so the black sink doesn't feel lonely. We'll see!
Ok, I told you. Crappiest post ever! But there's nothing more "adult" than being excited to get some new toilets!!
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