# anyone have a macerating toilet/shower?



## chicklet (Sep 23, 2007)

We're thinking of putting a bathroom in our basement and we were thinking of installing the macerating toilet & shower/sink.  Has anybody installed this in their basement - if so, would you recommend it?  We are on septic and at the moment have 3 bathrooms (2 showers/tubs).  We also have a pump that is used to pump the waste uphill. Thanks so any info.


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## happymum (Sep 23, 2007)

*Sounds evil!*

I have no idea what a macerating toilet/shower is, but it sounds excruciating.:hysterical:


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## sandcastles (Sep 23, 2007)

I don't know what a macerating toilet is but if we are talking about an upflush toilet, from what I know they are usually trouble although I have never had one myself.


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## Tom52 (Sep 23, 2007)

chicklet said:


> We're thinking of putting a bathroom in our basement and we were thinking of installing the macerating toilet & shower/sink.  Has anybody installed this in their basement - if so, would you recommend it?  We are on septic and at the moment have 3 bathrooms (2 showers/tubs).  We also have a pump that is used to pump the waste uphill. Thanks so any info.



I had to go on-line to see what a macerating toilet is.  We have a septic system as well and we have a bathroom in the basement that goes to a pump to raise it up to the house sewage pipe going to the septic system.  This is very common arround here and is totally to code.  We have been in the house for 20 years and it works perfectly with just a normal toilet.

Unless I misunderstand your post it sounds like you have the sewage pump you need for a basement bath.  Is it only because you have no plumbing under the basement floor that you are considering the macerating toilet?  If your basement sewage pump is fairly close to the proposed bath, it may not be a big deal to break out the concrete and install drains to the sewage pump.


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## jsfletch (Sep 24, 2007)

Years ago I had a macerating toilet on my boat. It was a pain in the "butt". Constantly clogging. Messy, stinky to fix. I think most of the modern boats are using a plain old pump system or for more money a vaccu flush.


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## Wonka (Sep 24, 2007)

jsfletch said:


> Years ago I had a macerating toilet on my boat. It was a pain in the "butt". Constantly clogging. Messy, stinky to fix. I think most of the modern boats are using a plain old pump system or for more money a vaccu flush.



Nope.  I just purchased a new boat with mascerator.  Boats are still equipped with mascerators (as an option).  This allows waste to be "dumped" after the boat us 3-miles, or more out to sea, rather than using a pump-out.  I haven't used ours, so I have no idea how efficient they are.  Similar systems are used in basements where the waste is pumped "up & out" into a septic system (I think).


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## hibbeln (Sep 25, 2007)

We ran into these on a trip to France this past Spring.  There are different kinds you can get.  Both toilets we experienced came with a long list of instructions from the owner!

One was in a flat in a 16th century building.  It was the second bathroom in the flat.  This one could not handle even toilet paper.  For that matter, all you could do was urinate in it.  No feces allowed.  There was a wastebasket next to the toilet for your toilet paper.  Ugh.  And of course, we're so instilled to wipe and drop it in the toilet, I think both my mother-in-law and myself ended up retrieving urine-soaked t.p. out of the bowl before flushing several times.  Yuuuck!  Everytime I saw my kids go in that bathroom I was sprinting after them yelling "Don't poop in there!  No t.p. in the toilet!"  The warnings were so dire that we were almost scared to use it.  *So if this is a toilet that visitors would be using.....hmmmm, do you really want to be coaching them on how to use the toilet??*  Then the noises....holy cow, was it ever loud!  Like the loudest, most clanky garbage disposal you could imagine, followed by a looong violent airplane toilet type whooshing noise.  I hated to flush in the middle of the night or early in the morning because undoubtedly all the apartments around could hear that beast chopping up the goods and whooshing it to lord knows where.

The other one we ran into (also in a very old house) in Normandy took toilet paper and fecal material, but also made a most interesting wake-the-neighbors noise.  If I remember right, there were two buttons, one for liquid waste and one for solid waste (with a lot more gnashing noises) so you knew for sure what everyone had done in the bathroom from the resulting volume of noise from the toilet.      That would sure make a party fun!  There were signs all over _that_ bathroom reiterating that NOTHING BUT TOILET PAPER could go down it otherwise it would cause a very expensive plumbing visit to be needed.  They even detailed the exact cost in euros, so obviously this was a chronic problem.  Needless to say, we all used the toilet with the greatest of care!

So anyway, if you are looking at one, I would definetely check and see...
1.  How finicky is it?
2.  EXACTLY what can be put in it?
3.  What happens if a visitor puts a forbidden item down it?  How much will it cost to fix?  Is there anyone in your area that would know HOW to fix it?
4.  Make sure you listen to the exact model before you buy it.


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## Rose Pink (Sep 25, 2007)

Debi, I loved your report.  :hysterical: :hysterical:


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## chicklet (Sep 26, 2007)

Yes, thanks for all the replies.  I don't really want to put one in the basement and with all your replies I am still feeling that.  I remember being at one of our neighbour's house and i was told that i could only pee in the toilet....now i'm figuring they must have the macerating system.  I thought of at the time...what if you thought you just had to go pee....and well you know what happened next?  I am going to try to convince my husband that we should just bite the bullet and drill an area in the cement for the pipes and have the sewage ejector installed.  I don't plan on living in the house for more than 10 years and i would hate to think that this might deter a buyer.  I do appreciate the very descriptive experience.....now to show my husband.


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## Tom52 (Sep 26, 2007)

chicklet said:


> Yes, thanks for all the replies.  I don't really want to put one in the basement and with all your replies I am still feeling that.  I remember being at one of our neighbour's house and i was told that i could only pee in the toilet....now i'm figuring they must have the macerating system.  I thought of at the time...what if you thought you just had to go pee....and well you know what happened next?  I am going to try to convince my husband that we should just bite the bullet and drill an area in the cement for the pipes and have the sewage ejector installed.  I don't plan on living in the house for more than 10 years and i would hate to think that this might deter a buyer.  I do appreciate the very descriptive experience.....now to show my husband.



From your first post I assumed you meant you already have the ejector pump installed.


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