Totally agree on the composting toilet concerns—maintenance and ventilation can be trickier than people realize. I considered one briefly but decided against it after hearing a friend's experience with odor issues in humid weather. Went with a Niagara Stealth low-flow instead (cheaper than Toto but still solid), and it's saved us noticeably on our water bill without any clogs or headaches yet. Just make sure your plumbing's in decent shape first—older pipes sometimes struggle with the lower water pressure.
Yeah, composting toilets can definitely be a bit more hassle than most people expect, especially if you're not used to maintaining them regularly. I've seen a couple cases where improper ventilation led to mold issues—not fun. Low-flow toilets like Niagara Stealth are usually a safer bet, but you're right about older plumbing. I've had to fix a few setups where the pipes just couldn't handle the reduced water flow and ended up causing backups. Always worth checking your plumbing first to avoid nasty surprises down the line...
"Always worth checking your plumbing first to avoid nasty surprises down the line..."
Yeah, learned this the hard way when we swapped in a low-flow toilet last year. Thought we'd be saving water but ended up spending hours unclogging pipes. Older plumbing can be stubborn...definitely test before committing.
Yeah, totally agree—older pipes can be tricky. Before we switched to low-flow, I ran a quick bucket test to check our flush capacity. Saved us from headaches later...might be worth trying next time you're thinking of plumbing upgrades.
We ran into something similar when we upgraded our bathroom last year. Our house is from the late 60s, so yeah...the plumbing is definitely showing its age. Initially, I was pretty set on composting toilets because of the eco benefits, but after researching a bit, I realized our older plumbing setup might not handle the transition smoothly without some serious work.
I did a bucket test too (great minds think alike, haha). Glad I did, because turns out our flush capacity was borderline at best. We ended up going with a low-flow toilet that's specifically designed for older plumbing systems—has a slightly stronger flush mechanism even though it uses less water overall. Installation wasn't too bad either. Took about half a day and only required basic tools.
One thing I'd add from experience—if you're going low-flow in an older home, make sure your vent stack is clear and working properly. Ours had some buildup over the years that we hadn't noticed before because the old toilet used so much water it masked the issue. After switching to low-flow, we started noticing slow drains and bubbling noises. Clearing out the vent stack solved it completely.
Composting toilets still intrigue me though...maybe someday if we build a cabin or something off-grid I'll finally give them a shot. But for now, low-flow seems like the practical middle-ground solution for older homes like ours.
