In recent years the humble toilet has undergone a style makeover. Sleek new designs, hidden cisterns and water efficiency are just some of the features you need to consider when choosing a toilet for your home.
Start with style
Toilet designs include back to wall, close coupled, wall faced and wall hung. Consider your budget and check with your plumber to find out which one will work best with your existing bathroom's setup. But if you're building from scratch, you can choose your toilet first and tailor your plumbing accordingly.
The difference between each style
Back to wall toilet cisterns are attached directly to the bathroom wall, which allows the pipes to be hidden
With close coupled toilets, the cistern and toilet pan are joined together to hide the flush pipe.
Wall faced toilets are great for small bathrooms, as the cistern is concealed inside the wall.
Wall hung toilets are mounted to the wall and have space beneath them for a clean, modern look.

Pick a toilet pan
Once you've chosen a toilet style, you'll need to choose a toilet pan. There are three common pan types: S-trap, P-trap and skew trap.
The trap is the bend in the toilet pipe that gets rid of the waste, and keeps smelly sewer gases from coming up into your bathroom.
An S-trap pan has a waste pipe that's connected to the floor.

The P-trap pan pipe connects directly to the wall.

The older style skew trap pan extends either side of the bowl.

Take measurements
Before you commit to a toilet style and pan, you'll need to make sure the measurements work and decide what "set-out" you'll need in your bathroom. This is the distance from the wall to the centre of the waste outlet for an S-trap, and the floor to the outlet for a P-trap. Set-outs vary, so make sure you take those measurements with you when selecting a toilet.
Think about water efficiency
Choosing a toilet with a high Water Efficiency Labelling and Standards (WELS) star rating is a great way to reduce your water consumption, helping you save money and lowering your environmental impact.
A 3-star rating uses six litres for a full flush and three litres for a half flush. Whereas a 4-star rating means you'll be using four and a half litres for a full flush and three litres for a half flush.
If you're building a new house or renovating an existing bathroom, check with your local council to see if there's a minimum WELS star rating toilet you're required to install.
And, if you have a traditional, single-flush toilet, consider changing it over for a dual flush toilet. It could save you more than 50 litres of water per person, per day.
We've got plenty of other tips to help you reduce your water usage and save water at home.
Find the right toilet
Discover the perfect toilet for your dream bathroom, available at your local Bunnings Warehouse.
We can also help install your new toilet, find out more about our Toilet Installation service.