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Original poster

Does anyone have a macerater toilet?

45 replies

Pac35 · 10/08/2022 08:22

We are getting an en suite in our loft conversion. There is a nice little nook round the side where an en-suite would go perfectly. However, a contractor has said they can't attach the waste pipe there as it's at the front of the house & too far from the existing system. We can use a macerater toilet

They also suggested putting the en suite in a more inconvenient place where we'd have to move a window, where we could use a normal toilet

Are macerater toilets awful & loud? Or are they fine?....
thanks!

OP posts:

Discovereads · 10/08/2022 08:35

I used to have a macerator toilet and they are a waste of space. It becomes a urinal for the males in the family. It was a top of the line Sanipro macerator too so not a cheap one.

First off, every plumber we’ve had out about it has said nothing should go down it except wee. No paper. No poo. Yes the macerator is supposed to chop the paper and poo into liquified form and pump it away but IRL they get clogged and then you have to open them up and clean them out which is very unpleasant.
So, imho if you can get a proper flush toilet go for it. Or skip the en suite idea completely.

If you do go with a macerator make sure you do not use any bleach toilet cleaners on it as that rots the seals and you’ll get stink of poo water in your loft. You also need to buy macerator cleaner & descaler to clean it every other month to reduce clogging- we used the Dirtbusters brand.

ThedaBara · 10/08/2022 08:35

My next door neighbour has one under their staircase and I know every time someone uses it, even from upstairs. They are loud.

ginslinger · 10/08/2022 08:37

We have one for the guest room - I've probably spent as much on plumber's bills as the thing cost in the first place. And the noise is like a tractor in the bathroom

TheBikiniExpert · 10/08/2022 08:39

My brother had one and it was so loud. He replaced it asap.

Tayegete · 10/08/2022 08:41

I would echo pp. DH regularly has to unblock the toilet 😩and we’ve spent a fortune on plumbers bills. Most recent bill £1000 to replace the macerator. Would never have another one.

mondaytosunday · 10/08/2022 08:42

I had one in the lower ground floor where there was no pipes - waste had to be pumped up a level.
It was absolutely fine. The noise went on a bit longer than a normal toilet but not to a bothersome level.
Just don't let anyone put anything other than the obvious - I rented the house out and they kept clogging it with wipes!!

Original poster

Pac35 · 10/08/2022 08:43

Ok that's very helpful, thank you! Sounds like we need to do some more thinking!

OP posts:

DecentPleasant · 10/08/2022 08:44

We have a normal toilet in the loft and a 4m waste pipe in the eaves going to the outside.

howdidigettobe50something · 10/08/2022 09:05

We have one after we converted a cupboard into a small bathroom. Never had problems with it and it's not only used as a urinal in our house. Yes it's a bit noisier but not an issue.

Calmdown14 · 10/08/2022 11:58

I put one in when we added a toilet to a large cupboard. It's fine. We are careful to put minimal paper down and number twos go downstairs!
As a solution for getting an upstairs toilet for the kids (and me!) in the night it's been great.
However, if I had options to have a proper waste pipe even with a bit more faff I'd seriously consider them first.

hedgehoglurker · 10/08/2022 13:30

We've had ours for 2 years in a garage conversion ensuite. It makes a little noise when pumping out the toilet or shower, but it was built into a little cupboard which insulates the sound.

It is absolutely fine. No bleach as pp said. We use a standard gel toilet cleaner regularly, and descale with the macerator descaler every 4-6 months.

thenewduchessoflapland · 10/08/2022 13:33

I asked my plumber about fitting one and he wouldn't recommend them.We found one in a holiday cottage we once stayed in and it was really loud.

findingsomeone · 10/08/2022 13:44

We nearly bought a house with one of these upstairs. The agent told us that the owners had an agreement with the neighbours never to use it because of the noise..!

mummymummymummummum · 10/08/2022 13:46

A student friend's only toilet had a 'jobby chopper' It was very very noisy! I don't remember them having any maintenance issues. It would have been an old house where the toilet had originally been outside and brought in at some point.

MiddleParking · 10/08/2022 13:49

We have one that’s broken in a WC in our entrance hall and we’ve not bothered fixing it yet. I couldn’t believe it when they told us how expensive it would be.

PigletJohn · 10/08/2022 15:37

rather than a macerator, I suggest digging a hole in the garden and using a bucket

Muststopeating · 10/08/2022 15:47

I have one. We will not flush at night as next to baby's room and it is loud.

We've been in this house 5 years and it blocked once, just as we'd unhooked out second toilet, the morning my husband left.

Cue me, 7 months pregnant, up to my elbows (literally) in excrement. It took hours and was not a fun day. Turned out a tiny bit of plastic had snapped off the toilet seat.

My brother also very helpfully flushed a baby wipe a month or so later and husband had to repeat the palaver. Least the baby wipe was easier to find.

No other issues with it as long as you, family and guests never normally put anything that hasn't come out your body or toilet paper down a toilet. No tampons, cotton buds, wipes, nappies or anything else that people seem to think (wrongly) that they can flush.

whataloadabullocks · 10/08/2022 16:03

Don't touch them with a barge pole! Noisy and constantly block up, then they end up leaking🤮

VeggieSausage · 10/08/2022 16:04

We had one in a student house. My now husband went in there before a night out and when he flushed the loo, the pipe broke and poo shot through the air and hit him in the back of the head. To be honest, it was installed by the landlady's friend who was a bit shoddy... but I wouldn't choose one myself for this reason!!

WellTidy · 10/08/2022 16:08

I don’t find yours at all noisy, but we’ve replaced the pump twice now in twelve years. This is on a loo in the en suite in the guest bedroom so it is barely used. I would never put one in (ours was installed by the previous owners).

Roystonv · 10/08/2022 16:22

We have had one for many years; not our main loo just in a cloakroom. Yes they are noisy when flushed as you are setting off the motor. Yes you have to be very careful what you put down it but wee and poo and loo roll fine. I think we have had two problems in about twenty years. Maybe they are not as well made now but I would recommend in certain circumstances.

Recycledcurtains · 10/08/2022 16:24

We had one in our last house. It was in an en-suite so it serviced the shower, sink and toilet.

We only ever had a problem when my husband flushed a wipe by accident. It did cause a leak that came through the ceiling.

We didn’t find it awfully loud tbh. But we never, ever let anyone else use it, as any accidental flushing of things caused big issues!

TheBestBitch · 10/08/2022 16:28

If you have a choice, and it sounds as though you have, go for a normal loo. Definitely.

That having been said, If you don't have a choice then go for it but, as PPs have said you 100% must not put anything down it except, pee, paper and poo.

The one we have is noisy but I bet they've moved on since ours, which was in the house when we got here, 15 years ago. We have one in an en suite and have called someone out about 5 times in that time, it was £120 a time as normal plumbers won't touch them. The one time I got a normal plumber to try to fix it he made the problem worse so I'll only go to this specialist now. The problems were twice that someone had put a wipe down it (visiting kids), once that the normal plumber had broken it and twice a small part needed replacing.

Rodion · 10/08/2022 16:30

I had one of these on the top floor of a student house. I was the only one who used it (wees only, quickly leanred that paper must go in a basket next to the toilet as it just wouldnt flush) and was reasonably happy with it.... until a housemate did a huge poo in it when they couldnt wait for the downstairs toilet. I begged them not to as it was right next to my room and i knew it wouldnt flush. Of course it was huge and wouldn't flush for actual weeks. Horrific having that sitting feet from my bed for ages. I wouldn't do it.

WombatChocolate · 10/08/2022 18:26

We have one. Similar situation of it being in the loft and opposite end of house from the waste pipe. It was have a macerator loo or remain being a 1-loo house. It was definitely preferable to have one to not.

For us, the downside is small - slight unusual noise when flushing. It’s not actually louder than a normal flush, but people are familiar with that noise so don’t really notice it.

We have had it for about 6 years without a blockage. It is used for the loo (mostly wees with an odd poo) and pumping out the shower and basin. It doesn’t get heavy use as it is the 2nd loo of the house. Might not be great as a main loo, but that rarely happens.

Of course, if you can have a normal loo that’s better. But if it’s remaining as a 1 loo house in a family home, it’s definitely worth it in my view. Probably not great for rentals etc, but if you can largely control what goes down it, it should be okay.

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