I can't believe I am writing this post - that I am actually admitting I bought a used toilet today. A big part of me is really excited and a little part of me is still grossed out a little bit. Please don't freak out, please don't unfollow me, please don't look at me that way. LOL It's gonna be ok.
I was in South Bend this weekend for Notre Dame playoff hockey - by the way they swept Bowling Green to advance to the next round (whoo hoo) - and I always go to the Habitat ReStore here in town.
Nice looking place, huh? And it is SO clean and organized. Like a Home Depot! :-)
This summer, I am going to re-model the downstairs bathroom because it is just icky. I have been accumulating the tile, faucets, etc. over the past few years at unbelievable prices and the only things big left to purchase are a vanity and toilet. Strolling through the ReStore I passed a toilet. But it just wasn't any toilet, it was the Kohler Revival toilet. The snazzy looking one with the pull flush knob on the top.
I looked at it and for a minute I thought it was new and then I took the tank lid off and it definitely was not new. It wasn't gross, it just had water deposits around the tank. I thought about it for a split second and then walked away. But it was gnawing at me - you know how that is. When you see something and you are like, "meh" but once you think about it or come up with the perfect place for it, etc, YOU MUST HAVE IT! Lol - I do it all the time!
So when I got home, of course I Googled it. (I Google everything!) And there it was, on the Lowe's website for ...
KOHLER Revival Biscuit Elongated Toilet
Item #: 89230 | Model #: 3555-US-96
$1,001.44
WHAT? A $1,000 toilet? You have got to be kidding me?
So I then Googled, "Buying a used toilet", "Is it gross to buy a used toilet?", etc. And you know what? It isn't. After reading so many posts from people who have done this, it really is ok.
We use the bathroom at our friends' houses, we buy a house and we don't replace the toilets, we use public toilets every day. So why not a used toilet from a thrift store? :-)
I texted my sister for her opinion and she told me of cleaners and such which remove EVERYTHING - germs, viruses, and crud of any kind! I can also power wash it to remove any lingering micro gross.
So they opened at 9:00 on Monday morning and of course it was sleeting and raining. But I threw on jeans, a hoodie, and brushed my teeth. That is the wonderful thing about second hand store shopping, the effort to be presentable is about 1/3 that of a retail store. It was about 9:10 when I reached the store and my pulse was quickening as I imagined a contractor loading it into his truck. So here I went from being totally grossed out to being obsessed with this used toilet. SERIOUSLY???
I entered the store, exchanged pleasantries with the workers and made a bee line for the plumbing department and there it was. In all of its wonderful grossness. :-) So I took the tank lid off and checked for cracks. I crawled underneath - yeah that was icky - to check for cracks in the base and under the tank and negatory. SO I grabbed the lid and proceeded to walk around the store so no one could swoop in and grab it away from me. I also found a NEW - yes NEW in package - Kwik Set polished chrome (SO hard to find) doorknob set for a door project I am hoping to finish in a few weeks.
So the price was $75 for the toilet and I had - wait for it - a COUPON! 25% off! I KNOW!! So my total for the toilet and the door knob came to $66.20. So now I have gone from being at the top of the heebie-jeebies scale to being really excited about my bathroom remodel.
And the seat has chrome hinges and is $160 to replace. YIKES! I may have to Google around for a way lower price than that.
So, now, when it comes to thrift shopping, second hand stores, re-sale shoppes, etc., my NO WAY, NOT EVER NO MATTER HOW CUTE list of banned items is one item smaller - TOILET has now been removed. After considering all aspects, it really is OK - and because Google said so.
So wait, your "new" toilet doesn't have hinges (I'm guessing for the lid/seat?) So here's the optimism in me..because I'm almost 65 I have memory & wisdom, hehe. So I'll give you an insight to my thought process & then what I think is your answer.
ReplyDeleteMy thoughts for your dilemma went immediately to wood toilet seats. If you go on Ebay right now (make sure you can view all of Ebay & not just the US) you'll see the type you need on the wooden & lucite toilet seats. The lucite seats have the cutsy stuff in them like coins, bills, fish.... What I'm seeing on there right now are vendors from the UK selling the hinges, one as little as 99cents (China), but more like 5-8 dollars. But then looking closer at them, I wasn't so sure they had the long rod that went side to side. I saw what you needed in brass but what you need in chrome is:
Lasco 14-1051 Toilet Seat Hinge with Bolts and Nuts Fit Most, Chrome Plated Metal. The cheapest on Amazon is $14.29 (multiple vendors) And although the toilet world is pretty standardized, should it not fit, with Amazon it should be a cinch to return it. I'd just add should that not be the size & you could only find it in brass, I'd either paint it with chrome & then a shiny sealer or take it to a plating shop to be replated in chrome...I had to do that with outdated doorknob sets once. Hope that helps, Ann