Is a Tankless Toilet Right for your Home? – Price, Pros and Cons, Problems, Installation

Last Updated on November 26, 2021 by Kimberly Crawford

A tankless toilet does not need water from an attached tank to clear the bowl. Not every home, though, is a perfect fit for tankless toilets. 

Tankless toilets get water to clear the bowl directly from a supply line with enough pressure to push waste to the drainage system. 

It takes the same amount of water as a tank toilet, but the water enters the bowl with greater pressure. Tankless toilets use a flushometer instead of a water tank. 

Tankless toilets are more aesthetically pleasing than toilet tanks, regardless of design. Most modern homes have tankless toilets in their bathrooms. Public toilets also use this type of toilet. 

Before you decide on installing them in your home, make sure you understand the requirements of this type of bathroom feature. It is easier to install tankless tanks when you are building a new home. it can, however, be a challenge to replace an existing toilet with a tankless toilet. 

How Do Tankless Toilets Work?

Most toilets in public restrooms, especially urinals, do not come with water tanks. Many modern houses are also starting to have tankless toilets. How does a tankless toilet work?

Tankless toilets do not come with water tanks on top of the bowl. These toilets are flushed using high-pressure water directly from the supply line. An electric pump provides a tankless tank with more water pressure for efficient flushing. 

Tankless toilets are adjusted to release a certain amount of water for each flush. They consume less water than a gravity-based flush of tank toilets. 

Best Tankless Toilets

1. Dometic 300 Series Standard Height Toilet  – Best Budget Pick

The Dometic 300 Series Standard Height Toilet is made from polypropylene. It is a full-sized toilet but weighs only 8.25 pounds. It only needs one pint of water to give your bowl a triple-jet rinse to keep it spotless and sparkling at all times. 

This toilet looks like your average toilet bowl except that it does not have a water tank in the back. It has a foot pedal on the left side to flush the toilet. You can adjust and lock the height of the pedal to as high or low as you wish. 

This toilet is equipped with a unique gravity flushing system to ensure all waste is flushed to the drainage system with just a little water. You can adjust the water level and consequently the flush capacity a little bit. 

This toilet is designed for motorhomes and RVs, but it can also be used in homes. 

If you are looking for an inexpensive and small toilet that saves a lot of water, the Dometic 300 Series Standard Height Toilet is worth looking into. 

2. KOHLER K-6299-0 Veil Wall-Hung Elongated Toilet Bowl – Best Elongated Toilet

The KOHLER K-6299-0 Veil Wall-Hung Elongated Toilet Bowl is an amazing wall-mounted toilet that comes from one of the leading manufacturers in the toilet industry. This stylish one-piece unit is probably the best you can find in this design category. 

This wall-mounted toilet comes with a dual flush activator that allows you to choose the amount of water you wish to use. You can do a half-flush (0.9 gallons) for liquids or a full flush (1.6 gallons) for bulk waste. This allows you to use only the amount of water you need. It also comes with a large flush valve for powerful gravity-assisted flushing even with little water. 

This toilet can be wall-mounted at various heights. You can mount it at 15-3/8-inches from the floor or if you have children and as high as 28-1/2 inches from the floor if it is going to be used by a mobility-challenged person, an elderly, or extremely tall people. Its seat also closes quietly. 

 This toilet comes with numerous parts thus, set-up can be a challenge. It is best to make a professional plumber do the installation. 

The compact design of the KOHLER K-6299-0 Veil Wall-Hung Elongated Toilet Bowl makes it ideal for commercial establishments and small apartments. 

3. Alpha Bidet iX Hybrid Bidet Toilet Seat – Best Bidet Toilet Seat

The Alpha Bidet iX Hybrid Bidet Toilet Seat comes with a quality and sturdy built. It can accommodate a weight of up to 320 pounds. All features of this toilet can be programmed with remote control. 

This toilet features a slow closing countered lid and to prevent slamming and a LED nightlight that is both functional and gives the toilet a lot of aesthetic appeal. It comes with a stainless-steel nozzle that is self-cleaning allowing the toilet to remain hygienically clean after every use. 

It features 4 wash functions; a front wash for women, the typical rear wash, a rear wash with a narrower flow of water, and a rear wash for children. The spray pressure and water temperature are adjustable. The wash functions can be used with a pulsing stream and/or nozzle oscillation. A warm air dryer will complete your washing routine so you do not need to use toilet paper. 

The Alpha Bidet iX Hybrid Bidet Toilet Seat is easy to install. It includes all standard installation parts. it can be installed in suites of most one-piece and two-piece toilets. 

Tankless Toilet vs Tank Toilet

For the longest time, the toilet system has always included a bowl and a water tank. With the advancement in technology, the tankless toilet has made its way in many bathrooms in the home and commercial establishments.

Whether you have a tank or tankless toilet, obviously, water is needed for flushing.  With the beautiful toilet designs available, both provide convenience and add value to your home. What then are their differences? 

• Size. A toilet with a tank takes more wall and floor space. Tankless toilets are more compact and can even be wall-mounted. 
• Flushing System.  A tank toilet has a gravity-powered flushing system where water in the bowl is siphoned and pulled along with waste to the drainage system. A tankless toilet requires the same amount of water to flush but high-pressure water enters the bowl. 
• Required Water. Tank toilets require about 3.5 gallons per flush while their tankless counterpart only needs about 1.6 gallons per flush.
• Water Refill. There is a waiting time for tank toilets between flushes. A tankless toilet refills faster so there is less waiting time between flushes. 
• Cleaning. It takes several flushes to keep a tank toilet clean. Since high-pressure water is pumped in tankless toilets, the toilet bowl remains cleaner faster. 
• Installation. There is no other choice but to install tank toilets on the floor. It also comes with a fixed height. Tankless toilets can be installed on the floor or on the wall. When mall-mounted, the height of tankless tanks is adjustable. 
• Pipe Installation. Pipes of tankless toilets are installed inside the wall while pipes for a tank toilet are installed under the floor. Tankless toilets, therefore, are most unlikely to develop leakage issues. 

The choice between a tank and tankless toilet largely depends on your preference and on the underlying circumstances in your bathroom and home. 

Tankless Toilet Problems

A tankless toilet consumes less space in the washroom. It requires less water to flush, too. However, these toilets are not without problems or issues. Additionally, not all households are a perfect fit for tankless toilets. 

1. Costlier

Being more advanced in features, a tankless toilet is always more expensive than a traditional toilet with a tank. Even if tankless toilets can save on water consumption, the upfront cost is still more than toilet tanks. 

2. Installation Requirements

 Tankless toilets operate properly only with extremely high water pressure. Never attempt to install a tankless tank if the water supply lines in your home cannot handle the high-water pressure this toilet needs. Forcing the issue may damage your water pipes and toilet. 

If you are constructing a new home, you can install pipes to meet the requirements of a tankless tank. It can be impractical to redo the pipes of your home to replace your existing toilet with a tankless design. If you are up to spending a huge amount of money, though, there is nothing that cannot be done by a professional plumber. 

You will always need a professional plumber to install your toilet tank, especially if you opt for a wall-mounted toilet. 

3. Cost of Repairs

Pipes and the electric pump for tankless toilets are hidden in the floor or wall. Should any go wrong, it could be close to impossible for you to troubleshoot the problem. You will need to call a professional plumber. 

Tankless Toilet Dimensions

Tankless toilets are small and compact making them ideal for small bathrooms. This is an obvious feature because, without a tank on top of it, the dimensions of a tankless toilet are smaller than a toilet tank. 

A tankless toilet installed on the floor usually has a dimension of about 19.25 (L) x 15 (W) x 20 (H) inches. A wall-mounted piece, on the other hand, is about 21(L) x 15.13 (W) x 13.88 (H) inches. Dimensions vary depending on the unique designs of the toilets. 

Tankless Toilet Cost

As mentioned, tankless toilets are more expensive than toilet tanks. Depending on the design and features, a basic tankless toilet can cost anywhere between a few hundred to $100 and $300. Luxury options such as one with a heated toilet seat can cost over $1000. 

Tankless Toilet Pros and Cons

A tankless toilet has many benefits, the most major of which is allowing you to design your bathroom the way you want it to look. Savings in water is also one advantage many homeowners harp on when choosing this type of toilet. It, however, comes with some drawbacks, too. 

Pros 

• Low profile and simple style yet give your bathroom more aesthetic value
• Can be installed on the floor or wall-mounted
• Space saver making it ideal for small bathrooms
• Requires fewer gallons of water to flush 
• Pipes can be installed behind the wall or under the floor 
• Refills bowl quicker because it uses high-water pressure water and an electric pump
• Less like to have a bowl overflow and less likely to leak, too
• Environment-friendly 

Cons

• More expensive than traditional toilets
• Requires extremely high- water pressure to function properly
• Needs electricity to work (power outage issues)
• Installations and repairs can only be done by professional plumbers

Tankless Toilet Installation

You may have noticed the tankless tanks in public toilets and wondered if you can have one of these installed in your home. Of course, you can, provided you meet these considerations: 

1. Ensure that your plumbing system is suitable for the installation of a tankless toilet.
2. Ensure your home has a high-pressure water supply. 
3. Ensure you have a reliable and enough power supply to run an electric pump. 

Installing tankless tanks is not a DIY project unless you have professional plumbing skills. Consider hiring a professional plumber so it will be done right the first time. A professional plumber will also ensure your tankless tank will function properly and will meet your aesthetic expectations. 

How do you Fix a Leaking Tankless Toilet?

A tankless tank comes with a more complex system than a toilet tank. To begin with, pipes for toilet tanks are hidden behind the wall or under the floor. The electric pump is not visible, too. To fix a leak, it is best that you call a professional plumber. 

Can you install a bidet on a tankless toilet?

You can install a bidet on your tankless tank if it can easily access the water supply line. The water supplied to the bidet originates also from the water supply line to the toilet. 

Why do public toilets not have tanks?

You may be wondering why public toilets flush quickly and more forcibly than your toilet at home. You press or pull down the handle and water goes to the bowl. Public toilets do not have flush handles, yet they flush thunderously you feel they will swallow you. 

Tankless tanks are often seen in public toilets and commercial buildings and establishments. This is so because these public spaces have high-water pressure. They also need a compact toilet because they do not have that much space.

Your toilet at home flushes by gravity. Water is stored in a tank above the bowl. The downward pressure (gravity) of the water allows it to fill the bowl when you press or pull down the handle. 

Public toilets have high-water pressure so they do not need gravity to push water to the bowl. The high velocity allows water to flow from the pipe directly to the toilet. This eliminates the need of having a water tank. 

Public toilets often have a long cue of people wanting to use the toilet; thus, they need to quickly flush. Quick flushing is one of the major advantages of tankless toilets. Water flows to the bowl of public toilets from high-water pressure common public toilets. This is unlike traditional toilets that flush through gravity. 

Should you Buy a Tankless toilet?

Is a tankless toilet suitable for your home? It depends. If you are constructing a new home, you can install pipes that can meet the requirements of tankless toilets. However, replacing your existing toilet with a tankless toilet may not be a good idea.  

Not having the right supply line for tankless toilets can damage your pipes. It may damage your toilet, too. It can be extremely expensive to refit or redo pipes in your home to accommodate tankless toilets. 

Tankless toilets are expensive because not too many manufacturers produce them. Tankless toilets also need high-water pressure and reliable power. 

Think about these considerations. If your area has a steady supply of high-water pressure, pipes that are at least 12 inches in size, and a reliable supply of electricity, a tankless toilet is a perfect fit! This toilet can enhance the aesthetic value of your bathroom. It is convenient and easier to use too.