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IowaCowboy
Lost in the Supermarket
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join:2010-10-16
Springfield, MA

IowaCowboy

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[Plumbing] Nursing home toilet replacement

I reported that the toilet in my grandmother's room at the nursing home was constantly running and it was a tank type with an older Sloan Flushmate in it (had the button on top of the tank). That I knew was a commercial grade toilet.

Well today they replaced it with a Glacier Bay toilet (from Home Depot down the street) and I'm thinking it was done by the maintenance staff as opposed to a plumber as plumbers tend to buy from suppliers.

Question, should a facility of this nature be using commercial grade fixtures. I know when I look at plumbing catalogs they have separate residential and commercial collections. I'm wondering if code requirements are different for commercial as well.

I know with electrical it has to be UL listed for commercial and the outlets have the green dot (medical grade) on them.

All I know is Glacier Bay is residential grade as it's a Home Depot brand. I myself if designing a nursing home, group home, or a residential treatment facility I would use Flushometer type toilets.

Jack_in_VA
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join:2007-11-26
North, VA

Jack_in_VA

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I didn't realize your grandmother was in a nursing home now. I remember all that work you did to accommodate her in your duplex.

IowaCowboy
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She broke her hip (fell in the kitchen) and she is there for rehab, I'm hoping she is able to come home.

CylonRed
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They can use any grade thy hey want - they have to deal with the potential consequences themselves.

Jack_in_VA
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I wish her a speedy recovery.

IowaCowboy
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said by CylonRed:

They can use any grade thy hey want - they have to deal with the potential consequences themselves.

Such as clogging, and internal part failure. I'd at least use a Flushmate equipped toilet. Most tank toilets in commercial/institutional have the Flushmate assembly inside.
IowaCowboy

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said by Jack_in_VA:

I wish her a speedy recovery.

Thank you for the well wishes.

CylonRed
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·Metronet

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said by IowaCowboy:

said by CylonRed:

They can use any grade thy hey want - they have to deal with the potential consequences themselves.

Such as clogging, and internal part failure. I'd at least use a Flushmate equipped toilet. Most tank toilets in commercial/institutional have the Flushmate assembly inside.

Which are the same consequences as any other toilet hardware. Likely they have found it works for them and is a lot cheaper. Not like this is an office building where 100's of people a day are using the same toilet.
Speedy Petey
join:2008-01-19

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said by IowaCowboy:

I know with electrical it has to be UL listed for commercial and the outlets have the green dot (medical grade) on them.

Nothing is "UL listed for commercial", and you only need medical grade (redundant grounding) receptacle in patient care areas. It all depends on how the areas of this place are graded. I doubt resident sleeping and living areas are also considered patient care areas.

As for the plumbing, I highly doubt there is any code as to the quality of the toilet. Why would you think a resident's room would need a commercial grade toilet?

UHF
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said by IowaCowboy:

She broke her hip

I'm very sorry to hear that. I hope she recovers quickly and is able to go home.

garys_2k
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Farmington, MI

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said by IowaCowboy:

She broke her hip (fell in the kitchen) and she is there for rehab, I'm hoping she is able to come home.

Best of luck to her and I hope she's back soon. Rehab. for older folks after being bedridden for a time can be lengthy, I hope hers goes well and quickly.

Hall
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Germantown, OH

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Are you thinking of replacing it yourself with a "proper" one ?

IowaCowboy
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said by Hall:

Are you thinking of replacing it yourself with a "proper" one ?

Not in this lifetime. I'll let them deal with the maintenance problems.

But I've been in facilities with tank type toilets and they have commercial grade toilets. I came across a residential type facility built to commercial standards (steel frame building with commercial hardware) I came across had Gerber toilets with tanks and I know they were commercial grade but didn't have the Flushmate assembly.

Hall
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Hall

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Interesting - or odd ? - that you open up toilet tanks to see what internals they use....

billaustin
they call me Mr. Bill
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I have two Glacier Bay toilets that have been working well for years. I bought them because they were the tallest that HD carried at the time. The additional height makes them easier to sit down on and get up off of.

IowaCowboy
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You can tell by the flush, if a tank type toilet uses a blowout type flush (like you see with a Flushometer in commercial restrooms), then it has a Flushmate assembly inside, if it has a gravity type flush, then you have a run of the mill toilet. But even gravity type toilets come in commercial grade, they are just built with parts designed to withstand the wear and tear of their intended use (such as metal instead of plastic or a more durable plastic). I do know if you go to the American Standard website, they have separate catalogs for residential and commercial restroom fixtures.

I know if I owned this house, I'd drop the $400 for an American Standard Toilet with the Flushmate assembly inside. Those toilets give a clean flush each time. I don't know about my grandma's house up in Maine, that house seems to have water pressure issues even though it has city water. This is the toilet I'd like to put in my house.

»www.homedepot.com/p/Amer ··· cription

As for the toilet upstairs, I've decided I'm going to reseat that toilet. No sense throwing it out. I've been using the Champion downstairs anyways because I like the taller height.

MxxCon
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said by Hall:

Interesting - or odd ? - that you open up toilet tanks to see what internals they use....

Nothing wrong with that.
Curiosity, learning experience and caring/worrying for his grandmother wanting her to have the best.

IowaCowboy
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Now that is what you call cutting corners on construction.

When the facility was originally built they ran the supply line across the bathroom and it's shared with the sink. The couldn't put in a separate line for the toilet.




The care is pretty decent though. But decent care must be accompanied by decent facilities with decent hardware.

Like I said, I'd use commercial Flushometer toilets if I were designing an institutional living facility (nursing home, group home, residential treatment facility, etc) as those facilities tend to take more abuse than a typical home or rental housing unit.

Hawk
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said by IowaCowboy:

I reported that the toilet in my grandmother's room at the nursing home was constantly running and it was a tank type with an older Sloan Flushmate in it (had the button on top of the tank). That I knew was a commercial grade toilet.

I don't think "Sloan Flushmate" tank type toilets are rated commercial. The Flushometer line is commercial but a completely different rough in. What should be considered for this application and to be code compliant (in this area anyway) would be an ADA bowl and "roughed in" to accommodate the appropriate grab bars just to name a couple.

Never cared for the flushmate design, Kohler or sloan. Kohler contracted with sloan to manufacture their tanks after a gross failure and class action law suits. Best wishes to your grandmother.

robbin
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One thing I noticed is that they didn't cut off the bolts mounting it to the floor. I would think they need to be cut and capped both for safety and sanitation.
kherr
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Collinsville, IL

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It has to be ADA compliant for sure. and putting a thick seat on a bowl to bring it up to handicap height doesn't comply. Round bowls are non-compliant, they need to be elongated. It also needs the flush lever on the right, seldomally found at HD also.

If an ADA officer walked into that room they'd gladly wright-up the NH ..... Same rules would apply at an assisted living center too .....

IowaCowboy
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I just looked up the ADA standards and the flush handle in an ADA compliant toilet stall or in the case of a single toilet restroom (in this case) has to be on the open side of the toilet (opposite the wall).

That's the beauty of Flushometer toilets, they can easily be installed either way (by orienting the hardware either way); they just require the appropriate rough in. Tank toilets with a right flush handle have to be sourced or special ordered.