There are quite a few different toilet designs. There are one-piece and two-piece as well as, wall mounted, and floor mounted, rimmed, and rimless toilets. Today, I will explain the pros and cons of a rimless toilet compared to a regular toilet.
Overall, a rimless toilet is easier to clean and has a more rigorous rinse than a regular/rimmed toilet. Often, mold or hard water deposits can form around and under the rim. A rimless toilet has no gap underneath where these can form, so provides far easier access to remove them.
There are a few different designs of rimless toilets. Some have the opening where the water comes out, at the rear of the top of the toilet, whereas, others have an opening on the side. Below, I will cover the pros and cons in more detail, and discuss how they differ in price so you can decide which is right for you.
It’s easier to remove mold and hard water deposits
Hard water deposits and mold like black mold are difficult to remove. It requires a lot of scrubbing. A rimmed toilet has a space on the inside of the rim all the way around. This allows water to flow all the way around the inside of the rim, and then out through the many openings, and into the bowl.
This space can accumulate mold and hard water deposits. However, it’s virtually impossible to clean under the rim, as the space is so small. They need to be cleaned ‘blind’ where you can’t see what you’re doing. Whereas, a rimless toilet doesn’t have this. A rimless toilet technically has a rim. It stops water from overflowing the bowl as it flushes.
A rimless toilet cleans the toilet bowl more vigorously
When the water in a rimless toilet enters the bowl it goes around the bowl in a circular pattern. A regular toilet has openings that are located all the way around the underside of the rim. This causes the water to flow directly down.
The water goes along the bowl sideways, rather than straight down. So, the water passes over a larger area. This causes a rimless toilet to be slightly better at cleaning the bowl. And reduces the chances that you’ll need to use a toilet brush to remove anything stuck on the inside of the bowl. Or flush more than once.
Rimless toilet cost about the same as a regular toilet
With the additional benefits that a rimless toilet provides, it would be reasonable to assume that a rimless toilet is more expensive than a regular toilet. But, rimless toilets cost on average the same as a regular toilet.
This can be seen by looking at a range of different brand new toilets for sale on very well-known websites like Lowe’s and Home Depot. Provided the toilets are of similar quality. This means you can enjoy all the advantages of a rimless toilet for the same price.
Rimless toilets don’t work with a pressure-assisted flush
As you may know, there are what are called pressure-assisted toilets. These provide more flushing power and use less water. But, also don’t use any electricity at all. A disadvantage of a rimless toilet is that it doesn’t work with a pressure-assisted toilet.
The reason is the extra flushing power that a pressure-assisted apparatus provides to a toilet causes the water to splash on a rimless toilet.
This is because of the direction that the water flows. On a regular toilet, the water flows directly down. Whereas, the sideways direction that the water flows in a rimless toilet means the water will bump into the rim.
Do Rimless Toilets Splash More
A rimless toilet has a different design from a rimmed toilet. In a rimmed toilet the water is restricted from splashing because it comes out from the underside of the rim. But, do rimless toilets splash more than regular toilets.
In general, rimless toilets do not splash more. Rimless toilets have a rim around the top to stop water from flowing up and out of the bowl. However, the water enters through one opening either on the side or the back of the toilet. Rather than from under a concealed rim like a regular toilet.
A rimless toilet is a rim along with the entire bowl, except for the opening where the water comes out. The angle that the water enters the bowl means that most of the water doesn’t go in an upward direction which can cause splashing.
It also has a 90-degree lip that sticks out about an inch (2.5 cm) around the top of the bowl. This causes any water that flows in the upward direction to be redirected into the center of the bowl, and stop any splashing.
Are Rimless Toilets Any Good
It’s very uncommon to find rimless toilets. Therefore, when you first learn about them, it’s important to know how well they perform, and if they offer any advantages over a rimmed toilet. Here’s whether rimless toilets are worth it.
Overall, rimless toilets are good. The main advantage of a rimless toilet is that it’s far easier to clean than a rimmed toilet. It also offers slightly better water flow into the bowl, which improves how well it cleans the bowl after each use.
There is nothing wrong per se with a regular toilet. However, now that you’re aware of the advantages of a rimless toilet, it’s somewhat surprising that more people don’t have them.
The advantages that a rimless toilet provides are particularly good for regions where there is hard water. As these are very time-consuming to remove and will continue to form over and over again.
One solution, if you live in a region that has hard water is to install a water softener. If you’re unaware of what one of these is I explained how they work and what they do in this article about how to prevent hard water stains in a toilet.
Amos Christen graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Interior Design from Drexel University — Philadelphia, PA. Since 2003, Amos has worked with top interior design professionals in this area, including architects and interior/graphic/lighting designers. As a skilled interior designer, Amos Christen is highly versed in fine arts and crafts and uses that to supplement his main area of expertise. He often publishes articles related to home décor on several websites, including Sprucetoilets.com, Sprucebathroom.com, and Mybesuitedhome.com. He also contributes to leading interior design magazines.
I truly regret buying my rimless toilet. What I’ve read here doesn’t make any sense at all. When there is no rim, there is no control over the direction of the flush, and the underside of the lid is stained from constant splashing. The company had to send me a new lid as I could clean the old one, and the toilet had only been in place for barely a year. It goes all over the seat, and I often find myself sitting in water splashes from previous flushes. I would never, ever buy another rimless toilet. Proper toilets have existed for decades. Stop trying to reinvent the wheel.