Rated 'excellent' for washdown performance in Korea Consumer Agency quality tests
C-7901, C-974F and other models discharge over 99.9% of substitute waste
Kelim Ceramics' ultra water-saving Grade 1 toilet has been selected as a top-quality product in the Korea Consumer Agency's quality evaluation of water-saving toilets.
Toilets consume the most household water of any fixture, and many products emphasizing water-saving performance have been released recently. In response, the Korea Consumer Agency tested and evaluated 14 products from 10 companies of consumer-favored water-saving toilets for quality reliability (washdown performance) and cost-effectiveness (water usage, water-saving effect).
The evaluation found that all products were free of issues in terms of safety, such as harmful substance content, but key quality factors such as washdown performance varied from product to product. Washdown performance is the core function of a toilet that consumers experience most directly; a product can be rated as excellent only when, after flushing, no waste remains in the bowl and it is sufficiently discharged out through the drainpipe.
In this category, Kelim Ceramics' water-saving toilets such as the C-7901 and C-974F discharged and transported more than 99.9% of substitute waste, performing relatively better than other products.
Currently, an amendment to the Water Supply and Waterworks Installation Act, which strengthens water-saving equipment standards and mandates that toilets installed in new buildings use no more than 6 liters of water, has been in effect since 2014. However, previously installed toilets are excluded from its scope, so many toilets still use excessive amounts of water.
Assuming that a household using an old toilet replaces it with a water-saving model, the calculated water-saving effect ranges from a minimum of 74,169 won to a maximum of 103,183 won in annual water bill savings, depending on the product. In particular, 7 of the products evaluated were confirmed to be able to recoup the initial toilet purchase cost within four years through the water bill savings.
The Consumer Agency explained that Kelim Ceramics' ultra water-saving Grade 1 toilet C-7901 was selected as a product with excellent washdown performance despite using the least amount of water. The agency reported that, after examining the lists of finishing materials for apartments offered for sale that were registered on 'Cheongyak Home' from 2022 through October of last year, Grade 3 toilets are set to be installed in 77% of the apartments.
The Consumer Agency emphasized, "If Grade 1 toilets were installed instead of Grade 3 toilets in newly built apartments each year, more than 5 million tons of tap water could be saved annually," adding, "Since there is no significant difference in washdown performance between Grade 3 and Grade 1 toilets, a government-wide effort to promote the adoption of Grade 1 toilets is needed."