
“Potty time” is a private moment, and no one wants to be known as “the clogger”. The fixtures in the water closet have become familiar and mundane, at least here in the West, and are often overlooked until they are no longer functional. But many cultural taboos regarding “what goes on in the loo” prevent us truly from celebrating this achievement. Sanitary plumbing is perhaps the most important invention of the modern world, and has likely saved more lives than penicillin. As with my robotic cat box review, I shall endeavor to use as many euphemisms and synonyms as my thesaurus will allow! This is the American Standard Champion 4. I have been promising this post all year, and feel it is finally time to get it done. Although certainly possessed with high technology, modern sanitary plumbing is a topic that not all readers are comfortable with.

Note that this review differs from my typical electronic gadget and enterprise IT focus.

I have now purchased and installed two American Standard Champion 4 toilets, and am pleased to say they are indeed a vast improvement. I had resigned myself to this plumbers work until an episode of NPR Science Friday introduced me to a clog-resistant commode. Over the last decade, at four homes, I have repaired countless flush valves and spent hours “working the plunger”. Owning a home is the American dream, but there is one aspect for which I was not prepared: Toilets.
