How to Install a Macerating Toilet (and What Trips People Up)

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An upflush toilet is one of the easier ways to add a bathroom, but “easy” doesn’t mean “no plumbing.” Here’s the order of work and the mistakes we see.

Check first: most areas require a permit for a new bathroom, and the toilet’s instructions spell out venting, pipe size, and electrical needs. Follow the manufacturer’s manual and your local code. This guide gives the big picture and doesn’t replace either.

The basic steps

  1. Plan the run. Measure from the pump to the main drain: how far across and how high up. Make sure the model you picked can handle it.
  2. Power. The pump needs its own GFCI-protected outlet nearby. Get it in before the walls close.
  3. Vent. The pump box needs a vent connection. This is the step DIYers skip most often, and it causes odors and slow pumping.
  4. Discharge line. Run the small discharge pipe to the stack with the slope and check valve the manual calls for. Going up first and then across is the normal layout.
  5. Set the toilet and pump. Seal the bowl outlet to the pump and level everything.
  6. Tie in the extras. Connect the sink and shower to the pump inlets if your model has them.
  7. Test. Run water through every fixture and look for leaks at each joint before finishing walls.

Mistakes we fix most

  • No vent, or a vent that’s too small
  • Undersized pump for a long or high run
  • No access panel, so the pump can’t be serviced without tearing out a wall
  • Shower not raised enough to drain into the pump

Models we’d install

SNFLEX Two-Piece Macerating Toilet (600W)

The all-rounder. Two inlets on the pump let you tie in a sink and shower. The one most basement bathrooms need.

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SNFLEX One-Piece Macerating Toilet (600W)

Pump tucks behind the bowl, so it looks like a normal toilet and saves floor space.

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Rather have it done for you? That’s what we do. See how a full project comes together.

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