Toilets
Almost nothing that goes wrong with a toilet is the ceramic. A cistern that runs, a flush that no longer clears the pan and a seat that slides are three separate parts, each under thirty euros, and a pencil mark on the water line tells you which one you need.
Four parts, and the diagnosis first.
The Geberit fill valve or the Sanit valve set, depending on which side the pencil test points at. Both are stocked parts sold to fit a range of cisterns, and neither needs the toilet removed.
Photograph the inside of your cistern with a tape across the opening before ordering. That one picture answers the cistern opening diameter, the inlet position and the adjustable height range.
The SCHÜTTE seat, and the three measurements taken with the old one off. Look for stainless steel fittings: in the damp recess under a pan, plated steel corrodes and seizes, and a seized bolt turns ten minutes into an hour with a cutting tool.
The YEAUPE PRO bidet seat fits the same measurements and needs no socket — it tees off the cold supply at the cistern’s angle valve. That is the version most European bathrooms can actually take, and it is worth knowing it exists before buying an ordinary seat.
A new toilet. The pan is the part that does not wear out, and every fault above lives in something bolted to it.
Fill valve · Geberit Type 380 · for surface cistern no. 240.700 · side entry 3/8 in · fill height set by turning the spindle · noise group I, DIN 4109
The manufacturer's own valve for one specific Geberit cistern — which is either exactly right for you or completely wrong, and the listing says which.
Best for: A Geberit surface cistern number 240.700, where a genuine part is worth paying for.
≈ $36 / £29 / 30 €
Fill valve · 3.6 l/min fill rate · 13 dB(A), noise group I · brass connection spigot · fits surface and concealed cisterns · NOT for TECE
The only fill valve in this catalogue that publishes a fill rate and a noise figure — and the only listing that tells you which cistern it does not fit.
Best for: A bathroom next to a bedroom, where the noise of a refilling cistern is the actual problem being solved.
≈ 17 €
Toilet seat · MDF with the maker's coating · 37.5 × 45 × 5.5 cm published · 175 kg stated · soft-close tested to 15 000 closes
The only toilet seat in this catalogue that publishes its dimensions — 37.5 by 45 cm — which is the single fact everyone actually needs.
Best for: A bathroom where a wooden seat is the point, and where knowing it fits before it arrives matters.
≈ £41 / 40 €
Bidet seat · no power needed · cold water · twin four-hole nozzles · rotary control · 37 × 42.7 cm outer, 22.4 × 28.5 cm inner · 175 kg ring · G3/8 metal hose
The only bidet seat in this catalogue that publishes its dimensions — inside and out — and the only non-electric one that replaces the seat rather than sliding under it.
Best for: A conventional toilet with an exposed cistern, where the seat is due for replacement anyway.
≈ £66 / 60 €
Mark the water level inside the cistern, close the isolating valve and wait twenty minutes. If the level drops, the flush valve is passing water into the pan. If it does not, the fill valve is not shutting off and the excess is going down the overflow.
Usually volume rather than force. Check the fill level, then the dual-flush setting on the valve, then the rim holes, which scale up in hard water. A cistern flushes with the water it holds, not with mains pressure.
Three numbers with the old seat off: hinge hole spacing centre to centre, length from those holes to the front edge of the pan, and width at the widest point.
Almost always a worn flush valve seal. It is an inexpensive part and the commonest repair in a bathroom.
Usually the water level in the cistern is set too low. It is adjustable on most mechanisms and frequently wrong.
Universal replacements cover most mechanisms, including old ones. Take the old part with you rather than guessing.
It wastes water continuously, and the fix is usually one inexpensive component. It is among the best-value repairs there is.
That is a different problem from a cistern leak, and the causes are more serious. It is worth getting looked at.
Rarely. The pan almost never fails; it is the cistern mechanism that wears, and those parts are replaceable.
Taps, shower systems and mirror cabinets swing by fifty euros or more across the year, and the biggest "discounts" often land at prices the same model sold for six weeks earlier. UniverTrack tracks the real price history across retailers, spots fake reductions, and alerts you when it is genuinely the moment to buy.
