Saniflo Installation

• Macerator toilets: A toilet with the pump built into the pan or base, or a compact unit hidden behind a standard pan. Macerator toilet installation is the most common job.
• Units for a full room: A single macerator that takes the toilet, basin and shower together, useful for a small en-suite or cloakroom.
• Grey water pumps: For a shower, basin, bath or utility sink only, with no toilet. Used where a shower tray sits too low for a gravity waste.
• Kitchen and utility pumps: For a sink, washing machine or dishwasher where the waste cannot fall to a drain. See our kitchen plumbing service.

Each type is designed for specific fittings, so the unit must match what will drain into it.

A macerator suits almost anywhere a gravity waste is difficult:

• Loft en-suites, where the soil stack is in the wrong place or the floor build-up is limited, as part of a loft conversion.
• Basement toilets and shower rooms below the level of the drain, as part of basement conversions. A whole basement often needs a larger pumped drainage system, which we plan with the build.
• Under the stairs, for a downstairs cloakroom.
• Garages and outbuildings, in a garage conversion or a garden room.
• Bedrooms and extensions, where a new en-suite is a long way from the soil stack.

If a gravity connection is possible, it is usually the better choice: it has no moving parts, needs no electricity and can take more. We check both options first. Standard toilets and showers are fitted through our bathroom plumbing service, and complete rooms through our bathroom renovation service. A new gravity drain can be laid through our drain installation and replacement service.

Yes, with one important condition. Approved Document H, the guidance for drainage in England, allows a macerating WC only where the home also has access to a WC that drains by gravity. A macerator can be a second or third toilet, but not the only one in the house.

A new toilet or shower connected to the drains is normally building work, so building control is involved. In a loft or basement conversion, the bathroom is approved as part of the project.

The macerator also needs its own fused electrical supply, close to the unit but outside the areas of the bathroom where water could reach it. That supply is installed and certified through one of the routes the building regulations allow, through our domestic electrical installation service.

• Discharge pipe: A small-bore pipe, typically 22 mm to 32 mm depending on the model, runs to the soil stack or a suitable drain connection. Any vertical lift is made first, close to the unit; after that, the pipe falls continuously.
• Within the manufacturer's limits: Each model has maximum lift and distance figures, which we design the pipe run within.
• Connection: The discharge joins the soil stack through a proper connection, never into a basin waste.
• Access: The unit must stay accessible for servicing, so any boxing-in has a removable panel.
• Testing: We test the pump, the pipework and every joint before handing over.

It depends mainly on how it is used and looked after. The biggest causes of breakdowns are things that should not go into it, and limescale. To keep a macerator working:

• Flush only toilet paper and human waste: No wipes, sanitary products, cotton buds or kitchen roll, even if labelled "flushable".
• Descale regularly with a descaler suitable for macerators. London has hard water, so scale builds up on the blades and switches.
• Do not use it during a power cut, as the pump cannot run.
• Have it serviced if it runs on, starts by itself or sounds different.

With care, a good macerator can work reliably for many years, and worn parts can often be replaced rather than the whole unit.

Every macerator makes some noise when it pumps. Standing the unit on the floor without touching walls, using the right pipe fixings and choosing a quieter model all help.

We repair and service Saniflo and other macerator systems, including units that run on, will not start, make grinding noises, leak or smell. Common causes are scale, a failed switch or membrane, or something caught in the blades. If a unit is old and failing often, we explain whether repair or replacement makes more sense.