Saniflo USA | Mini Case Study | Saniaccess 3 | Surviving the Wrong Brand Choice

Problem

FORT WAYNE, INDIANA — Matt Jones and his wife recently faced a major plumbing issue while adding a basement bathroom. As their disabled son’s mental health declined, they moved Matt’s grandson into their son’s neighboring home. With one bathroom and four people sharing it, the situation became unsustainable. So Matt began searching for an above-floor plumbing system to create an additional bathroom in the home’s basement.

While researching “upflush toilets” online, the Joneses purchased a “Superflo” product, mistakenly assuming this Chinese import was a Saniflo model.

“We saw lots of Saniflo options in our search results, and Superflo appeared frequently alongside them,” Matt explains. “The similar names led us to believe Superflo was just another model in the Saniflo line.

“Unfortunately, this decision turned out to be a costly mistake.”

The family hired a handyman to install the Superflo unit and, at first, the system seemed to be functioning properly. However, after about a month, the toilet started running sporadically on its own, even when it wasn’t being flushed. As time went on, the issue escalated. Within three months, the toilet malfunctioned completely and overflowed.

Matt called in a professional plumber to evaluate the situation, and the latter’s findings were concerning. The plumber confirmed the toilet was correctly installed but found that the issue was with the factory-sealed macerating unit, likely the pump inside. There was no option to replace the foreign product’s individual components.

“We kept the plumber’s ticket ‘open’ while pursuing a warranty replacement and filing a complaint with Amazon, where the unit was purchased,” says Matt. “I tried contacting the manufacturer directly through Amazon. After getting no response, I left a product review.

“When that didn’t work,” he continues, “I contacted Saniflo customer service via the website, believing they were the parent company of ‘Superflo.’ Saniflo quickly clarified that they had no connection to ‘Superflo’ and had received many similar mistaken inquiries. Despite this, the Saniflo team was very responsive and helpful.”

The Saniflo US customer service team provides accessible local service to assist with product guidance, technical assistance, replacement parts or repairs, and warranty support. Saniflo subsequently recommended the Saniaccess 3 full-bathroom macerator as the solution.

Solution

Matt and his wife opted for the Saniaccess 3 and hired a licensed plumber to install it in their basement bathroom. He connected two fixtures to the macerator: a basement sink and a toilet.

“Though the Saniaccess 3 can handle greater vertical discharge, we needed the capacity for only about 2 feet. At that point, the discharge line runs horizontally into the household's main sewer line. With the required routing along the wall and maintaining the proper drain angle, the total distance from the Saniaccess 3 to the main sewer line became approximately 10 feet,” Matt notes.

The overall installation process took four hours, including the running of the new pipes to rework the Superflo’s configuration, according to Matt. “The plumber said it would have been less than half an hour to install the Saniaccess 3 if we had the piping system already in place.”

Results

Once successfully installed, the Saniaccess 3 macerator system immediately resolved the Joneses’ plumbing challenges, and the family began enjoying the improved performance. The unit has performed flawlessly since it was installed, with Matt reporting his satisfaction with the system’s reliability, ease of use, and overall peace of mind.

Reflecting on the entire experience, Matt noted that choosing Saniflo from the beginning would have saved the family at least $1,000. This figure includes the initial cost of the handyman for the Superflo installation plus the plumber’s service call. Not only did the family lose money on the failed Superflo product, but the time spent researching and troubleshooting added further frustration.

Matt highly recommends Saniflo’s macerating pump, praising its performance. He also appreciated Saniflo’s responsive customer service and ability to meet unique plumbing needs like theirs.

Last, but certainly not least, he values the assurance provided by the product’s four-year warranty, which covers free repair or replacement of any defective parts or units when installed and used according to guidelines. These benefits are in stark contrast to the little protection the Superflo offered.

The Saniaccess 3 has proven to be an ideal solution for the Jones’ household, easily handling the light usage by their grandson and his girlfriend.