Vortens Toilet Tanks
July 2, 2014 83 Comments
Last year, we announced that Vortens was having problems with their toilet tanks and as a result, home and business owners were experiencing cracking and subsequent water damage. Recently we heard from two owners who had encountered the defective tanks. A photo of a cracked tank is shown below. The fact that we heard from two owners confirms that defective tanks are still in use and consumers want to know what to do. If your property is insured, contact your carrier as soon as possible, take pictures of all damage including the failed tank pieces. If you start cleaning up, do not discard anything. It is especially important to save all of the pieces of the tank; your carrier’s adjuster or investigator will want to take possession of all evidence. Be sure to make notes of all phone calls, meetings, and happenings that take place in regard to repairing your property. The notes will come in handy if you have to go to court and testify against the manufacturer. On the other hand if you are not insured, you can try to file a claim with the manufacturer directly. If that doesn’t work, you can try and find an attorney who will take your case on a contingency fee basis. That is, the attorney will work on your case and will be paid only if you collect anything. Typically, attorneys working on a contingency fee basis will take 33% of what ever is awarded.
Cracked Vortens Toilet Tank
About R.J. Hill, P.E.
R.J. Hill Consulting's Blog 
One of our Vorens tanks just failed 7/9/14 and flooded 1/3 of our house. This was a seldom used spare bathroom in a house less than 3 years old. The cracks eminate from the bottom from the bolt holes.
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We have the same situation that happened today – 10/15/15. My husband and I woke up to find that the whole toilet along a portion of our living room is flooded because the Vortens tank installed on the guest toilet has a cracked emanating from the hole where the flusher handle is installed. It’s a good thing that the water did not reach the carpeted area to cause water damage. This toilet was rarely used because we normally don’t receive guests in our home. Our house is almost 5 years old but we were surprised that the toilet just cracked without anyone doing anything to it.
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Our house was newly constructed in 2012. The master bathroom Vortens toilet that came with the house cracked while we were out last week Friday. It flooded our toilet, master bedroom sitting area and our walk-in closet. The water leaked through the floor and dripped to the ground floor and caused stains on the ceiling. Fortunately we are insured. My husband and I decided that we are going to change all three toilets to Toto. We don’t want another incident like that in future. All the people we talked to never heard of Vortens. One of our neighbors experienced the same thing in 2013, a year after the house was built.
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This happened to us just recently. The townhomes in Austin, Tx built in 2012 the same year as the Vortens 3425 toilet. In the master bath. I came home and the downstairs ceiling fan was a fountain. Several thousand dollars damage and it could have been worse. The house was built by Milestone builders. No response from them yet. I want them to pay us the $300 for each of the Vortens toilets they put in and failed to warn us about. This is 2022 these toilets have been bursting since 2014. The builder had no inkling this was happening?
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I had a Vortens tanks fail in an upstairs guest bathroom causing extensive water damage to my upstairs and downstairs area. Before that was repaired, a second tank cracked damaging another bathroom downstairs. Vortens replaced the toilets, but refuse to pay for the damages. My insurance carrier paid for the damages and attempted to collect. Vortens further refuse to take any responsibility. House was just 18 months old.
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I just experienced this last week when I came home to water coming through my kitchen ceiling from the upstairs bathroom. Vortens tank cracked also. Had no idea this was an issue. After seeing this I checked other bathrooms and I have 4 more toilets just like this in the rest of my house.
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11/21/2014 12:55 am, i was awoken from my sleep by the sound of the toilet tank cracking and hearing the water turning off and on to refill the tank. Fortunately, i was home and investigated the sounds. i experience little water damage. i will replace the tanks on all of my toilets (3).
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We had a vortens tank failure occur on 2/14/2015. We were out of state and caused damage to 60+% of the house. We are currently working with claims adjusters. Any information would be appreciated.
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Take lots of pictures, save all the pieces, and answer all questions as completely as possible. Good luck.
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Our Vortens toilet just cracked and flooded several rooms while we were at work. This toilet was replaced by the builder in 2011 when the first one cracked. Apparently they replaced it with another faulty one. The toilet in our Master Bath also cracked but we saw it before it caused any damage and replaced it ourselves. The builder is currently replacing this one that just cracked and caused so much damage as well as 2 others that have very little use, just to be safe. Our adjusted applauded us for taking lots of pictures of the areas where the water went as well as the toilet, inside and out, before we got the wet/dry vac out to get the water out. Vortens was contacted as well and we were told to have our insurance adjuster contact their legal dept. We have ServPro coming out to put in the dehydrate fans that will need to run 24 hrs. for 3 days then they will come back and spray to prevent mold. I guess insurance will pay to have the other damages taken care of then go after Vortens.
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Well it is now almost the end of May and we are still waiting to get everything replaced. It is coming together slowly. Because of all the rain we have been having. the repair crews and adjusters are so busy with new claims that we have become bottom of the list. Regarding the comments of taking lots of pictures “we did” and saving the broken tank “plumber took it away immediately” and our adjuster didn’t ask for it until 2 weeks later, but they are pretty sure this will end up in court. They will be going after Vortens first, then the plumber who installed the toilets, knowing and admitting they were not good, then the builder to try to recoup their costs and hopefully out deductible. The builder wanted to put a band aid on the damages but we chose to file a claim and get it done right. The home is only 4 yrs. old and even though we will now have to state “water damage” for the next several years, if we decide to sell, at least we know it was put back to new condition.
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Dear Renee,
Thank you for your comments. I know that working through claims like this can be very frustrating. There’s not much you can do but work through it. Since the adjuster didn’t take steps to preserve the evidence sooner, their case could be in jeopardy especially if the plumber has already discarded the toilet. The failure of your insurer to subrogate is not your fault. That’s no reason to delay the repairs to your home. You might have to keep on the adjuster as well as the restoration contractor but, hang in there. They have an obligation to repair your home. Good luck.
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Well it’seems been 17 months since our vortens flooding incident and yesterday our claims agent called and told us they have received almost 2/3rds of the total damage costs from vortens and we will be getting most of our deductible back. I didn’t really expect anything to come of this but Nation Wide kept on it. Good luck to everyone who have had major water damage from these cheap toilets.
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On March 30, 2015, I heard dripping and found the floor around our master bath toilet wet. Discovered it was coming from a crack on the back of the tank. I’m just so thankful that I was home and caught it early (no damage to our home). Shut off the water supply and flushed it to bring the water level below the crack. Took lots of pictures and submitted a claim request to Vortens. I assumed that they would blame it on us, and that it would be a battle to get them to believe that it was completely spontaneous. Much to my surprise, they simply told me to submit receipts. They actually reimbursed us. Now that I have read posts like this, I understand why they didn’t dispute my claim!
Our home was only 1 yr 9 mo old. The tank model was 3425.
Now that we received the check, I just sent an email today, asking if they can comment on the possible defectiveness that I’ve been reading about on the internet because we still have two more of the model 3425 tanks in our home.
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Dear Cindy,
Yours is the first time that I’ve ever heard of Vortens being so cooperative. Congratulations! If you haven’t already, read the post that came in the day after yours. Vortens’ attitude is completely different.
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I had a Vortens toilet tank crack around end of March 2015, it was only four years old. By the time I woke up by the sound of water, the whole first floor had flooded. Vortens doesn’t agree it is a defective piece in spite of so many cases. Although they will honor warranty, they want to replace the 1.6 gpf with 1.28 gpf tank, and want us to buy it upfront and they will reimburse later! Yeah right, good luck getting any reimbursement from this company, and I dont want any of their products in my house. I asked the builder Pulte homes to take responsibility and replace all three toilets with different brand name but they have decided to side with the vendor. I am looking to consult an attorney now, please let me know if you have any suggestions.
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Dear SJ,
I’m not surprised that the builder is siding with Vortens. You might want to ask your attorney if the builder has any liability. I know that here in Tennessee the builder can be held liable for what amounts to a defective installation. Good luck.
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Sept 11 2015 Upstairs vortens toilet tank manufactured July 2009 cracked without warning. Luckily I was home and reacted quickly or the entire house could have been destroyed. As is will cost me about $3400 including replacing 4 Vortens toilets with American Standard. Hose completed in Dec 2010.
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This happened to us as well. We were gone for about 2 1/2 hours and came back to about 1/3 of our house being flooded. Our tank SPLIT IN HALF and had water gushing out. The toilet was on the second floor and has caused significant damage to our home. We are having to stay at a hotel while our house dries out. Then we’ll have to deal with the rebuild to fix the damage. I’m so upset about this and not looking forward to paying my deductible! There is another article on this site that mentions Houston and this issue…..we are in Houston! I’m ready to rip out the other 3 toilets we have in our house by this company!!!!!!
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And our house is only 2 years old!!!!! This toilet is RARELY used…..maybe 8 times a week!!!!!!
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Mine just cracked today also. water flooded on the second floor.
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Well 6 weeks later we are almost done with repairs. Our insurance company has taken the toilet for testing. Make sure to save everything on the broken toilet. And take lots of pics. I spoke with our plumber replacing the toilets and he said he has heard of this a lot with this brand. Good luck and I’m so sorry you are experiencing this as well!
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Woke up this morning only to find out that this Toilet tank also cracked on my second floor. sever water damage on my first floor.
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Has Vortens improved their toilets now or are they still leaking? I was about to buy one.
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I am still receiving comments about fracturing units. I would not consider a purchase just yet. Perhaps consider buying another brand.
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No support or even a call back after ours failed. Why on earth would you buy a Vortens ? I had to replace all of mine at my cost.
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Extremely useful….look forwards to coming back.|
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Thanks a lot.
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I love this site – its so usefull and helpfull.|
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Thank you.
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We have 4 of those toilets in our house which was built in 2008. About 2 years ago, we had one crack after someone sat on it and leaned back. We couldn’t believe this could ever happen, but just thought it was a fluke or that he really sat down hard (which he said he didn’t). Well, we wrote that one off as a “crazy thing”. Well, this weekend, same thing happened in the master. My husband fell against it and it broke into about 6 pieces…..of course, both of these events happened when we were there and could mop up the mess and turn the water off quickly. However, I am now worried about the other 2. It never occurred to me that there might be a problem until the 2nd time and I began my investigation!
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Since in the first two cases, someone was actually involved in the failures, the impact of the individual might or might not have had anything to do with the breaks. In the other two toilet tanks that have not failed, can you spot anything that looks like the the beginning of a crack or a series of cracks? If so, I would discontinue use, turn off the water supply, drain the tank and get it replaced before either one fails. Remember it’s easier to deal with a potential problem than to wait until a failure occurs and then have to deal with drying the floor(s), replacing flooring, wall board, molding, dealing with a claims adjuster and coordinating with contractors. Even if you have some out-of-pocket expense, you will get your lives back in order much sooner if you take charge before a major catastrophe occurs.
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Our Vortens toilet tank in guest bathroom cracked too. We jsut noticed it yesterday. Water was all over floor. This is a bathroom that rarely is used. Builder(Partners and Building) or Vortens better replace all 4 of my toilets. I certainly, don’t want a disaster to happen. I already had to replace 2 of the toilet seats because they cracked . So, it has to be bad manufacturing.
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Dear Ms. Eaton,
You are correct- it has been bad manufacturing.
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We encountered the toilet tank crack incident, which caused water damage at my house more than a month ago. After checking all the toilets, there is another tank found with a crack, however, it looks like the crack was sealed before being installed. My house is more than 5 year old. Do you think the builder would reimburse us or we should claim against Vortons?
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My advice would be to explore both options. Contact both the builder and Vortens and find out what their positions are going to be. If one or the other agrees to make take responsibility then you won’t have much to do. On the other hand if both parties are going to resist, then you will have to decide how best to proceed. Please feel free to keep in contact with me as I might be able to suggest possible options for you.
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Lot’s of luck with Vortens. I got nothing from them but ignored. If there is enough damage, your insurance company might sue them. I changed out all of my Vortens units to American Standard. The builder’s plumbing company did pay for installation on three of the four. ( I had already replaced the one that failed). They are a Mexican company with little US presence and I think would be difficult to collect on in small claims court. If your loss was large, your homeowner’s insurance should handle most of it. New AS toilets also work much better as well.
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Someone from this site replied sent me a message that Vortens has a special e-mail for problems. Nothing to lose so I e-mailed them two weeks ago with still no reply (As I suspected.) If you have Vortens from any year suggest you trash them and buy units from someone reputable. For you lawyers out there, sounds like the good makings of a class action suit against Vortens !
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Since you said that you have received no response, it might mean that Vortens is no longer responding to inquires. Thanks for the “heads up” and please let us know if you ever do get a response.
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I had this happen April 19th, 2016 on a house built in 2012. I was able to catch the problem relatively quickly, so it only amounted to an hour of work moping the floor and closing the water valve to get it resolved. We are changing all three toilets just in case. Not cheap, but much cheaper than risking extensive flooding. It did happen on the guest restroom, which we seldom use.
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I’m also a recent victim of Vorten’s toilet tank failure. The restoration process is going on as I type this. I would like to know from those of you who had your toilets replaced. Did you just replace the tank or did you have the entire toilet replace?
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Readers, what do you say?
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From what I have seen, the problems are mainly with the tank, but a neighbor said she had part of her bowl break which was not a water containing section. If you replace the tank it is of course another from Vortens. That said, for piece of mind I replaced all of my toilets. I got mine from Home depot. 1st unit was an American Standard Champion 4 which I liked, but you really have to snug down the tank to prevent tank wobble. Tank has a two point support. Other three I used American Standard Optum VorMax which has a three point tank mount and a better whirling flush action. Either of these are much better than the Vortens as far as flushing, staying clean, and of course reliability, The Vormax are really good. If you can afford it, I would recommend changing them out although you might still be relatively safe with a new tank. (Low probability but high cost if a failure should occur.) I believe there are “leak sentry” valves you can google. If I were staying with Vortens I would look into these or even shutting off the water supply when you are away.
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My home is 4 yrs old the fist toliet tankcracked was upstairs luckily we saw it before it went thru ceiling and it just flooded floor that was about 4 mos ago then yesterday the downstairs bath tank cracked sometime during the night and i work up to a flood the onlything that saved my rooms downstairs from all being flooding was the door to the garage was right off the hall and the water after flooding bath, laundry room and hall ran into the garage and out garage door into driveway. The company should of made the public aware of this and done a mass recall, it would of saved alot of problems for alot of people. I would never buy this brand or recommend it to anyone shame on this company and the builders as most of them knew that is how I found out about the problem is thru a builder that i now work for as they did go and replace customers toliets
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Thank you Jo for your comment. Don’t forget to document everything and save all the pieces for your insurance carrier and their expert. Take plenty of pictures and make all the notes you can. Include dates and times as well as who you talked to and what they did. Good luck.
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Just replace three of these Vortens toilets. Installed in 2011 in a new home. Two had cracked. We were fortunate there was little damage. I will never have another toilet by Vortens in a home I purchase or build.
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On August 5, 2016 my wife and I had left the house for four hours. Upon our return we found ¼ inch of water in every room of the house. Splashing through this mess my wife found water pouring out of the back of the toilet tank in the guest bath. She stopped the torrent of water by simply turning off the valve that feeds the tank. Unfortunately the damage we done. We are the second owners of this house which was built new in 2007. We are now in the repair and recovery process. Our home owners warranty covered the replacement of the Vortens toilet tank which had cracked for no apparent reason and insurance will cover the repairs to the house less our $1,000.00 deductable. I went on line to research this manufacture and found that this cracked toilet tank is not an isolated occurrence and that the failing Vorten’s toilet tanks have resulted in thousands of dollars in water damage claims. Our concern now is do we replace both of our Vortens toilets on the outside chance this could happen again? We shudder to think of making a second water damage claim and then having our insurance cancelled. We believe the prudent action at this time is to replace both toilets completely with another brand altogether in hopes this will never happen again. Right now we are afraid to leave the house for an hour without turning off the water to house.
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Mr. Goodwin,
Thank you for sharing your experience. In answer to your question, you should go ahead and replace the other Vortens toilet. Of course, this will be at your expense but, you will have some peace of mind knowing that you can leave your home and it will be dry when you return.
Thanks again for your comments. Readers please continue to comment as people are still having problems and need to know that theirs is not an isolated incident. Those that are having trouble also want to know how others have handled their situations. Thanks to all that have contributed their stories.
R.j.
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I saw only one model mentioned #3425. Has anyone had problems with Vortens #3412-V toilets?
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Readers? Anybody have problems with a Vortens model 3412-V toilet?
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Thanks a ton for sharing your neat webpage
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We recently had a Vortens toilet crack and flood our hall bathroom. The crack started at the top of the tank near the handle. Did about $1,600 in damage. Our other toilet was also a Vortens. Had them both replaced. I talked with my neighbors. One had the same experience and the other checked their toilet and it was starting to crack.
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My Vortens Tank 3404 just cracked and flooded bathroom. Luckily I was in the home and caught it just as it was about to pour out on the wooden floor!!!!! tank had one crack from top through the flush handle to close to the bottom. Thank goodness I was there to catch it. Don’t appear to have any damage. Tile floor looks unmarked.
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I just noticed a small leak in my 3436-V tank. I removed the tank and the crack is along most of the side and back of the tank. This is a toilet that gets a lot of use. My others don’t have any visible cracks. I think I will replace the tanks with another brand if I can find the right hole pattern. Anyone had any luck with this approach, before replacing the whole toilet.
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I now have had 4 tanks crack. One causing tens of thousands of dollars in damage to my home in 2013. My home was built in 2011. I have been conversing with Vortens’ claim department for 3 months with little progress. Has anyone been successful dealing with Vortens or should I just go hire a lawyer?
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Hopefully your homeowner’s policy will cover all but your deductible. Let them sue Vortens. You will have NO luck with them without going to court. These toilets should not be allowed to be sold in the US. Why doesn’t some lawyer start a class action on them ?
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Just happened to me too . Luckily I was at home and the flood was confined to the bath room and did not do any damage. I had this Vortens toilet tank model 3412 since my house was built in 2004. Now just out of the blue it cracked and leaked . I called Vortens customer service and their agent who had a heavy foreign accent pretended not knowing much about the problem … My question is why was not there a recall initiated earlier ???
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Dear Ms. White,
In response to your question, the CPSC does not have the power to force a company, especially one that’s based in another country, to recall a product. It is my understanding that the tanks are made and stamped with the Vortens name. So, the appearance is one where the name sounds like an American company but in reality is not. So, the reason there was no recall is that there is no entity to force the Mexican company to recall the product.
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Hello, I do consent your ideasyou’ve present on this post. Toiletquestions are always nasty but you have to do, also the repair payment is not cheap. Sometimes I prefer to do the job by myself. Do you have any other posts about how to fix a leaky toilet?
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Dear Sir,
Do have a specific problem in mind?
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My toilet cracked 2/14/17 and how was built in 2012. Also an upstairs bathroom that isn’t frequently used.
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Ms. Keno,
Thank for your comment. Don’t forget to take plenty of pictures and keep notes of everything that happens if you are going to submit a claim to your insurance carrier. Good Luck.
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Our master bathroom’s Vortens’ toilet tank cracked last night (not April’s Fool’s prank) and flooded the bathroom. Our house is less than 3 years old. Will have to replace all three Vs and send the bill to the POTUS so he can make Mexico pay for them like the Wall.
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My upstairs bathroom Vortens’ toilet cracked in February 2017 and flooded my upstairs and downstairs. I was away from home for about 14 hours and returned home to my Mater Bathroom and closet a soggy mess. My daughter was away in college out of state and only the two of us live there so no-one had used the toilet in over 6 months. When my GC realized that the toilet was Vortens, he checked my other two. My guest toilet was cracked and showing signs of a slow leak. I’m in Houston and my home was built in 2007 by Castlerock Builders. They continue to use the Plumbing contractor and the plumbing contractor (Corbet Wingard & Ray, Inc.) continues to install Vortens toilets in their homes – despite their knowledge of the toilet defects.
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On Aug. 12, I had a Vortens 3464 toilet tank spontaneously crack while I was away from home for four hours. I came home to all rooms but the guest bedroom and kitchen totally flooded. USAA is handling my claim and I have provided them the info I had so they could go after Vortens. I also filed a claim with Vortens including pictures, documentation, etc. My house is in San Antonio/Helotes and was built by CastleRock Builders in 2010. USAA replaced the shattered toilet with a totally different (and better) non-Vortens model. I paid to have the second toilet (hall bath) replaced. As we were having it lifted out today, the plumber called our attention to a hairline crack just starting. Ever since the Great Toilet Flood of August, we have been turning off the water to the hall bath toilet if we leave the house for more than five minutes. Interesting that CastleRock knows about this. I got a call from CastleRock back in August when I informed them about the leak so they could warn other homeowners. They professed total ignorance
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Really good site publish. I completely value this internet site. Keep writing!
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It is not so important when your house was built and when the Vorten toilets where installed.
It is the date on the toilet as to when it was made. Right now you should not have a problem getting money back if your toilet was made in 2011. It is only the 2011 toilets that are being recalled. I wander if anyone has Vorten toilets made in 2012, 2013 and 2014 and they have cracked??? You will find a date stamped in side the toilet tanks on the upper right hand side.
Make sure to take a picture of the date and the bar code on the top left hand side of the bowl before throwing it out. They want too see a picture.
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Our house was finished in Dec 2010 and the toilets were dated 2009. The neighbor had his crack before ours and the claim was the problem was 2010. We checked ours and thought we were OK. Had a failure in the upstairs toilet shortly thereafter and have since replaced all 4 toilets with American Standard. I personally would not trust ANY Vortens toilet. BTW the American Standard flush better and stay clean way longer than the Vortens.
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I just contacted Vortens and it seems like that they are willing to reimburse for 5 toilet tank and replacement cost for all of them, the issue is they want me to pay for all and later reimbursed, I had faulty model 3464 installed in 2011.
Has anyone done that or did Vortens pay anyone back?
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Good luck I live in the Houston, Texas area my tank cracked and i was told by vortens to buy another tank and they would pay me back but I cannot find a tank anywhere. The plumbing companies do not carry a tank to fit the vortens bowl. I replaced the complete toilet at my expence
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Found your page after having model #3464 fracture this week in a rarely used guest bath. We came home (greensboro, NC) to water leaking through the kitchen ceiling and pantry. We had the entire toilet replaced. Our plumber showed us the huge crack in the side of the tank~ and stated he had never seen this happen in newer construction. I am contacting Vortens today- honestly not expecting much.
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Just found this page and had model 3464 tank crack over the weekend. Anyone found a manufacture replacement tank that will fit this toilet? Unfortunately, I can’t pull the entire toilet out without damaging the entire tile in each room. I have contacted our custom builder and Vortens, but have yet to hear from either.
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Sorry to hear about your problem. Since I hadn’t heard about any further problems for awhile, I thought the tank issues had run their course. I guess there are still some out there. You said that you had contacted your builder and the manufacturer. I wish you luck. But if you can’t get anywhere with either party, be sure to take a bunch of pictures for your insurance carrier – they will certainly want and need them in order to hold the manufacturer responsible. Be sure sure to keep good notes of who you have talked to and the dates of those conversations as well as the date that you noticed the cracked tank. Good luck. R.j.
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I could get no where with the company. I have installed a number of toilets and so I just removed both my Vorten toilets even though they had not cracked yet and threw them out. Number of my friends had these toilets as well and some had cracked. I was not going to wait and see if mine would crack. Purchased the one piece toilets from COSTCO and very happy with them.
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We bought a 7 year old home in Georgetown, Tx on June 3, 2020. On July 3, 2020 – yes ONE MONTH in the home – one of the 3 Vortens tanks cracked and flooded a jack and jill bathroom, linen closet, 2 bedrooms and their closets and a hall closet. I went online that night and quickly saw we were not alone! Our models are #3425. The home warranty we received from the sellers replaced the 1 cracked one. And I filed a claim with USAA today…hopeful they will take care of it but it looks like (based on experience of a friend) that in these situations they will have to replace the wood floors throughout the home and baseboards and perhaps sheetrock in those affected areas. What a freakin inconvenience as we are still getting things unpacked and set up. I contacted one of the attorneys that was involved in the class action lawsuit and because our model wasn’t covered in the settlement they suggested I reach out to Vortens directly. I sent them an email today. Based on comments here – I’m not holding my breath. I’m just sick.
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Ms. Alcott, I’m sorry to hear about your experience but, as you pointed out, you’re not the only one that’s been in this boat. I would suggest that you document the damage extensively if you haven’t already. Take all the pictures and video you can and save for your insurance carrier and/or litigation if necessary. Make note of all conversations, include dates and times as well as names of those you have communicated with. Save all emails and formal correspondence. It’s a long and difficult process to have to work through but, hopefully you will be “made whole” after the process is completed. Good luck and if you have any questions, please feel free to email me again. R.j.
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Can you tell me the name of your builder. Ours is Milestone. I contacted them and was asked to send an email to the “warranty department”. I haven’t heard back yet. I’m wondering if Vortens just sold to builders? The 3425 was in at least one of the class actions and was removed before the judgement for the plaintiff’s.
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I just got home today to the guest bathroom flooded. I have the Vortens 3425. Floor is possibly damaged and base boards.
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Sorry to hear that. As I mentioned before in one of my replies. I did not take a chance with these toilets even when mine had a different number and was probably okay. I replaced both and junked the Vorten ones. The company will not stand behind their product which is junk.
Hope your insurance covers most of the cost.
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Our upstairs master bath toilet cracked and flooded house. 9/19/2022 It was a 3425. Insurance turned it over to the Subrogation department. Toilets were installed in 2012 when the townhome was purchased new from Milestone Community Builders.
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I had the same incident back in 2015 with one bathroom and I just replaced the tank that time and there was no damage. But 10/11/2021, I woke up with my butler pantry and dining room filled with 1/4 inch of water because my powder room Vorten 3464 toilet tank cracked and water was leaking for 7-8 hours. Now after 24 hours, I can see that baseboards are coming out that I might have to replace.
I found that there was some case settlement (https://www.vortenssettlement.com/) but the deadline was till 12/31/2020 so I guess I can’t submit the claim.
I have a total of 5 toilets. Can I just replace the tank instead of replacing the whole toilet?
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I would suggest submitting a claim to your homeowners insurance carrier and letting them try to subrogate against Vortens. Be sure to keep all of the tank fragments as Vortens will want to see them in order to make sure it is one of their products. Also document the scene by taking plenty of pictures of the damage and ensuing repair. In answer to you question of replacing just the tank, I’m not sure that you will be able to find a generic tank that will fit this toilet and you certainly don’t want to install another Vortens tank. Be prepared to replace the entire toilet.
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Any tanks that you could purchase will be Vortens tanks that were bought up, and now offered for sale . I would not recommend a Vortens Tank, as they were manufactured at the same facilities that make the defective toilets.
Reputable manufacturers of toilets aren’t making replacement tanks for Vortens defective tanks.
Our toilet was a different model from the 2 Vortens toilets in the class actions. Ours, the 3425, was in the original filing, but at some point it was kicked out. I suspect it was because the 3425 was made in a different factory. Yet ours had the same issue. Spontaneous cracking of the tank.
We replaced the broken toilet, and another in an upstairs bathroom. All that we can afford right now. The downstairs last Vortens we shut on and off, and barely breath around it. I contacted the builder through email, no answer, and just sent another email to the CEO. We’ll see.
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