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A toilet, loo, lavatory or WC is a plumbing fixture and disposal system primarily intended for the disposal of the bodily wastes: urine and fecal matter. The word "toilet" can be used to refer to the fixture itself or to the room containing the fixture, especially in British English. In North American English the word "toilet" refers solely to the fixture itself and not to the room that contains it, thus asking for the "toilet" is seen as indecent; the euphemisms bathroom, restroom, washroom, men's room or ladies' room are preferred. However, the word "toilet", meaning the fixture itself, is also originally a euphemism (as are the great majority of the words for this particular fixture) and it remains in entirely polite usage in British English.

The cities of Harappa and Mohenjo-daro had flush toilets attached to a sophisticated sewage system, and a form of flush toilet was used in the Indus Valley Civilization. Although a precursor to the modern flush toilet system was designed in 1596 by Sir John Harington, the toilet didn't enter into widespread use until the late 19th Century, when it was adopted by the English upper class as a means to stratify themselves from the lower classes.

Types of toilets

The flush toilet was originally invented in the Indus Valley Civilization. The modern flush toilet was developed by Sir John Harington, but due to slurs published by himself and being ridiculed in England for his invention, his toilet was never mass-produced.

Then, Alexander Cummings, a watch-maker, patented his design for a flush toilet, which was the basis for the modern sitting toilet that a large part of the human population uses today.

There are also many different ways to clean oneself after using the toilet. A lot depends on national mores and local resources. The most common choice in the Western world is toilet paper, sometimes used in conjunction with the bidet. (See Toilet paper and Anal cleansing for a discussion of the many alternatives used through history and in different cultures.) In the Middle East and some countries in Asia, and South Asian countries such as India and Pakistan, the custom is to use water, either with or without toilet paper. Traditionally, the left hand is used for this, for which reason that hand is considered impolite or polluted in many eastern countries.

Some toilet areas (otherwise known as "stalls"), are specially adapted for people with disabilities. These are wide enough to allow the entry by a person in a wheelchair, and often feature hand-holds bolted to the wall, enabling the person to maneuver onto the toilet, if necessary.

The most common type of toilet in modern cities is the flush toilet, in which water takes away the waste through sewers to a waste treatment plant. In rural areas where sewers are not practical, septic tanks may be installed instead.

The most common design in first-world countries is the sitting toilet. Many other countries use the squat toilet, especially in public restrooms, finding it both cheaper to install and more hygenic to maintain.

Toilets in private residences

In the developed world, almost all residences have at least one toilet.

In the home, a toilet may or may not be in the same room as a shower, bathtub, and/or wash basin. Some toilets are still outdoors. One type of toilet is the tippler toilet or 'long drop'. These are based around Lancashire, England, and are flushed from a scullery. Water goes down a narrow channel or gutter and flushes the toilet, which is in an out-building.

Toilets on fire-resistance rated floors

Toilets in multi-storey buildings, located on fire-resistance rated floors typically require at least two through-penetrations, which can compromise the rating of the floor if left untreated. One opening is for the fresh water supply to flush and/or fill the water tank. The other through-penetration is for the drain pipe. The fresh water supply line requires routine firestopping. The drain pipe, however, is exempt from firestopping in many building codes, particularly when noncombustible piping is used, because the penetration terminates on the unexposed side in a ceramic bowl filled with water, which can withstand significant fires. Intumescent firestops are often used, in the event plastic pipes are used for toilet drains, so that the melting plastic pipe is choked off in the event of an accidental fire. It is, however, customary to fill the metallic drain pipe annulus with rockwool packing. Even with the best of intentions, it would be difficult for the firestopper to install a sealant, because he is not allowed or inclined to remove the flange, which is what is partially used to support the drain pipe below during the installation process.

Public toilets

Public toilets, public lavatories, or public conveniences are toilets that are accessible to the general public with common access from the street. Conveniences being the collective term for male and female designated toilets, convenience (singular) usually acquiring a gender attribute.

A public toilet may or may not cost money to use; for those that do, see "pay toilet". Between the categories of outright free and outright pay toilets, there is a grey area of toilets where a fee is expected, but not enforced. A charge levied in the UK during the mid-20th century was one British penny, hence the generally adopted term "spend a penny" meaning to use the toilet.

Public facilities often have several toilets partitioned by stalls (US) or cubicles (UK). Facilities for men often also have separate urinals, either wall-mounted fixtures designed for a single user, or a constantly-draining basin or trough for collective use. Wall-mounted urinals are sometimes separated by small partitions or other obstructions for privacy, i.e., to keep the user's genitals hidden from public view.

Outdoor public toilets (in the street, around parks, etc.) are a form of street furniture. For mixed sex arrangements, there are cubicles varying from simple devices with little or no plumbing to more luxurious versions that automatically clean themselves after every use (for the latter, see Sanisette). Facilities without walls all around are typically for urination only, and for men only; although passers-by can see the urinating men from the back, they cannot see the genitals. These street urinals are known as pissoirs after the French term (see Urinal).

Some facilities are mobile, and can thus be put in place where and when needed, e.g., for a weekend at an entertainment venue. Additionally, some can be sunk into the ground (and thereby made inoperable), for the periods that they are not needed. The idea behind this is that some people do not like the sight of a public toilet in the street, and they are more easily hidden than repeatedly moved. This type is typically installed in entertainment areas and made operational during weekend evenings and nights.

A portable toilet is an outdoor public toilet with walls which can either be connected to the local sewage system or store the waste and be emptied from time to time. Many toilets can be cleaned on the spot, or at a central location in the case of a mobile toilet or urinal. In Europe, public toilets are also set up for cities as a compensation for advertising permits. They are part of a street furniture contract between the out-of-home advertising company and the city council. The reason for this combination is the shortage in city budgets.

Terms used to identify a public toilet will vary from region to region. The Gents and The Ladies are commonly used British terms meaning the male and female toilet respectively. Some European public toilets may be marked "WC" (Water Closet); while in the Philippines the label "CR" (comfort room) is common.

Some public toilets have begun to be provided with flushable paper toilet seat covers which allow the user the comfort of knowing that they are not in contact with a surface previously used by a stranger. There is however no medical evidence that these prevent the spread of disease.

Gender and public toilets

Separation by sex is characteristic of public toilets to the extent that pictograms of a man or a woman are used to indicate where the respective toilets are. These pictograms are sometimes (e.g., in California) enclosed within standard geometric forms to reinforce this information, with a circle representing a women's toilet and a triangle representing a men's facility. Pictograms depicting men and women in traditional dress (men in pants, women in skirts) have been criticized for perpetuating gender stereotypes; however, there may be no practical alternatives. Standard gender symbols are rarely used.

Sex-separated public toilets are a source of difficulty for some people. For example, people with children of the opposite sex must choose between bringing the child into a toilet not designated for the child's gender, or entering a toilet not designated for one's own. Men caring for babies often find that only the women's washroom has been fitted with a change table. People with disabilities who need assistance to use the restroom have an additional problem if their helper is the opposite sex.

Sex-separated public toilets are often difficult to negotiate for transgendered or androgynous people, who are often subject to embarrassment, harassment, or even assault or arrest by others offended by the presence of a person they interpret as being of the other gender (whether due to their outward presentation or their genital status). Transgendered people have been arrested for using not only bathrooms that correspond to their gender of identification, but also ones that correspond to the sex they were born with.

See also: SVG symbols of restroom symbols

Many existing public toilets are gender-neutral. Additionally, some public places (such as facilities targeted to the transgendered or LGBT communities, and a few universities and offices) provide individual washrooms that are not gender-specified, specifically in order to respond to the concerns of gender-variant people; but this remains very rare and often controversial. Various courts have ruled on whether transgendered people have the right to use the washroom of their gender of identification.

A significant number of facilities have additional gender-neutral public toilets for a different reason — they are marked not for being for females or males, but as being accessible to persons with disabilities, and are adequately equipped to allow a person using a wheelchair and/or with mobility concerns to use them.

Another recent development in public toilets is the "family restroom". Family restrooms are unisex but unlike other unisex bathrooms that allow only one user at a time, the family restroom contains multiple stalls designed for maximum privacy and communal washing area for use by both genders. The family restroom is designed so that a parent with a young child of the opposite gender can bring the child into the restroom with them without the concerns associated with single-gender restrooms. Family restrooms have started appearing in newly-built sports stadiums, amusement parks, shopping malls, and major museums.

Toilets in private homes are almost never separated by sex. However, the size of a home or facility bears on the availability of options. Small facilities are limited by their space to the toilet options they can offer; it is more common to find a higher number of choices in a large facility. The same is true for homes; in more affluent households in the USA, where the homes are usually larger, bathrooms are also often more spacious than average, and more numerous. In such homes, bathrooms (especially master bathrooms) are increasingly being designed with a small adjoining room exclusively for the toilet, as well as separate washing basins. This makes it easier for couples who share a bathroom to maintain their desired level of privacy and personal space. In Australia, it has long been the case that the toilet is in a separate room from the bathroom. However, a refinement not seen often in Australia is to provide a small washbasin in the same room so that users need not emerge with unwashed hands.

Toilets in public transport

There are usually toilets in airliners, regional rail trains, and often in long-distance buses and ferries, but not in metros, school buses, trams, and other buses. Many newer trains have a waste reservoir, but, in older trains and still in some newer ones, the contents simply fall on the tracks, hence the notice which appears in many train toilets: "Please do not flush while the train is standing at a station".

Lavatories on aircraft consist of a sink, a waste bin, and a toilet. On many newer aircraft the toilet does not flush with water; rather, suction removes the waste into a collection bin below cabin level. This type is generically known as a vacuum lavatory. Older aircraft use a lavatory tank below the toilet (normally hidden by a hinged "flapper valve" at the bottom of the toilet bowl) and a pump to filter and recirculate lavatory fluid to facilitate flushing.

See also: Passenger train toilets

"High-tech" toilets

Advanced technology is being integrated into toilets with more functions, especially in Japan - see Toilets in Japan. The biggest maker of these toilets is TOTO. Such toilets can cost anywhere from US$2,000 to $5,000. The features are operated by control pads (sometimes with bilingual labels), and even hand-held remote control devices. Some of these features are

• Automatic-flushing mechanisms, operatad by a photocell or other sensor. Typically these flush a toilet when the user stands up, or flush a urinal when the user steps away.
• Water jets, or "bottom washers" like a bidet, as an alternative to toilet paper
• The "Portable Washlet", Toto's portable hand-held bottom washer
• Blow dryers, to dry the body after use of water jets
• Artificial flush sounds, to mask noises such as body functions
• Urine and stool analysis, for medical monitoring. Matsushita's "Smart Toilet" checks blood pressure, temperature, and blood sugar.
• Digital clock, to monitor time spent in the bathroom
• Automatic lid operation, to open and close the lid
• Heated seats (Some of these toilets have been known to catch on fire)
• Deodorizing fans
• Automated paper toilet-seat-cover replacers, which automatically replace a paper toilet-seat cover with the push of a button.

"Lo-tech" toilets

According to The Global Water Supply and Sanitation Assessment 2000 by the World Health Organization, 40% of the global population does not have access to excreta disposal facilities, mostly in Asia and Africa. There are efforts to design toilets that are easy to build and maintain with simple materials, that are also hygienic. The World Toilet Organization has created some designs.

Toilets for people with disabilities

Toilets for people with disabilities have a number of alterations to help people with a disability, most notably for people who use wheelchairs. These toilets may include lowered fixtures such as sinks and water fountains; adequate space and grab bars for maneuvering. In the United States, most new construction for public use must be built to ADA standards for accessibility. See Accessible toilets for more details.

Grey water

In some areas with water shortage issues, in order to conserve levels of potable water, some installations use grey water for toilets. Grey water is waste water produced from processes such as washing dishes, laundry and bathing.

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History

Toilets appeared as early as 2500 BC. The people of the Harappan civilization in Pakistan and north-western India had water-flushing toilets in each house that were linked with drains covered with burnt clay bricks. Around the 15th century BC, toilets started to appear in Minoan Crete; Egypt in the time of the Pharoahs, Persia, and ancient China. In Roman civilization, toilets were sometimes part of public bath houses.

Roman toilets, like the ones pictured here, are commonly thought to be used in the sitting position. But sitting toilets only came into general use in the mid-19th century. A strong case has been made for the squatting hypothesis.

Etymology

The word "toilet" came to be used in English along with other French fashions (first noted 1681). It originally referred to the whole complex of operations of hairdressing and body care that centered at a dressing table covered to the floor with cloth (toile) and lace, on which stood a mirror, which might also be draped in lace: the ensemble was a toilette. The English poet Alexander Pope in The Rape of the Lock (1717) described the intricacies of a lady's preparation:

And now, unveil'd, the toilet stands display'd Each silver vase in mystic order laid.

Through the 18th century, everywhere in the English-speaking world, a toilet remained a lady's draped dressing-table. The word was adapted as a genteel euphemism for the room and the object as we know them now, perhaps following the French usage cabinet de toilette, much as powder-room may be coyly used today, and this has been linked to the introduction of public toilets, for example on railway trains, which required a plaque on the door. The original usage has become indelicate and obsolete, and has been replaced by dressing-table.

Vestiges of the original meaning continue to be reflected in terms such as toiletries, eau de toilette and toilet bag (to carry flannels, soaps, etc). This seemingly contradictory terminology has served as the basis for various parodies e.g. Cosmopolitan magazine ("If it doesn't say 'eau de toilette' on the label, it most likely doesn't come from the famed region of Eau de Toilette in France and might not even come from toilets at all.")

The word toilet itself may be considered an impolite word in the United States, whilst elsewhere the word is used without any embarrassment. The choice of the word used instead of toilet is highly variable, not just by regional dialect but also, at least in Britain, by class connotations. Nancy Mitford wrote an essay out of the choice of wording; see U and non-U English. Some manufacturers show this uneasiness with the word and its class attributes: American Standard, the largest manufacturer, sells them as "toilets", yet the higher priced products of the Kohler Company, often installed in more expensive housing, are sold as commodes or closets, words which also carry other meanings. Confusingly, products imported from Japan such as TOTO are referred to as "toilets", even though they carry the cachet of higher cost and quality. When referring to the room or the actual piece of equipment, the word toilet is often substituted with other euphemisms and dysphemisms (See toilet humor). As old euphemisms have become accepted, they have been progressively replaced by newer ones, an example of the euphemism treadmill at work. The choice of word used to describe the room or the piece of plumbing relies as much on regional variation (dialect) as on social situation and level of formality (Register (linguistics)).

Lavatory

The term lavatory, abbreviated in slang to lav, derives from the Latin lavātōrium, which in turn comes from Latin lavāre, to wash. It used to refer to a vessel for washing, such as a sink/wash basin, and thus came to mean a room with washing vessels. Since these rooms often also contain toilets, the meaning evolved into its current one, namely the polite and formal euphemism for a toilet and the room containing it. Lavatory is the common signage for toilets on commercial airlines around the world.

Loo

The origin of the (chiefly British) term loo is unknown. According to the OED, the etymology is obscure, but it might derive from the word Waterloo. The first recorded entry is in fact from James Joyce's Ulysses (1922): "O yes, mon loup. How much cost? Waterloo. Watercloset".

Other theories are:

• That it derives from the term "gardyloo" (a corruption of the French phrase gardez l'eau (or maybe: Garde de l'eau!) loosely translated as "watch out for the water!") which was used in medieval Edinburgh when chamber pots were emptied from a window onto the street. However the first recorded usage of "loo" comes long after this term became obsolete.

• That the word comes from nautical terminology, loo being an old-fashioned word for lee. The standard nautical pronunciation (in British English) of leeward is looward. Early ships were not fitted with toilets but the crew would urinate over the side of the vessel. However it was important to use the leeward side. Using the windward side would result in the urine blown back on board: hence the phrases 'pissing into the wind' and 'spitting into the wind'. Even now most yachtsmen refer to the loo rather than the heads.

• That an early British toilet manufacturer produced a model of cistern named "Waterloo" (in honour of the Battle of Waterloo), and the term derives from 'going to the Waterloo', and then abbreviated to simply as 'going to the `loo'.

WC

The WC refers to the initial letters of Water Closet, used commonly in France (pronounced "le vay-say" or "le vater"). This modern usage is correct when referring to the bathroom only, as the proper French pronunciation of the letter "W" is "duble-vay," making the original pronunciation "le duble-vay-say." However, this longer form has become virtually obsolete in French speaking regions. The term is also used in the Netherlands (pronounced "waysay") and in Germany (pronounced "vey-tsay").

In Mexico, WC is very common everywhere on public toilets, although the majority of the people there do not know the meaning of the 'mysterious' letters on the door.

Jacks

In Tudor England a privy was first referred to as a jakes in 1530. In modern Ireland the cognate term jacks is still used, and is a very common method of referring to the toilet. In the Irish youth culture, 'going to the jacks' is a common term used, even when someone has no need or no intention to avail of toiletry facilities.

House of Office

The "house of office" was a common name for a toilet in seventeenth century England, used by Samuel Pepys among others.

Khazi

Lexicographer Eric Partridge derives khazi, also spelt karzy, kharsie or carzey, from a low Cockney word carsey originating in the late 19th century and meaning a privvy. Carsey also referred to a den or brothel. It is presumably derived from the Italian casa for house, with the spelling influenced by similar sound to khaki. Khazi is now most commonly used in the city of Liverpool in the UK, away from its cockney slang roots.

Bog

The bog is a colloquial expression in British English for a toilet. Originally "bog" was used to describe an open cesspit and the word was later applied to the privy connected to it. More wide-spread is the usage bogroll, meaning toilet paper. See also tree bog, not to be confused with the swampland meaning of bog.

Clonker

The Clonker So called because of the noise made when a stool hits the water, especially British toilets where the water is lower than US toilets.

Dunny

The Dunny is an Australian expression for an outside toilet. The person who appeared weekly to empty the pan beneath the seat was known as the dunnyman. The word derives from the British dialect word dunnekin, meaning dung-house. It is now an informal word used for any lavatory and is most often used referring to drop or pit lavatories in the Australian bush.

Netty

The Netty is a Northern English or Geordie expression for an outside toilet, purported to be a borrowing from the French "nettoyer," to clean or wash, similar to washroom.

Shithouse

The Shithouse is British and American slang for the toilet.

John

The John is an American term for the toilet.

Privy

The Privy is an old fashioned term used more in the North of England and in Scotland, a possible derivation meaning PRIVate place

Crapper

The Crapper is another term in general use, along with the word 'crap', meaning excrement. Crapper is the name of one Thomas Crapper, who is mistakenly associated with the invention of the modern flush toilet. He did have several patents related to plumbing, but the word "crap" predates him.

Vin

Vin is used by some members of the English Aristocracy and upper classes. Although the word 'vin' is rarely used in modern England, some private schools in England still use the term, such as Summer Fields School a Prep School in Oxford. In that school, it is against the rules to refer to the lavatory as 'the vin' when asking for permission to leave the room to relieve oneself.

Topos

The Greek word 'θέση' (pronounced topos, meaning 'place') is used in Rugby School, the famous English Public School, to describe a lavatory. Until recently it would have been considered rude for any boy there to use any other euphemism. Many British upper-class establishments have developed their own insider languages for various commonly-used words, and these will often derive from the classical education which is still prized there. The advent of mass communication such as television is rapidly making such usage obsolete.

Latrine

Latrine is a term common in the military, specifically for the Army and Air Force for any point of entry facility where human waste is disposed of, which a civilian might call a bathroom or toilet, regardless of how modern or primitive it is.

Heads

The Heads referred specifically to a ship's toilets, so named from their position at the bow, where they would be sluiced clean by the waves. 18-19 centuries.

Culture

Toilet training

An important part of early childhood education is toilet training.

Disposal

The connection made between toilets and dirt, or distasteful items, has led to them being also used to dispose of wedding rings, letters or critical reviews with which one disagrees (cf. Goethe's example). In this case, the use is partly (and in many cultures very strongly) symbolic, as in most human cultures the places used to dispose of faeces and urine have some connotation related to dirtiness or rejection.

Graffiti

Public toilets have been associated with graffiti, often of a transgressive, gossippy, or low-brow humorous nature (cf. toilet humour). The word latrinalia --from latrine 'toilet' and -alia, signifying a worthless collection--was coined to describe this kind of graffiti. A famous example of such artwork, was featured on the album cover of the satirical Tony-award Broadway musical Urinetown, using felt tip pen scribblings.

Furtive sexual relations

Similarly, toilets have long been associated with furtive sexual relations. These include assignations ("for a good time call..." messages, note-passing between stalls) as well as the acts themselves, for which dalliances toilets provide a convenient (though not necessarily sanitary or romantic) venue.

For many years, gay men have used them for "cruising" and other (anonymous sexual contact). When used for such purposes in the United States, public toilets are often referred to as "Roman tea rooms", often just shortened to "T-rooms". In the United Kingdom, the act of picking up a sexual partner for a same-sex 'quickie' is better known as cottaging, a cottage in the general sense being a small, cosy, countryside home. This was probably because a common 1950s British design for a public toilet resembled a small house with a tiled roof, sited beside a playing field or common. The playwright Joe Orton made reference to this practice in his plays.

Particularly associated with toilets is the use of glory holes for peeping, or anonymous fellatio. Another example, equally open to heterosexual participation, would be sex in airplane toilets, which is reflected in the phrase "Mile High Club".

Social bonding

Public toilets are often important arenas of male, as well as female social bonding. Boys and girls may use the facilities to talk about sporting events, politics, or gossip. Often, children will sneak into the room designated to the opposite sex as an intentional act of boundary-transgression.

In many cultures, each gender has its own distinct toilet etiquette for social situations. For example, American women out for a night on the town may invite one another to go to the toilet together as a way of excusing themselves from the men in their party (e.g. at a restaurant table), and once inside the so-called restroom, chat with abandon. In this sense the public toilet serves as the modern equivalent of the drawing room -- a private space to which to withdraw. Men tend to be more reticent and may even experience pee shyness, yet they too may feel a certain camaraderie. This is often more easily felt during outdoor, toilet-less urination, e.g. on a tree or a wall.

The "Great Equalizer"

The toilet is noted as one of the unifiers of humanity, as people of all social classes must use it. Simply put, everyone defecates, and this factor of biology is seen by some to be unifying.

In Poland, it is reflected by calling the toilet euphemistically as the place, "gdzie nawet król chodzi piechotą" (where even the king comes on foot). A similar saying was used in imperial Germany, and a similar saying is still known in Hungary "ahová a király is gyalog jár" (where to even the king goes by foot). In Greek the phrase "Εκεί όπου και ο Βασιλεύς πηγαίνει μόνος" (the place where even the King goes alone) is used. A parallel expression is sometimes used in Russian, "Я иду куда сам царь пешком ходил" (I shall go to where the Tsar walks), although it is generally considered archaic in contemporary Russian.

Toilets as refuge

Because of the privacy associated with restrooms, they are perceived by some as places of solace. For example, one might go to the restroom at work simply to escape from the pressures of coworkers, or a school restroom to escape harassment by peers, or the restroom at home to escape domestic troubles. Because of the solace of restrooms, many people also bring books to read, or more recently, portable video game systems or music players into them to play or listen to while or after defecating. Notably, Ernest Hemingway had a bookcase in the bathroom near the toilet.

One Silicon Valley computer professional had a telephone in every room of his house, including cheap phones near the toilet in every bathroom. Another engineer had in his bathroom a combination radio, telephone, and toilet-paper dispenser.

Toilet paper security

Many private and public toilets are provided with toilet roll holders, each of which can hold up to two complete rolls of toilet paper at one time. This arrangement is most effective if paper is always used from the roll with less paper on it. Then, there is an allowance of one complete roll before a completely used roll is replaced. (In effect, the inventory of toilet paper at the toilet has a minimum of one roll and a maximum of two rolls). However, if both rolls are finished at the same time, there is a risk of being without toilet paper before the next replacement.

Some facilities address this problem by installing a spring-loaded dispenser in which the current roll is the only one readily visible (thus encouraging the user to take from the current roll). This type of dispenser often has an overhang or plastic tab obscuring the next roll, which springs down into place when the current roll is used up. One effect is that the user may choose a different stall based on how much paper apparently remains. Other facilities have a single massive roll in a clear container to indicate how much paper remains so the user is not caught without paper, nor worried about it.

How toilet cisterns work

Cisterns are either lever or push button operated. Cisterns operated by a push button are available in single (6ltr) or dual flush (3ltr/6ltr) depending on the range. The majority of cisterns are now internal overflow; this means in the event of a failure, the water will be contained within the unit.

How they are made

Pottery is made by a blend of clays, fillers and fluxes being fused together during the firing process. A white or coloured glaze is applied and is fused chemically and physically to the clay body during the same firing process. The finished product (vitreous china) has a very hard surface and is resistant to fading, staining, burning, scratching and acid attack. Due to the firing process and natural clays used, it is normal for the product to vary in size and shape, and +/- 5mm is normal.

How to look after them

It is recommended that pottery be cleaned with warm soapy water. A form of liquid soap may be used mixed with water to create a cleaning solution that will not stain the pottery.

Manufacturers

List of manufacturers of toilets and fixtures:

• American Standard Companies
• Armitage Shank Company of U.K.
• Crane
• Dongfeng
• Duravit AG of Germany
• Eljer Plumbling Company
• GBH Company of Malaysia
• HCG Company of Taiwan
• Ina/Inax Company of Japan
• Johnson Suisse
• Karat Company of Thailand
• Keramag Ceramic Company of Germany
• Kohler Company
• Laufen Company of Switzerland
• TOTO
• Villeroy & Boch Company
• COTTO
• VitrA

Bibliography

• Temples of Convenience - And Chambers of Delight by Lucinda Lambton
• Thunder, Flush and Thomas Crapper by Adam Hart-Davis
• Bernard Share Slanguage - a dictionary of Irish slang (Dublin,1997) ISBN 0-7171-2683-8

References

1. http://www.harappa.com/indus/12.html
2. http://www.the-south-asian.com/April2004/toilet_museum.htm
3. http://tampub.uta.fi/index.php?tiedot=79
4. http://www.infoweb.co.nz/toilet
5. http://www.victoriancrapper.com/Toilethistory.HTML
6. http://www.amazon.com/Poop-Culture-America-Grossest-National/dp/193259521X Poop Culture: How America is Shaped by its Grossest National Product by Dave Praeger ISBN 1-932-59521-X
7. MIT medical Ask Lucy archive on paper toilet seat covers. June 28, 2006
8. A History of Technology, Vol.IV: The Industrial Revolution, 1750-1850. (C. Singer, E Holmyard, A Hall, T. Williams eds) Oxford Clarendon Press, pps. 507-508, 1958
9. http://naturesplatform.com/health_benefits.html#antiquity
10. http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/dunny
11. NPR: "Tracking Hemingway in Cuba", September 25 2002

See also

• Japanese toilets
• Squat toilet
• Plumbing
• Plumbing fixture
• Plumbing drainage venting
• Domestic water system
• Washroom architecture
• World Toilet Organization (organizers of the annual "World Toilet Summit")
• Ecological sanitation
• Bidet
• Toilet paper
• Hygiene
• Cleaning bathrooms
• Excretion, Urination, Defecation
• Human feces
• Humanure
• Jonathan Routh, for his publications The Good Loo Guide (to London), Guide Porcelaine to the Loos of Paris, and The Better John Guide (to New York).
• Toilet roll holder
• Toilet-related injury
• Human toilet
• Toilet granny
• Flying toilet
• Space toilet (zero gravity toilet)
• Toilet brush

External links

• Toiletology 101/Free Toilet Repair Course
• How to Repair a Toilet / Commode
• History of Public Toilets
• Wells and Toilets - A short history of wells and toilets, free book in pdf format (2005)
• Australian National Public Toilet Map (and trip-planner) with over 14,000 listings
• German webpage with toilets from all over the world
• Dual Flush Toilets
• Who Invented The Water Closet? - A short history of the toilet.
• How to make simple toilet repairs - Good cross-section illustration of toilet tank parts.
• ToiletZone (FR) - French website with toilet picture gallery
• Tippler Toilet description
• Ancient Indian code for Toilets
• British Toilet Association (BTA)
• Unisex Bathroom Directory (USA)
• World Toilet Rated Guide(CAT)
• Toilet, its history and reality.
• A Guide To WC's and Toilets.
• Pub Toilets - The Pub Review guide focusing on toilets.
• Yo Shittin' Me - Regularly updated blog featuring toilets and anything humourous relooted to them. Submit your own!

• Articles with specifically marked weasel-worded phrases from June 2007
• Toilets