5 ms·

I thought it was intended to make it easier to inspect for worms which, due to the diet, were more common in Germany.

by travem 16y ago

ugh 16y ago
It’s there so you can inspect your poo. Kinda useless, though, and annoying. There is obviously no good reason for it to exist (anymore?) and I think it’s very much dying out. My parent’s house has one (out of four, built twenty years ago), if I should ever build a house or fit out my own bath room I most definitely won’t get one :)
mhd 16y ago
I really would like to know where that rumor came from. Yes, Germans tend to eat lots of meat, but that's more a common Western trait, and I doubt that it was this "bad" when the "Flachspüler" was first introduced. We do like our sausages, but don't tell me that British meat pies and puddings are less likely to cause worms and other parasites. Inspection is one reason, so while the shelf toilet is getting less common, doctors and hospitals still tend to have them. Maybe that was a craze at one time, I don't really know a lot of people who inspect their stool -- or that of others, to dispel those South Park rumors... It does have one added benefit: Reduced splash-back for #2. US toilets are really nasty in that regard, as the water level seems to be higher than in Europe.
- ars 16y ago
  You can change the water level by adjusting the fill tube. Clamp it lightly to cause less water to flow into the bowl.
  - mhd 16y ago
    Of course it's not big technical issue, but one wonders why the average setting seems to be that much higher. Probably because it saves some cleaning (toilet brushes are also less common here), at the cost of more water wasted. And as My First American Toilet(tm) was in a hotel, I didn't feel like going all Super Mario on it anyway...
    - ars 16y ago
      Hotels don't count, especially the fancy ones. Did you try out any home toilets? (Knock knock - can I look at your toilet sir?) I'm willing to put a ruler in mine, if you will.
      - mhd 16y ago
        Being caught measuring the water level of toilets would be something I'd never be able to live down. As if Hasselhoff, Nazis and fecal porn aren't enough food for stereotypes... And no, it wasn't a fancy hotel, it was a Holiday Inn Express. Since then, I staid in quite a few company apartments, been invited in a few homes etc. I didn't measure any water levels in Germany (or England, Greece, Italy...), either, so this isn't exactly scientific. But considering that I haven't seen that many toilet brushes here in Jersey (and NYC), you probably need a higher water level. I bet it's different in states where wasting water is worse. And if I remember correctly, Dave Barry wrote quite a bit about water-saving toilets a couple of years back.
        ars 16y ago
        > seen that many toilet brushes I don't think that's representative. All the houses I've been in had one. It's possible people just put them where they are not very visible.
- noonespecial 16y ago
  Ok, thanks. In light of this, I'm gonna have to stick with the "easier for parents to spot those swallowed pfennig on the way out" explanation. This seemed most logical.

I thought it was intended to make it easier to inspect for worms which, due to the diet, were more common in Germany.

by travem 16y ago

I thought it was intended to make it easier to inspect for worms which, due to the diet, were more common in Germany.

ugh 16y ago

It’s there so you can inspect your poo. Kinda useless, though, and annoying. There is obviously no good reason for it to exist (anymore?) and I think it’s very much dying out. My parent’s house has one (out of four, built twenty years ago), if I should ever build a house or fit out my own bath room I most definitely won’t get one :)

mhd 16y ago

I really would like to know where that rumor came from. Yes, Germans tend to eat lots of meat, but that's more a common Western trait, and I doubt that it was this "bad" when the "Flachspüler" was first introduced. We do like our sausages, but don't tell me that British meat pies and puddings are less likely to cause worms and other parasites. Inspection is one reason, so while the shelf toilet is getting less common, doctors and hospitals still tend to have them. Maybe that was a craze at one time, I don't really know a lot of people who inspect their stool -- or that of others, to dispel those South Park rumors... It does have one added benefit: Reduced splash-back for #2. US toilets are really nasty in that regard, as the water level seems to be higher than in Europe.

ars 16y ago
You can change the water level by adjusting the fill tube. Clamp it lightly to cause less water to flow into the bowl.
- mhd 16y ago
  Of course it's not big technical issue, but one wonders why the average setting seems to be that much higher. Probably because it saves some cleaning (toilet brushes are also less common here), at the cost of more water wasted. And as My First American Toilet(tm) was in a hotel, I didn't feel like going all Super Mario on it anyway...
  - ars 16y ago
    Hotels don't count, especially the fancy ones. Did you try out any home toilets? (Knock knock - can I look at your toilet sir?) I'm willing to put a ruler in mine, if you will.
    - mhd 16y ago
      Being caught measuring the water level of toilets would be something I'd never be able to live down. As if Hasselhoff, Nazis and fecal porn aren't enough food for stereotypes... And no, it wasn't a fancy hotel, it was a Holiday Inn Express. Since then, I staid in quite a few company apartments, been invited in a few homes etc. I didn't measure any water levels in Germany (or England, Greece, Italy...), either, so this isn't exactly scientific. But considering that I haven't seen that many toilet brushes here in Jersey (and NYC), you probably need a higher water level. I bet it's different in states where wasting water is worse. And if I remember correctly, Dave Barry wrote quite a bit about water-saving toilets a couple of years back.
      - ars 16y ago
        > seen that many toilet brushes I don't think that's representative. All the houses I've been in had one. It's possible people just put them where they are not very visible.
noonespecial 16y ago
Ok, thanks. In light of this, I'm gonna have to stick with the "easier for parents to spot those swallowed pfennig on the way out" explanation. This seemed most logical.