8 ms·

Apart from all the good discussion on hearing loss... now I’m thinking about “safer” toilets. Why are lids made from ceramic anyway? I get why the bowl is, but

Apart from all the good discussion on hearing loss... now I’m thinking about “safer” toilets. Why are lids made from ceramic anyway? I get why the bowl is, but the lid? Beyond the loudness / hearing loss issue, it’s just so darn heavy!

scarlac 9y ago
> Why are lids made from ceramic anyway? Could be because of production reasons. Easier to get it produced in the same place than to coordinate shipping to another place and assembly.
- abalone 9y ago
  But they're heavier and more expensive to ship. I doubt it's that hard to make matching lids to spec. The industry makes matching toilet seats separately, after all. It must have something to do with the material. A thread on Reddit suggests a couple possibilities:[1] - porcelain in more anti-bacterial than plastic (is that true??) - a heavy lid offers more sonic insulation of the rather loud hydraulic mechanism (this seems plausible) Man, I did not plan on getting obsessed with toilet lids today. [1] https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/29o5nz/eli5why_are_toilets_made_of_ceramic_instead_of/ https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/29o5nz/e...
Johnny555 9y ago
Probably the same reason the rest of the toilet is -- it's strong, durable, scratch resistant, doesn't degrade with age (toilets can last for decades, my parent's toilet is original with the house, so is 40+ years old), and is easy to clean. It's heavy enough to not need any fastening mechanism to keep it on. And it perfectly matches the rest of the toilet, so you don't end up with a yellowed plastic lid on your bright white ceramic toilet.
- abalone 9y ago
  > Probably the same reason the rest of the toilet is Not all of the toilet is ceramic/porcelain. Seats are typically made of durable plastic and are designed to be replaced every decade or so. A plastic lid would probably last much longer. > ...and is easy to clean A lightweight lid would be easier to clean.
kuschku 9y ago
> Why are lids made from ceramic anyway? I get why the bowl is, but the lid? Beyond the loudness / hearing loss issue, it’s just so darn heavy! I've never seen a toilet that had a ceramic lid in Germany. Is this just a US thing?
- pbhjpbhj 9y ago
  They're referring to the cistern AFAICT - so they mean that the water storage cistern has a ceramic lid, the lid of the toilet bowl is likely wood, resin, or such. TBH I can't see why with a close coupled toilet anything other than the bowl needs to be heavy ceramic.
  - kuschku 9y ago
    Oh, the cistern? those are usually enclosed in the wall here, entirely invisible, without any lid at all.
    - astura 9y ago
      Then how do you do toilet maintenance?
      - kuschku 9y ago
        you open the wall. You can remove the tiles from the drywall surrounding the cistern.
- abalone 9y ago
  Ok, as an American I have to say I marvel at the toilet technology in other countries. For example you guys often have two buttons on your toilets -- a #1 and a #2 button. It just makes sense. What are the lids made out of then?
  - kuschku 9y ago
    Typical toilets here look like this (before/after): https://www.bauen.de/media/media/Ratgeber/Ausbauen/Bad/Vorwandinstallation/Vorwandinstallation_Chlorop.jpg https://www.bauen.de/media/media/Ratgeber/Ausbauen/Bad/Vorwa...
deleted 9y ago
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scarlac 9y ago

> Why are lids made from ceramic anyway? Could be because of production reasons. Easier to get it produced in the same place than to coordinate shipping to another place and assembly.

abalone 9y ago
But they're heavier and more expensive to ship. I doubt it's that hard to make matching lids to spec. The industry makes matching toilet seats separately, after all. It must have something to do with the material. A thread on Reddit suggests a couple possibilities:[1] - porcelain in more anti-bacterial than plastic (is that true??) - a heavy lid offers more sonic insulation of the rather loud hydraulic mechanism (this seems plausible) Man, I did not plan on getting obsessed with toilet lids today. [1] https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/29o5nz/eli5why_are_toilets_made_of_ceramic_instead_of/ https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/29o5nz/e...

Johnny555 9y ago

Probably the same reason the rest of the toilet is -- it's strong, durable, scratch resistant, doesn't degrade with age (toilets can last for decades, my parent's toilet is original with the house, so is 40+ years old), and is easy to clean. It's heavy enough to not need any fastening mechanism to keep it on. And it perfectly matches the rest of the toilet, so you don't end up with a yellowed plastic lid on your bright white ceramic toilet.

abalone 9y ago
> Probably the same reason the rest of the toilet is Not all of the toilet is ceramic/porcelain. Seats are typically made of durable plastic and are designed to be replaced every decade or so. A plastic lid would probably last much longer. > ...and is easy to clean A lightweight lid would be easier to clean.

kuschku 9y ago

> Why are lids made from ceramic anyway? I get why the bowl is, but the lid? Beyond the loudness / hearing loss issue, it’s just so darn heavy! I've never seen a toilet that had a ceramic lid in Germany. Is this just a US thing?

pbhjpbhj 9y ago
They're referring to the cistern AFAICT - so they mean that the water storage cistern has a ceramic lid, the lid of the toilet bowl is likely wood, resin, or such. TBH I can't see why with a close coupled toilet anything other than the bowl needs to be heavy ceramic.
- kuschku 9y ago
  Oh, the cistern? those are usually enclosed in the wall here, entirely invisible, without any lid at all.
  - astura 9y ago
    Then how do you do toilet maintenance?
    - kuschku 9y ago
      you open the wall. You can remove the tiles from the drywall surrounding the cistern.
abalone 9y ago
Ok, as an American I have to say I marvel at the toilet technology in other countries. For example you guys often have two buttons on your toilets -- a #1 and a #2 button. It just makes sense. What are the lids made out of then?
- kuschku 9y ago
  Typical toilets here look like this (before/after): https://www.bauen.de/media/media/Ratgeber/Ausbauen/Bad/Vorwandinstallation/Vorwandinstallation_Chlorop.jpg https://www.bauen.de/media/media/Ratgeber/Ausbauen/Bad/Vorwa...

deleted 9y ago

[deleted]