Wednesday, March 5, 2008

Marco's Way Of Rating Toilets

I just thought of something interesting...After being a hard core toilet fan for so many years.how do I determine if a toilet is up to standard?

I noticed that different people have different ways of determining whether a toilet is up to standard.Some people are very concerned about cleanliness,while others care whether the toilet is old or new.

In this post,I will share with you my way of rating toilets.What type of toilets do I really fancy?Of course,there is no right or wrong.This is a very subjective matter.You may or may not agree with me.

But if you share the same sentiments,then I think we are in the same boat.

Criteria #1:Toilet Bowl

To me,this is the most important thing I look for in all toilets that I visit.If the bowl is screwed up,it affects the overall rating of the toilet.How do I rate the bowls?

The very first thing I look for is congruence.If the toilet is old,then the bowl must also be old.No point having an old toilet with a new bowl.The feeling sucks.It is like asking an old man to dress up like a teenager.

The next thing is whether the bowl is squatting or sitting.Squatting bowls tend to win more favor as compared to sitting ones.I am a great fan of squatting toilets.

Of course,if I were to rate a sitting toilet very high,then that toilet must be really good.

Next is the brand of the bowl.Is it my favorite brand?If it is,the overall rating of the toilet will also go up.

Criteria #2:Flushing System

This is another important thing that I look out for.The toilet's flushing system can affect the flushing sound of the toilet.

If the bowl is a nice brand and the flushing system is screwed up,it can spoil the flushing sound of the toilet bowl.

To me,the high cisterns are the best.They are nice to flush,and they sound the best.There is a climax,and an anti-climax.My favorite cisterns are the Shires Cisterns.In my opinion,they are the best.Nice feel and they are really powerful.

If you love toilets like me,you know what I mean.

The worst flushing systems are those small cisterns with 2 buttons on top.These are the worst.There is always not enough water to flush everything away,and the flushing sound sucks big time.Go try it out and you'll know what I mean.

I really hate these small cisterns with buttons on top.They spoil the flushing sound.No matter how good the toilet bowl is,this cistern will spoil it all.

The next screwed up ones are the sensor flushes.Although they may be cleaner,but their flushing sound sucks big time.They are slightly better than the small cisterns.

Speaking of the high cisterns,there are also 2 types.One with the straight pipe and the other with the twisted pipe.I like both actually.But let me tell you their differences.The staright pipe is more powerful that the twisted pipe,because the water flows down directly.

The reason why I like the twisted pipe is because it looks nicer and it is more uncommon.

Criteria #3:Ambience

The ambience of the toilet gives you a feeling of what type of bowls you can expect to see.Of course,in certain cases,the ambience may be good,but the bowls are all new ones.It can be very disappointing.

Those who score well in toilet bowls will usually score well in ambience.

What do I mean by ambience?Ambience refers to the type of floor tiles,wall tiles,sinks,the layout and the lighting of the toilet.

Toilets with older ambiences usually score better.I am not really a fan of newly renovated toilets.

New toilets only score well if they were built from scratch.Those which are renovated will usually get a lower score than the original old ones.

Criteria #4:Exterior

There is a saying that you can't judge a book by its cover.But let me change that a little bit.You can more or less judge a toilet by its exterior.There is a 70% chance of being right,basing on my experience.

The exterior usually gives away the first impression of the toilet.A nice,old exterior may score better than a newly renovated exterior.Unless it is originally new,then the rating is higher.

There are also cases where the exterior can be misleading.You might see an old exterior with new toilets in it.But most of the time,the exterior can give you a rough gauge of what to expect inside.

Criteria #5:Number Of Cubicles & Layout

The number of cubicles will play an important role if the toilet bowls are my favorite.A toilet will score bonus points if it has a large number of cubicles with my favorite bowls.

An example would be my beloved Jubilee Street Public Toilet in Central,Hong Kong.It has 20 cubicles of squatting Victorys,all with high cisterns.

I really hate those toilets with one cubicle only.Especially those with sucky bowls.They are bound to fail,if I come across them.

Layout is also important.I like toilets with interesting layouts.I noticed that the Public Toilets in Hong Kong have very interesting layouts.You can visit all of them and find that they are mostly different.

My favorite layout would be a row of high cisterns toilets side by side.From outside,it looks like a row of soldiers standing tall.The Shires look the best.A row of Black Beauties.

Another aspect of layout is how many different types of toilet bowls are there in the toilet.I have come across toilets with 3 different types of bowls in one single toilet.That was really impressive.Especially when all the different types of bowls are the brands I like.

In December 2002,I stumbled upon this Public Toilet at Queen's Road East,Hong Kong Island.It had 4 different types of bowl in one toilet.There was the long Squatting Victory(original),pear shaped squatting Victory,pear shaped Armitage Shanks(Singapore style) and lastly squatting American Standard.

I was pleasantly surprised when I went into that toilet.But sad to say,when I visited it again in 2004,it was demolised.The good thing is that I still have some photos of it.You can find it in my earlier posts.

Yet another aspect of layout is how you access the toilet.In a number of public toilets in Hong Kong,you need to climb up the stairs to the 2nd or 3rd floor to access the toilet.For a few rare cases,you need to climb down the stairs as the toilet is underground.

But this is not as important as the number of cubicles and number of types of toilet bowls.

Criteria #6:Cleanliness

I believe cleanliness is very important to the majority.But for me,it is one of the last criteria.It is no use for a toilet to be clean if the bowl and ambience are both screwed up.

But I would not say it is totally unimportant either.When I went to China,that was when I started to appreciate clean toilets.The toilets there are really terrible.I had to hold my breath when shooting videos.

Cleanliness only becomes important to me if I need to use the toilet.If not,I don't mind dirty toilets,as long as they meet criteria #1 to #3.

These are the 6 Criteria that I look out for when I visit a toilet.How about you?

25 comments:

toilet0toilet said...

Hey,

I run http://www.toiletmarket.com/toilet-university/index.php and I'm hoping to become acquaintances with the toilet bloggers to exchange content, links, ideas, etc...

How can one contact you?

Thanks

Marco said...

Hello,you can contact me at my youtube channel.Just look for user Marcoboy9074 at www.youtube.com.You will also be able to see the different toilet videos that I have uploaded.

Hope to hear from you soon.

Unknown said...

hey, i love your blog! haha.
just came across this funny site which is very relevant to yours... www.flushabuck.com
check it out!
john

clsbsl said...

This Site ist absolutely fabulous. You can check my Toilet-Blog to look at my toilets at: http://toilet-blogg.blogspot.com/

Ă„itees said...

Too bad that there has been no updates or has everything been said about public toilets already?

0s0-Pa said...

7. Heated seat :D
-jack @ Toto Toilets

Mr. Salaryman said...

Hey there, great to see that I'm not the only one blogging about toilets about there, if you're interested I have done a geograhpical analysis here:
http://foreignsalaryman.blogspot.com/2009/04/looking-deeply-into-toilets.html

Nadia said...

Thank you for sharing, your blog is interesting.

Toby said...

Really like your blog, I recent decided to start a blog about strictly elongated toilet related and accessories. Also looking for toilet bloggers, heading over to your youtube feed.

Unknown said...

I thought this link might belong here. It's a great toilet video and also a great product. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qVWeFB7QjtY

handro said...

Nice work Dude..

read some of this.. i am only starting

http://amazingpoo.blogspot.com/

Restroom Trailers said...

I run http://www.blacktieservices.com and I'm hoping to become acquaintances with the toilet bloggers to exchange content, links, ideas, etc...

Arie Uittenbogaard said...

Your rating protocol is outstanding! I'll be sure to use it wherever I may roam.
Thanks!
-Arie
http://arie-travels.blogspot.com/2010/12/toilets-of-world-coming-of-age-in.html

portable toilet guy said...

Amazingly I have only just found your blog! I've been hiring out portable toilets since 1987. I'll visit more often now. Cheers.

Anonymous said...

What a very interesting way to talk about the toilets! This is a really good post!
toilet partitions

Bidet Toilet Seat said...

This will definitely up the ratings of your toilets.

If you wants a good rating.. purchase a bidet that provides all the comforts of a hotel style toilet seat. We suggest that you order an electric bidet seat with full functions that include automatic sensors, heaters, deodorizers, and preset settings. This will make your everyday toilet experience a lot more enjoyable and sanitary.

google1 said...

entertaining post, a decent system for rating toilets has been needed for a while, and you have finally provided it!

Unknown said...

haha nice rating system! will bear it mind next time!

Unknown said...

http://www.facebook.com/RelevantShit?ref=hl

art and toilets...

Unknown said...

Toilet and arts: http://www.facebook.com/RelevantShit?ref=hl

THE ROAD TO STEREO!!!!! said...

Very interesting read, however I'm surprised you had cleanliness at number 6 down your list. Cleanliness is definitely first on mine, because there is no way i can do my business if there are pee stains on the seat, skid marks on the side or toilet paper on the floor. Sure its great to have a nice working toilet but how can you bring yourself to go to the bathroom when its all messy?

ken adams said...

interesting read but cleanliness is definitely my number #1...
Franklin Plumbing SC

ken adams said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
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