Taking Your Bathroom to a Whole New Level? – Part I

Bidets – Replacing Standard Toilets

Taking your bathroom to a whole new level? Let’s cover some basics you have to know before you start ripping your toilet off of the floor. First you need to decide which style you want to go with. One piece, two piece, wall mounted. There are many to choose from.

Most people have the standard floor mounted toilet, but once in a while you may come across a fancy person who has the wall mounted type. Wall mounted type toilets are more expensive than the regular toilet but they are usually better looking and easier to clean, plus you can clean under them!

The standard floor toilet come in 2 different categories: One piece and two piece. One piece toilets offer a more aesthetic appeal with a seamless finish at a higher price. The two piece toilet is a little lighter on the wallet, but they still have a nice style to them.

There is also a toilet type I like to call “Super Toilets”, because they are the bees-knees. They have a lot of features that your standard toilet doesn’t. For instance if you’re willing to pay the hefty price for a “Super Toilet” you can get one that has built in night lights, feet warmer, heated seat, automatic closing and opening lid, MP3 player, bidet function, and heated dryer. Some come with a touch screen remote and I’m sure you can operate it with your smart phone!

Once you decide on the style that you want you need to decide on what size you require. This is a big decision, because if you chose wrong you are stuck with it. The choices are Round or Elongated. Most people find elongated to be more comfortable than the round style. Although round is a little short it maxes out at 28” while the elongated can reach up to 31”. Round is a normally cheaper than its elongated counterpart simply because it uses less material.

So you have decided on the style and size, now it’s time for the height. If you just bought one without looking at the height you may be very disappointed. If you are tall and you have a standard height toilet, it may feel like you are squatting instead of sitting, since those only go up to 14”. Now if you wanted one that was taller you can go with one that is comfort height, those are 16 1/8” tall. Trust me, if you are tall the comfort height and standard height makes a huge difference.

Now if you or someone else in the household has a disability, then the Standard ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) height toilet may be ideal. Since these toilets MUST reach 17” to 19” from the toilet seat to the floor.

After you picked all that, you have to pick the aesthetic style. For example some one piece toilets have a French curve to them that goes around the back of the bowl. This style that you choose is basically just for making the toilet fit the style of bathroom you have planned. Some toilets have the standard round or elongated feel to them, while others can have a U shaped bowl or can even be square! It all depends on what you have in mind.

This includes color. Companies out there offer many different colors. There’s white, beige, black etc. Again this all comes down to how you want the bathroom to look. If you’re going for that dark marble look with dark tiles and floors, then a white toilet my throw the whole thing off.

The most common color is white. With white you will have a much larger customization options than you would if you went with black or beige. I’ve seen blue toilets, toilets with a world map on them or some sort of design. It all boils down to how you want your bathroom to look and feel.

Please stick around for part two where I discuss possible features and add-ons.