We all have need of them…but no one talks about them. We hope that others will think that perhaps we have found a better way. I learned today that most toilets sold in Lowes are ADA compliant…they are a bit taller…and sometimes a bit can make all of the difference. It is a long way down for a seat on the low toilets…for a tall person.

The lids when released by your hand…come down slow. Slow is good rather than the hard crack of the old composite seats banging against the porcelain bowl. Have you tried a bidet? They can be attached to your toilet. It is a wet wild ride!

We looked at a self-cleaning toilet this morning. I gave it a thorough examination but could not find the little man or woman who was doing the cleaning work. Many years ago I worked with a student custodian who told me that he could not lower himself to clean toilets. He had taken a job in housekeeping. I asked him if he thought that we had self-cleaning toilets. Having spent my career in Building Services I told my colleague in a staff meeting that I was indeed concerned about the ply of toilet paper and that he should be glad that someone was concerned about it.

Believing that I had a working knowledge of toilets I was amazed when we visited Italy and in the town of Collodi, which is the home of Pinnochio, that the toilets at their town park were floor level…it appeared that sitting was not an option.

We are proud of our restrooms. We put a lot of money into them. We hang fine art on the walls and pipe in music and mount television and assign them a theme… It is no wonder that we have our water closets as a point of pride for our accomplishments…it has not been that long ago that we had a path to the outhouse and read the toilet paper before its necessary use.