Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with wc

An answer to the TP question?

Rash — Fri, 01 Aug 2008 06:50:06 -0800

Is the metal flap on Japanese and European TP dispensers (photo) an indication that they've resolved the seemingly endless debate one hears in America about which orientation of the toilet paper roll (over or under) is better, or correct?

Who keeps clogging the toilet, and why?

dubold — Fri, 14 Mar 2008 12:57:59 -0800

[ToiletMysteryFilter]Why would someone clog a public toilet with paper every day? I work in an older building in NYC. The offices do not have individual bathrooms; there is a restroom for each gender, and each office has keys.

After I arrive at work, I go to use the facilities. For the last several months, every day, sometime between 9:30 and 10:00, the left-most stall has a great deal of toilet paper in the bowl. It is usually in a distinctive layout - it looks like it was being used to prevent contact with the seat, as well as wadded up and tossed in the bowl. I am estimating 1/5th to 1/3 of a roll is used per visit. It also looks as if there is urine in the bowl. If there is feces in the bowl, it is completely covered and not visible. Attempts to flush the toilet usually result in blockage and overflow.

I suspect it is the same person every time for two reasons. One: it's the same approx quantity and dispersal of paper every time. Two: It's about the same time every day. If I'm there before 9:30 or so, the toilet is empty. Between 9:30 and 10:00 it is plugged.

So why do I care? It's mildly inconvenient for me - only one other stall and the urinal is usable - but I would imagine terribly frustrating for the cleaning staff. For a couple weeks a plunger was left in the restroom, but that's disappeared.

I had thought about just leaving a note - something along the lines of "Hi, please stop putting so much toilet paper in the bowl".

The only thing that prevented me from leaving a note right away: there are a lot of different folks from various countries in the building. From previous Metafilter threads, I have ascertained that not everyone has the same toilet practices - is there some cultural/regional thing that I should be aware of here?

A couple years ago, we were finding water all over the floor of the bathroom, and it turned out that a couple men in the building were observant Muslims who used the sinks to wash before prayer. Obviously this is a slightly different condition, but if there's some cultural practice at work, I'll just bite my tongue and deal with it.

Before this started, I was talking to another tenant in the building, and he told me that someone was clogging a toilet on his floor daily. He described a similar condition. About 2 months later, it started on this floor.

Anyone have any clue as to what's going on here?

flushfilter: why is my toilet having a hissy fit? video inside

razzman — Wed, 24 Oct 2007 11:58:27 -0800

All of a sudden my toilet hisses when I flush it. As well as being an annoying sound, it also refills the tank very slowly. I'm no handyman but I'm loathe to pay a plumber if it's something simple I can fix myself. In the video I push the float down to demonstrate what happens on flush. Any ideas? flush video

Do you go to the toilet in front of your partner?

benzo8 — Sun, 31 Oct 2004 10:49:05 -0800

Do you go to the toilet in front of your partner? I mean, you see it all the time on movies and it's supposed to show (I guess) that the couple are relaxed and open with each other. But I've been with my girlfriend for five years and we're very open, very into each other (still), and yet I would never consider going to the toilet in front of her (number 1s, or number 2s) and would be, erm, disturbed if she did in front of me. So, are we strange and squeamish, or is TV/film skewing the field?