Toilets: from building to choice

The toilet is the most important plumbing fixture that determines the level of comfortable living in a comfortable home. It is from his good work and ergonomics that the convenience of using the bathroom depends.

The prototype of a modern toilet appeared more than 4 centuries ago. He invented John Harrington's reservoir, so unusual for those times, and he did it specifically for Her Majesty Elizabeth I. However, due to the lack of plumbing and sewer communications in the houses, the innovation was not widespread, and remained at the level of ingenious, but useless for mass use development.

And only after a couple of centuries, namely in 1738, a toilet was created with a flush, and a little later, in 1775, designer A. Cummings invented and patented a water trap system that solves the problem of unpleasant odors.

The ingenious engineering solution impressed contemporaries very much and inspired the best design minds to finalize and modernize the new device. So, in 1777, J. Preiser supplemented the existing model with a valve-type flushing tank and equipped it with a handle.

And a year later, T. Krepper, the owner of several technical patents, developed and tested a metered discharge system, which has survived to this day with virtually no changes.In this form, the toilet remained until the second half of the XIX century, until in 1883 T. Twyford made changes to the Crepper model. He added a wooden seat to it and used beautiful earthenware to make the bowl instead of the previously used cast iron.

The creation turned out to be so successful that it won the highest gold award at the International Health Exhibition, held in London in 1884. The device was called nothing more than a toilet chair, and the term “toilet” appeared a little later and owes its origin to the Spanish company Unitas, which produced and supplied its plumbing fixtures to different countries at the end of the 19th century.

In Tsarist Russia, the production of toilets began at the dawn of the 20th centuryafter industrialists acquired a license for their production. By 1912, about 40 thousand copies were made in the country, and in 1929 alone - 150 thousand pieces. After the adoption of the five-year plans, the Soviet government instructed to bring production to the level of 280 thousand units per year, thereby providing all state institutions and most apartment buildings with the benefits of civilization.

The Soviet toilet was an earthenware bowl with a drain tank, towering above it on a long pipe. A metal chain was attached to the drain handle, equipped with a wooden knob for convenience. Such copies were made honestly, because of which they can still be seen in the communal apartments of the countries of the former USSR.

In other countries, for example, in the USA, the development and introduction of toilets in everyday life went a little slower, and the first toilet bowl independently constructed by American specialists appeared in 1890 (today the model is in the Seattle Museum). Until the time when the production of devices was established within the country, they were massively purchased from the same Unitas company, however, after building its own production facilities, America quickly advanced and only the Japanese could compete with it.

The toilet is arranged quite simply and consists of several modules - a bowl, flushing cistern and toilet seat.

The bowl is used to receive and temporarily find sewage that is discharged into the sewage system by the drainage system. At the bottom of the bowl is an S-shaped siphon, in which there is always a water plug that provides a water seal and prevents the contaminated liquid from returning to the bowl.

Siphon ends with outlet - a short length of pipe to ensure that feces leave the sewer.

The tank is used for the accumulation and storage of tap water, designed to clean the bowl of fecal matter. It has a simple structure and consists of a filling system and a descent mechanism. The filling system is represented by a float valve, which stops the flow of water into the tank after it reaches a certain level, and an inlet pipe, which ensures the flow of water from the water pipes directly into the drain tank.

The pipe has a flexible design, side or bottom connection and is made of anti-corrosion materials. The bottom approach is preferable in that filling the tank is absolutely silent, and during the flow of water from the side nozzle, the murmur is heard quite clearly.

The descent mechanism depends on the design of the drain tank and can be pear and siphon. The first is used in compact low-lying tanks and is represented by a rubber bulb located at the bottom of the tank and blocking the drain hole.

When you press the flush button, the pear floats to the surface of the water, opens a drain hole and allows water to exit the tank into the bowl. After the flush button is released, the pear returns to its place and reliably closes the drain hole of the tank. Such tanks are equipped with overflow protection, represented by a discharge pipe.

The siphon descent mechanism is used in high-mounted tanks, when when you press the lever, water, due to the siphon effect, flows with noise through a long pipe and washes the bowl. Such a mechanism is not found very often and began to go down in history with high tanks.

This structural element is designed for comfortable placement on the toilet, it consists of a seat and a cover. According to their design, the toilet seats are soft and hard, and their fastening to the bowl is carried out using metal or plastic fasteners.

The classification of toilets is made according to several criteria, such as the type of installation, the design and location of the drain tank, the way the drain is controlled, the type of bowl, discharge into the sewers, the type of flush and the material of manufacture.

On this basis, toilets are divided into floor and suspended.

Floor models placed on the floor and attached to it by means of the included dowels. The advantages of this type include wide consumer availability, the possibility of acquiring budget models and ease of installation.

Among the shortcomings, some bulkiness of the products is noted, which is especially noticeable in small bathrooms. Floor models come in several forms: this classic toilets with a compact cistern, attached (wall-mounted) models that fit snugly against the wall, and Genoa bowls bearing the name of Turkish toilets.

Wall hung toilets appeared on the market much later than the floor, but immediately gained popularity and gained a lot of fans. In addition to saving space in bathrooms, the advantages of hanging models include the possibility of wet cleaning the floor under the bowl and a stylish appearance. The device is mounted directly on the wall using a block or frame installation, the type of which is selected depending on the quality of the wall.

In outboard models, the drain tank is usually walled up along with the installation, and a panel with shutter buttons is left on the surface. The mechanisms of the built-in reservoirs are designed in such a way that if necessary, they can easily be removed from the cavity of the tank through the holes of the shutter buttons.

Drain tanks differ among themselves by the descent mechanism, which was discussed above, and the location. According to the last sign distinguish compact tanksmounted directly on the back of the toilet, and separate tanks.

Compact models can have a solid structure with a toilet casing or can be mounted on it with bolts and a rubber cuff, which ensures the tightness of the drain system. Freestanding tanks are connected to the toilet bowl using a pipe and can be located next to the device or be built into the wall.

Older cistern models connected to the toilet casing with a two-meter pipe also belong to this type of reservoirs and provide better flushing in comparison with compact models. High flushing efficiency is due to the greater speed of the water flow entering the bowl from a sufficiently high height.

Tanks built into the wall are usually included in the installation system and, together with a drainage pipe, water pipe and fittings, are hidden behind the false wall.

On this basis, a button and lever flush system are distinguished. Lever models are equipped with a special lever located on the side of the drain tank, when pressed, water is released. However, this type of control is a thing of the past, giving way to a more modern button flush.

According to their design, there are toilet bowls dish-shaped, visor and funnel-shaped.

At plate-shaped patterns the back wall of the bowl is made in the form of a horizontal ledge and resembles a plate in shape. The advantage of this design is the absence of a splash when fecal matter enters the bowl, and the disadvantages include an unpleasant odor that will spread from the toilet until flushing is performed.

IN visor models the back wall of the bowl has no ledges and is located under a uniform slope of 35-40 degrees relative to the drain.

The only minus of the visor models is the need to clean the “slope” of the bowl with a brush after each visit to the toilet or use a more thorough, often double flush.

Funnel bowl has the shape of a funnel and is used more in foreign models. Despite the presence of a “splash” from fecal matter, this form is considered more hygienic: the walls of the toilet practically do not get dirty, and the unpleasant smell just does not have time to spread through the toilet.

The location of the bends designed to release the contents of the toilet into the sewer horizontal, oblique and vertical. When choosing the most suitable option, they focus on finding a sewer pipe.

So, if the pipe is in the floor, then it is better to buy a toilet with a vertical outlet, which will significantly save space in the toilet. The exhaust pipe of models of this type is directed strictly down and hidden in the toilet casing.

A toilet with an oblique outlet is selected if the sewer lounger is located in the floor too close to the wall and there is no way to use the vertical outlet. The connection of the toilet to the sewer pipe is performed by means of a corrugated pipe.

Horizontal release It is considered the most universal way to connect the toilet with a sewer pipe located in the wall. Models with horizontal and oblique outlets are widely used in our country, which again is explained by the peculiarities of the layout of intra-house sewer communications.

According to this criterion, toilets are with direct and circular flush. The first are a traditional design in which water, without changing its direction, moves from the tank into the bowl and washes its middle part. This flushing method produces a lot of noise and spray.

In devices with circular flushing, water flows during movement from the tank to the bowl pass through special channels, evenly distributed over the entire diameter of the bowl. This method is almost silent, very economical and does not create splashes. The disadvantage of circular flushing is the high probability of clogging of thin channels when using too hard tap water.

A review of the varieties of toilets would not be complete without mentioning the special samples, which include the toilets installed on trains. Such models have a reinforced structure, consisting of a sturdy steel casing, and are equipped with a foot switch or a vacuum drainage system. At the first, the water supply to the flush is carried out after pressing the pedal and occurs synchronously with the opening of the lower damper. The second are better known as dry closets, in which the process of flushing and removing feces occurs after pressing a special key located on the side of the toilet bowl on the wall.

The modern plumbing market offers a huge selection of toilets of various shapes and sizes. According to the existing state standard, Russian companies produce toilet bowls in the following dimensions of height, length and width: 33.5x40.5x29 cm - children's models, 40x46x36 cm - appliances that do not have a solid shelf for a compact tank, and 37x60.6x34 cm - items equipped a shelf under the tank. However, with the arrival of foreign samples on the Russian market, one can often find specimens whose height varies from 420 to 500 mm.

When installing outboard models there are no strict height requirements, but the distance between the floor and the bottom of the toilet should not be less than 20 cm. When choosing the size of the toilet, you must pay attention to the shape of the bowl. So, round models take up much less space than oval ones, but using them is not as convenient as oblong ones.

For the production of toilets, materials such as stainless steel, plastic, natural and artificial stone, porcelain and earthenware are used. The last two materials are made from the same raw materials and differ only in firing technology.

• China It is considered the highest quality material and has a very dense structure. Due to this, porcelain toilets are able to serve for more than 30 years, have minimal water and odor absorption, are easy to clean, and much longer, unlike faience models, preserve the integrity of the glazed coating.

• Faience It is an economy class material, it serves much less than porcelain, has a water absorption of about 10% and quickly loses its initial gloss. In addition, even with gentle handling, the enamel coating begins to crack over time, which also does not add to the attractiveness of the toilet. The service life of earthenware models usually does not exceed 10-15 years.

• Steel It is often used to create expensive exclusive models, it is characterized by high strength and excellent wear resistance. The steel toilet fits perfectly into any ultramodern interior and often acts as an independent and sometimes central design element in it.

• Natural and artificial stone It is also used to create original models and allows designers to implement bold developments and implement the most incredible ideas. Stone toilets look expensive and serious, indicating the wealth and delicate taste of the homeowners.They fit perfectly into most interior styles, but look more harmonious in classics and baroque. The disadvantages of stone models are the high cost, the cold surface of natural material and too much weight, which is why it is undesirable to install them in houses with wooden floors.

• Polymers also often used for the production of toilets and are characterized by high performance and low price. Acrylic toilet bowls having a coating of high-strength resins and fiberglass are most widely used. The advantages of polymer toilets include light weight, a wide variety of colors and shapes, dirt-repellent coating and easy installation.

Among the minuses note low resistance to shock loads, mechanical damage and temperature extremes. In addition, you should wash acrylic toilets without the use of abrasive substances and chemical solvents.

• Glass It is used only for the manufacture of exclusive models to order and is not used for mass production. Such models look very unusual and somewhat futuristic, but from an aesthetic point of view they are considered not the most successful option.

Modern toilets have a large number of additional options, such as electronic control, function of smooth lowering of a cover, independent elimination of a smell, automatic washing off, drying by the hair dryer after hygiene procedures, anti-splash system and even playing the sound of bubbling water.

The last option is intended for particularly shy users who do not want to spread specific sounds when visiting the toilet. The option allows you to create a sound curtain by simulating a pouring liquid, while saving real water.

A particularly popular option is bidet pad, allowing you to take hygiene procedures without getting up from the toilet. The system is equipped with numerous nozzles and nozzles, allowing not only to regulate the pressure and direction of the supplied fluid, but also to heat it to the desired temperature. The bidet nozzle is operated at the touch of a button, after which the spout with nozzles extends and begins to spray water. At the end of the procedure, the tip is automatically cleaned of dirt and pulled back.

A very useful feature is sensor drain systemworking according to this principle: when a person enters the toilet, a photocell is triggered, which sends a command to fill the tank with water. When a person leaves the bathroom, flushing is performed automatically, without requiring any additional actions from the visitor. The downside of the system is the need to move your hand when you are too long in the toilet, otherwise, the presence sensor ceases to recognize the visitor and turns on automatic flushing.

For public toilets, an option such as foot pedal control. Visitors to the institution do not need to touch it with their hands, which undoubtedly increases the hygiene of using the toilet. The next function, an antibacterial surface coating, also contributes to the safe use of a toilet in a public place.

As a spraying are used compositions based on zirconium or silver, which in combination with the installation of antibacterial ultraviolet lighting very effectively cope with bacteria, mold and fungus.

The modern plumbing market offers toilet bowls in a wide range of colors and designs. This greatly facilitates the selection of the desired model and allows you to choose the device in accordance with the design of the bathroom or toilet. For classic style, as well as for Provence and retro styles many manufacturers have launched the production of toilets with an upper flush tank, which is located on a high pipe. Such models fit perfectly into the above styles, especially accurately reflecting and emphasizing the spirit and atmosphere of those times.

Lovers of original styles such as loft, futurism and metallic, will be able to purchase a metal toilet made of stainless steel with chrome or nickel coating. For lovers of minimalism, hi-tech and other modern styles, a toilet painted in some unusual color, combined with other items of the bathroom or with a decorative wall covering, will be a good choice.

Most modern tanks are equipped with one or two shutter buttons, pressing which activates the mechanism for draining the liquid from the tank. Latest models equipped double drain system and equipped with two buttons at once, the smaller of which gives the command to release a small amount of liquid, usually 2-3 liters, and the larger one is designed to completely empty the tank (6-8 l).

In some models, to completely empty the tank, you must press both buttons. The push-button drainage system allows you to significantly save water and not drain the entire tank as a whole after visiting the toilet for little need.

Today in plumbing stores you can see a huge number of toilets of various companies, differing in cost, quality and design. Below are the most popular samples that occupy the first lines of ratings according to online stores.

• Italian company Roca It has been producing toilet bowls for a very long time and supplies its products to many countries of the world. Models are distinguished by a neutral concise design that fits into the interiors of any style. For example, we can consider the floor wall model Roca The Gap 342477000equipped with a 4.5 liter drain tank and anti-splash system. The product is available in white and costs 8290 rubles.

• Models of the Swedish company Gustavsberg also well known to Russian consumers. The company is engaged in the production of plumbing and accessories for it, produces both floor and wall-mounted toilets. All products are covered by a 25-year warranty. As an example, consider a suspended model with a seat Gustavsberg Logic 5693 56939901 worth 8560 rubles. The device is designed for horizontal water supply, made of porcelain and equipped with an anti-splash system.

• Russian company Oskol Ceramics produces high-quality sanitary ware of the economy class category, well known in the countries of the near abroad. An example of high quality is the floor model. Leia Lux made in white, worth 6450 rubles. The toilet bowl is made of porcelain, has an oblique outlet and is presented in sizes of 65.6x36 cm. The height of the product along with the compact tank is 80 cm.

• Japanese company Toto produces high-tech toilets equipped with a large number of additional options. As an example, consider a suspended model Toto CF CW132Y + TCF6530G with electronic bidet seat and adjustable temperature.The toilet is equipped with an antibacterial coating, a flush that operates in two and three-jet mode, the option of pre-wetting the bowl and remote control of the lid, ensuring its smooth closing. The device has a heated seat and a dryer that supplies warm air. This Asian model costs 135800 rubles.

When choosing a toilet, you need to pay attention to a number of important points.

• First of all, you need to build on the dimensions of the toilet and in small bathrooms, purchase compact round hanging models with a tank built into the wall.
• Choosing a drain system you need to know that the circular system is considered more effective, but it can only be used with soft water.
• When buying a toilet in public restrooms it is better to opt for models with an antibacterial coating, a funnel-shaped bowl and an anti-splash system. This will relieve the bathroom of an unpleasant odor and prevent the appearance and reproduction of pathogens.
• Upon purchase of a suspended model it is necessary to verify the integrity of the frame and the absence of tears, rust and traces of peeling paint on it. You also need to check that all fasteners freely fit into the sockets and are present in a complete set.
• If the bathroom is really tiny, and there is no possibility to install a drain tank in the wall, you can buy a small round toilet bowl with an upper tank on a long pipe. Such models, although infrequently, are still on sale and will be a good solution for miniature bathrooms.
• When buying a foreign model you need to make sure the availability of spare parts and the presence of service centers.

Toilet care is in its regular hygienic cleaning with toilet brushes and sponges of medium hardness. Glazed surfaces can be cleaned by any means, including solvents and alkalis, but with acrylic models you need to be extremely careful and use only mild neutral compositions.

To remove plaque from ceramic toilets, you can use a mixture of lemon juice and soda or vinegar and water, taken in equal parts. At the end of the treatment, the surface of the device is rinsed with clean water and wiped dry with a soft, lint-free cloth. With careful use and timely care, the toilet can last for more than a dozen years.

Next, watch a video with tips for choosing a toilet for your home.