Advantages: Energy costs in Germany are much higher than in the United States, which includes the cost of water. Therefore, the shelf toilets were designed to use much less water than their American counterparts - hence the shelf.
The purpose of the shelf is inspection. You're meant to look at the consistency, shape, color, abnormalities, etc. before flushing, and then hope that the rush of water cleans the shelf enough – otherwise, that's what the brush is for.
Instead of excretions making the plunge straight into the water, this toilet has a prominent shelf midway to catch everything.
For Germans, maintaining order and cleanliness is a way of life, and this is reflected in their approach to toilet etiquette. Visitors should be aware of customs such as keeping the toilet seat and lid down, flushing immediately after use, and properly disposing of toilet paper.
The more detailed answer is: German toilets used to have a design, where the feces first fell onto a "plate"-type of element, from where they were then later flushed down the tube.
European toilets typically have two flush buttons because one is for a small flush and the other is for a larger flush.
Can I still take showers during quiet hours in Germany? Don't worry, of course, you can still do your everyday routines after 10 p.m. and also on Sundays and public holidays. You can flush the toilet, take a bath or shower at night as usual.
Put your used TP in the wastebasket instead of flushing it. (The rule of thumb in those places: Don't put anything in the toilet unless you've eaten it first.)
However, while one of the systems most definitely is a toilet for human wastage, the other serves a different purpose. The other "toilet" is in-fact a bidet. You have likely heard of bidet but may not have come across one in the UK, as they are not installed as standard in UK homes or even in most hotels.
In Europe, toilet paper is certainly an option for sanitation, but most occupants overseas prefer to use the bidet for cleaning themselves post toilet use. Bidets feature a mounted spout that sprays water when the occupant is in place and able to press a button.
What is the typical Dutch toilet? The bowl has a unique shape which includes a sort of shelf, a little bit above the water level. Or as one of the students says in the video, there's an extra step, before the little pond at the bottom of your toilet.
ADA Compliance: Space is needed to allow for easier maneuverability for patrons in a wheelchair. The gap allows toe space for wheelchair users which allows more room to move within the stalls. 9″ minimum toe space is required per ADA guidelines.
Toilets are designed to efficiently empty the contents of the bowl through a downward motion into the drainpipe, but the force of the flush cycle also creates a fine spray of particles in the air. Those particles easily spread when a lid is left up during flushing.
Loo. Despite being a very British word for toilet, 'loo' is actually derived from the French phrase 'guardez l'eau', which means 'watch out for the water'.
Can you flush toilet paper? Yes! Toilet paper is designed to breakdown quickly once it's flushed!
So, why can't you flush toilet paper in Greece? Well, the country's plumbing system is not designed to handle large amounts of paper. The plumbing pipes are narrow, and paper or other waste materials would clog most Greek toilets, including those at rooms, hotels and restaurants.
While Americans in particular are used to flushing their used toilet paper down the pipe, they must break that habit if they are traveling to Turkey, Greece, Beijing, Macedonia, Montenegro, Morocco, Bulgaria, Egypt and the Ukraine in particular. Restrooms will have special waste bins to place used toilet paper.
When do you need to be quiet? The commonly agreed upon quiet hours in Germany (Ruhezeit time period) are from 10pm and 6 or 7am on weekdays and the entire day on Sundays, although there can be some exceptions in different cities or if your landlord imposes other rules as well.
Public urination is quite common in Germany, which is why police authorities rarely take action against such behavior (as you would know if you have ever been to Munich's Oktoberfest). Usually, authorities can punish public urinators with a fine of about $35, but local laws vary.
The German word Ruhezeit means that making noise on Sundays is legally forbidden in Germany. If you are making noise and someone from your neighbors or surrounding makes a complaint, you will be caught up for fines and penalties for breaching the German rules.
Today it seems natural for us to use toilet paper every day. The Industry Association for Personal Care and Detergents states that the average German uses about 20,000 sheets of toilet paper annually.
Most Italian public toilets don't have a toilet seat.
This has to do with maintenance. Since public toilets are often less than spotless, people often climb with their shoes on top of them, not to sit on a potentially dirty seat.
The Germans are progressive - but not in everything. Bidets are (still) rare in German bathrooms.