That's what the elongated bowl shape is for. Just don't get a round bowl.

The water is cold, and deep too. LOL

Elongated bowl, definitely.

Elongated bowl. As to the water, you can look for a toilet with a smaller (therefore, lower in the bowl) water spot. Most people don't like that because it doesn't stay as clean, but check out different flushing systems. Sometimes a diff. flusher will compensate for a low water spot. Read the detailed specs for Toto's more expensive ones.

If you're still dragging, there's a solution, but you won't like it: buy an aftermarket toilet seat designed to elevate the seat height for elderly/handicapped use. Brings your seat up nice and high. Tacky and harder to clean, but functional.

Matt -- I haven't thought about that joke in ages. lol

I second the suggestion on the Toto... We have a very low water spot and get a very clean flush. In the unlikely event that you need a second flush, you can do it almost immediately. (Our old Kohler, it seemed like you needed to wait forever...)

Wadda ya mean deep? It ain't very deep in my toilet.

I am just not following this...I've just returned from the plumbing supply place where I bought two Toto Promenade toilets with elongated bowls. The salesman encouraged me to go for the elongated so as to better meet the needs of my husband and young son. Huh? I was too embarrassed to probe for a more explicit explanation. What am I missing? Isn't it just a bowl we're talking about? I've never looked closely enought to know whether I have one or the other. Curious now, I think I'll go have a look. I'd be grateful if one of the participants here would spell this out for me.

Robin

Robin -- Thanks so much for asking! I was just reading these posts and am completely confused. I am sorry to say that I am seriously missing something. Thank god for the anonymity of the internet. What on earth are y'all talking about? I just bought round bowls for some tiny powder rooms and elongated ones for larger baths, since I was told the elongated are more comfortable. (I assumed more comfortable for seating?) Don't make me embarrass my plumber tomorrow when he comes to trim out the house, because if I don't get this answer here, I'll have to ask him. What's the deal?

I have to assume your son is adopted. ;>)

Googled: male elongated toilet anatomy

Unless you are in a Rabelasian or Fallstaffian mood, stay away from the link to poopreport.com. It does, however, provide numerous heretofore unsuspected metaphors for bodily functions --for the dedicated linguist, of course.

The link below should do the trick within the bounds of propriety.

Here is a link that might be useful: all is revealed

thanks, downtowner! never would have occurred to me in a million years!

Kramer: My boys need a house.
Elaine: That's nice.

While we are given the choice in residential plumbing in commercial plumbing "All publicly accessible toilets" are required to be elongated bowls and they are required to be equiped with open front seats.

The reasonin behind this is that an elongated bowl reduces the risk of genitalia or soiled toilet tissue from coming in contact with the front edge of the bowl or the seat.

I was trying to explain this post to my husband because it made me laugh so hard. Apparently I was beating around the bush (no pun intended) and he just came out and said "So the dude doesn't want his junk to dangle in the water? I totally get that" so you're not alone!

Downtowner, googling that string of words is just asking for trouble!

This is hilarious. I can't wait til my husband gets home.

Amy

LOL, that's so funny. I was just having a lively discussion with DH and my brother about why they prefer elongated bowls (I like the shape and size of the small ones) It ended with them saying, 'You just don't understand!'

Aha, now I do. Thanks for the succinct explanation ca_dreaming ;)

"As this isn't something you can really check in the stores, I'm wondering if any of you has identified a standard measure or something that can ensure this doesn't happen."

Oh, I can't believe no one has helped this statistically-oriented gentleman yet. As soon as DH gets home I'll take his measurements--somehow--and post them here. After we get everybody else's the math whiz among us will calculate a mean, a mode, and a range. The statistics major will derive a standard deviation. And we'll be--where?

Tony20009: Just kidding you. This must be a continual annoyance. But you'll have to choose from what's available. Can you go look at elongated bowls and kind of visually judge if any look deeper?

OK, so I found this in a google search. I gather that Toto has solved the splash problem. I haven't gazed into enough new toilets yet to identify the mysterious porcelain shelf halfway down. But I'm envisioning that this is something males want to avoid.

"The problem of back splash applies to the common bowl toilet with water pooled in the bottom. However, many variants of the common toilet exist, some with designs that make splash-back impossible. In certain circumstances, the shape or depth of the bowl may minimise the splash. In certain European versions of the toilet, the intrusion of a porcelain shelf halfway down the bowl cuts out the issue altogether, while introducing a completely new range of problems!"

(From a UK source; ah, such understated humor.)

Tony: Ok, I've collected all the helpful hints I can find:

elongated bowl
"comfort height" seat
low water spot

Then: have it delivered with agreement it can be returned for full credit. Have it uncrated and make everyone leave. Try it out for size--the only way you can know for sure. Repeat till you find the best fit.

If none is adequate, go to a home healthcare/medical supplies store, or online site, and purchase a soft plastic elevated toilet seat to replace the one that comes with the toilet. (And if that's necessary, do not publish your email address and definitely not your phone number here.)

Try Toto first. Best of luck.

Pinktoes wrote:
(And if that's necessary, do not publish your email address and definitely not your phone number here.)

LMAO, pink!!!

FYI...I was on a recent trip and had an opportunity to "try out" an elongated sink (I probably had before as well, but prior to that, I wasn't paying any real attention to the commode. I think that the stretched model will be fine.

Thanks for the advice, all.

PS
Glad this thread added some humor to your days, and some sympathy to your existence if you are one of the folks that never realized the significance of this issue.

Interesting post on the linked thread regarding the supposedly better vortex action of round v. elongated bowls. Maybe that explains why the el cheapo, round-bowl toilets that came with our current house work so much better than the equivalent flush, and appreciably more expensive, elongated-bowl toilets in our previous house.

I keep waiting for our current toilets to get a bad clog so that I can persuade DH to replace them asap but, unfortunately for me, they work way too well :-(

Hilarious thread! Well, as an XX, I can only imagine the issues of round vs elongated bowls for the boys. However, my own pet-peeve is the backsplash, which can be an issue for both sexes. Our current cheap old toilet splashes so much that I often feel like I should shower afterwards... Gross!

Has anyone seen any objective ratings/reviews on how much toilets splash?

eleeny: haven't seen splashback ratings. Just from anecdotal evidence I'm guessing you go for the smaller water spots. Toto discusses theirs but not sure if they give dimensions. I must go to a showroom and demand to know!

Does anyone know where I could find an open front seat for a round bowl?

Yep. Follow the link, scroll down the page a little. First are the round, open fronts with a cover. Next are the same but without the cover.

For more, do a google search for "commercial round toilet seats." The open fronts are sold mostly for commercial use and the round ones harder to find because most commercial users have gone to elongated bowls now. But there are still round bowls in use.

Here is a link that might be useful: round open front toilet seats

Pinktoes....thank you. I checked the link and will further google search.

Has anyone seen any objective ratings/reviews on how much toilets splash?

You can always go with what we (used to) call up here in Maine, an outdoor "privvy"!! They don't splash!! LMAO