How to Buy and Install Your Own Squat Toilet
I never would have thought this would merit mention in my collection of places I've been, but I keep getting mail on the topic of, "Please tell me where I can buy my own squat toilet!" And, somewhat surprisingly, if you ask Yahoo or Google to search for "squat toilet manufacturer", this page comes up as one of the most relevant on all the Internet. Due to all the meta-level discussion about said topic, including that previous sentence...
Well, that's nowhere near so strange as some of the web searches that people do when they stumble across this page. Yes, I have looked at the web server logs, and yes, they do show search terms used to find toilet pages with a search engine, and yes, there are an awful lot of really sick people out there.
Anyway, if you want a squat toilet in your home or office, there are two solutions:
- Buy and install a squat toilet.
- Buy or build some sort of elevated squatting platform contraption.
The first is obviously the better solution.
So you want to buy a squat toilet, and then either install it yourself or pay a plumber to do so. You would simply go to the local store and buy one, if you live in the right part of the world.
Here's a plumbing shop in Yangshuo, Guangxi Province, People's Republic of China.
Or just go ask a Turkish plumbing supply company: http://www.japar.com.tr/
But what if you're in the U.S.? Well, you're in luck, there are now a number of U.S.-based manufacturers and resellers of squat toilets!
Blue Earth Ceramics makes a traditional one for new construction, mounting right into the floor just like you see in much of the world. For modification of existing facilities, they make what they call an "EZ-retrofit box-installation", basically a raised box about 12" high that puts the squatter on a small raised platform maybe 24" wide by 36" deep (assuming those are the common 4" square tiles in the picture...). http://www.blueearthceramics.com/
Toiletological correspondant Natalie pointed out that Parryware, http://eparryware.com/, also carries them. Go to something like: http://www.eparryware.com/products/category.asp?t=c and look at the "Indian Pans" menu. If the above link doesn't work, go to http://eparryware.com/, click "products", then "range", and look for the "Indian Pans" menu.
American Standard makes them, but they're hard to impossible to find in their North American catalog. You might ask Google to find a page mentioning squat toilets with americanstandard in the URL. Alternatively, ask your local hardware distributor to help you get it from them. I have seen American Standard squatters, sometimes labeled as "Indian Pans", at http://www.aecasia.com/ and http://www.productsasia.com/, although in the second case you might just get a blank Service Unavailable page.
Zurn obviously makes them, as they offer a detailed specification sheet.
Sloan obviously makes lots of parts.
Squat Down Inc is a North American importer and seller of all sorts of squat toilets and components.
For those in the UK, Trent Bathrooms may be a local source.
If you plan to build your own, you might want to adhere to the U.S. Army official specifications. In the following document, see item P-1a (WATER CLOSET), section 3.9 (PLUMBING FIXTURE SCHEDULE), page 15400-47. It includes the fascinating requirement that "Flushing shall be in conformance with FS WW-P541 with complete visual washdown from non-splashing flushing rim." and that the "integral, skidproof foot pads" shall be elevated 13mm above the finished floor level. Apparently FS WW-P541 is a U.S. military standard for flushing. http://www.tac.usace.army.mil/contracts/spec/saudi/15400.pdf
But maybe you can't have a proper squatter. Maybe you rent your home and your landlord doesn't want to replace the toilets. Well, you can buy a portable squatting platform that fits around a toilet: http://NaturesPlatform.com/. "It has a five-degree slope so that you don't have to balance on the balls of your feet. It folds up in 3 seconds so other family members are not inconvenienced. It is lightweight, but still strong and stable enough to hold a 300-pound man or woman." Too bad the 5-degree slope is not included in FS WW-P541! The Nature's Platform inventor and site's author claims, "The knowledge it presents has been described as 'the greatest medical breakthrough of all times.'" Strange, I would have thought that the discovery of microbial transmission of disease, development of immunization, discovery of penicillin, and a nearly complete elimination of smallpox and polio would have ranked a little higher.
As for other parts of the world:
- The "Evaco" is built of Stainless steel and wood, and is made in Singapore for the southeast Asian market.
- The "In-Lieu" is built of plastic by the Rotadyne company in Australia.
- The "Lillipad" is built entirely out of wood in New Zealand.
- "Squat pans" are available in stainless steel from Franke in Poland.
Finally, if you are like a recent correspondant who still could not figure it out even given all the above information, and apparently wanted me to come to his home and either install a squat toilet or build him a squatting platform, I can't help you.
If you're not bored yet, you might be interested in (or at least tolerate):
