Comfort height toilet height

[johnwood543]

Hey guys, does anyone here have any experience with comfort height toilets? My current one needs to be replaced, so looking at my options.
Did getting the extra height make a difference to you? I'm a fairly tall guy and have always had a bowl around 15 inch, these comfort height bowls are around 17 inches apparently. Have I been missing out? Always thought it was just a marketing scheme, 2 inches or so can't make that much of a difference, surely?

[Papa bear]

I HATE them.  They are about all you can buy now, and I go out of the way to find regular “classic” height.

These toilets are great for people who have trouble getting out of chairs, and were originally made for accessibility.  They are NOT a good pooping height. That’s why all these damn squatty potty stools came into existence. 

If you need an idea of the height of these,  think of the height of the handicap toilet height.  That will give you an idea.

If you have toddlers, the “comfort” or “chair” height is terrible as well.  Think of a boy trying to take a leak over the top, but missing.  Or having to climb a mountain of a toilet in order to go #2.  Man, I hate these things. 


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[johnwood543]

Yea, I did notice that, the last time I bought a toilet was over a decade ago. Pretty much everything was standard height. Now it seems every shop, at least online, is pushing these taller bowls.
I ended up trying these out at a local showroom. Pretty comfortable for me. Had a look around and went for the Kohler Memoirs on here. Heard some good things about Kohlers flushing performance, and have good experience with them in my old flat.

Thanks for your input!

[EricEng]

Unless you have or expect to have sitting/standing issues, I would avoid these.  They do make it harder to poo without a stool which kind of defeats the point.

Now what I do recommend as a guy is the longer opening toilets.  I hate the short old round ones, they don't leave room for man stuff without touching.  Like $10-20 difference, but so unpleasant to use.

[GreenToTheCore]

I HATE them.  They are about all you can buy now, and I go out of the way to find regular “classic” height.

These toilets are great for people who have trouble getting out of chairs, and were originally made for accessibility.  They are NOT a good pooping height. That’s why all these damn squatty potty stools came into existence. 

If you need an idea of the height of these,  think of the height of the handicap toilet height.  That will give you an idea.

If you have toddlers, the “comfort” or “chair” height is terrible as well.  Think of a boy trying to take a leak over the top, but missing.  Or having to climb a mountain of a toilet in order to go #2.  Man, I hate these things. 


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+1
We just replaced two toilets and had a heck of a time finding choices in the "classic" height. Does anyone know why they are being phased out?

[lthenderson]

I'm six feet two and I like having the extra height and have no troubles with bowel movements on it. We have the taller one in our master bathroom and a regulation height one in the hall bath for the kids.

If you have a regulation sized one now, it would be easy to mock up the additional two inches of height first to see if you will like the extra height before going to all the expense of buying one and installing it.

[Jon Bon]

I HATE them.  They are about all you can buy now, and I go out of the way to find regular “classic” height.

These toilets are great for people who have trouble getting out of chairs, and were originally made for accessibility.  They are NOT a good pooping height. That’s why all these damn squatty potty stools came into existence. 

If you need an idea of the height of these,  think of the height of the handicap toilet height.  That will give you an idea.

If you have toddlers, the “comfort” or “chair” height is terrible as well.  Think of a boy trying to take a leak over the top, but missing.  Or having to climb a mountain of a toilet in order to go #2.  Man, I hate these things. 


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+1
We just replaced two toilets and had a heck of a time finding choices in the "classic" height. Does anyone know why they are being phased out?

I have an idea.....

The prevalence of obesity was 39.8% and affected about 93.3 million of US adults in 2015~2016. [Read CDC National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) data briefCdc-pdf PDF-603KB]

[GreenToTheCore]

I have an idea.....

The prevalence of obesity was 39.8% and affected about 93.3 million of US adults in 2015~2016. [Read CDC National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) data briefCdc-pdf PDF-603KB]

Translation: "It's too hard to lift myself from a chair"?
ETA: or does it go back to the silly default mentality of "Bigger is always better"?
Intriguing...Anyone have a contact in the marketing department at Kohler? :)


(I understand it for tall folks. Y'all have a functional reason and should definitely have a commode that you find comfortable)

[Villanelle]

I hate them, bit admittedly I'm on the short side (5'4").  My parents just replaced the three toilets in their house with these, but they did it because they are in their 70s and while in remarkably good shape for their ages, they aren't getting any younger and they thought it was a good idea as they hope to have many more years in the house.  They probably aren't wrong, but I'm not comfortable when using their toilets and if I have Important Pooping Business, I find myself flipping a trash can to use as a foot rest. 

[GuitarStv]

Taller toilets are terrible.  They position your colon in a kinked way so that biomechanically it causes more straining/pressure to poop.  Which leads to hemorrhoids.  The only benefit I can see to taller toilets is if you have non-functional knees that don't bend.  Otherwise the lower a toilet, the better.

[ysette9]

I hate the taller toilets also. As a short person it is bad enough that everything in life is too big for me, and now toilets are getting even more inaccessible.

I do the same thing of flipping a trash can over to set my feet on to be more comfortable. With little kids in the house we also keep a short step stool in the bathroom which works perfectly.

Now what I would really recommend is a Toto cleansing/bidet toilet. They have them at work and my fancy hotel rooms when I travel and I have learned to love them. I would work to convince my husband to buy one if we were in the market to replace our toilet.

[Jon Bon]

I have an idea.....

The prevalence of obesity was 39.8% and affected about 93.3 million of US adults in 2015~2016. [Read CDC National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) data briefCdc-pdf PDF-603KB]

Translation: "It's too hard to lift myself from a chair"?
ETA: or does it go back to the silly default mentality of "Bigger is always better"?
Intriguing...Anyone have a contact in the marketing department at Kohler? :)


(I understand it for tall folks. Y'all have a functional reason and should definitely have a commode that you find comfortable)

It's partly the same reason why crossovers are so popular, they are easier for an increasingly large and infirm population to get in and out of.

Obviously I'm not taking a jab at taller folks or those with medical/handicap issues. IMO a handicap toilet is a whole different thing.

[lthenderson]

Now what I would really recommend is a Toto cleansing/bidet toilet. They have them at work and my fancy hotel rooms when I travel and I have learned to love them. I would work to convince my husband to buy one if we were in the market to replace our toilet.

Or another option is to do what we did and just buy a toilet seat retrofit kit with the bidet built in. The only thing I had to do to make it work is to fish an electrical line to create an outlet for it to plug into.

[ysette9]

Now what I would really recommend is a Toto cleansing/bidet toilet. They have them at work and my fancy hotel rooms when I travel and I have learned to love them. I would work to convince my husband to buy one if we were in the market to replace our toilet.

Or another option is to do what we did and just buy a toilet seat retrofit kit with the bidet built in. The only thing I had to do to make it work is to fish an electrical line to create an outlet for it to plug into.

Don’t you end up back with t he same height problem if you add an aftermarket seat onto a regular toilet?

[lthenderson]

Now what I would really recommend is a Toto cleansing/bidet toilet. They have them at work and my fancy hotel rooms when I travel and I have learned to love them. I would work to convince my husband to buy one if we were in the market to replace our toilet.

Or another option is to do what we did and just buy a toilet seat retrofit kit with the bidet built in. The only thing I had to do to make it work is to fish an electrical line to create an outlet for it to plug into.

Don’t you end up back with t he same height problem if you add an aftermarket seat onto a regular toilet?

It's doesn't. The seat itself, at least on the one we put in, is about the same size as a regular seat. See the video in the attached link below. The business stuff is hid underneath a housing on the backside of the seat and in front of the tank. This creates problems though if you have a round toilet versus an oval as it significantly eats into the room available for male parts if sitting. However this is my girls bathroom and apparently they don' have any issues with it.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00UCIOWRM

[Dicey]

TMI Alert: I'm tall, I love 'em. No problems pooping.

Between our house and our rentals, which are in a Senior community, we have eleven of them. No one's complaining.

Not sure why so many haters on this topic. You said you were fairly tall. It should work for you just fine. Their reasons for not liking them seem to be related to their own height, not yours, @johnwood543.

There is a new option. The bowl has smooth sides, which makes it super easy to clean. We put three of them in our last flip project and they look great. Note the new style of soft close lid. It completely covers the seat. Nice to be able to open the lid without touching the seat. I'm positive we didn't pay this much, but here's a quick photo grab:

https://www.homedepot.com/p/American-Standard-Cadet-3-Decor-Tall-Height-2-Piece-1-28-GPF-Single-Flush-Elongated-Toilet-in-White-Seat-Included-715AA-001-020/203027677

[BlueHouse]

I am 5'6" and I have them in all my toilets.  I wanted dual flush when the house was built, and that only came with the taller toilets.  I actually find them more comfortable, but I also know I'll have some knee problems down the line and am already starting to feel them. 

I originally did think I wanted the lower height because I wanted my body to be used to more range of motion, but then remembered I can also exercise or get on/off the floor whenever I feel the need for a deep squat. 

The other thing to remember is that bathroom vanities have also increased in height, so if you have a new vanity and a low toilet, it starts to look like a mis-match.  Bathroom vanities increased in height because the average height is taller than it was 80 years ago.  Wouldn't the same logic make sense for toilets? 

I also have a squatty potty, but don't use it because my intestines and anus work just fine.  Sometimes I don't even need to be sitting/squatting for the urge to hit!

[Anoushka]

We're tall and love the taller toilets.

The kids haven't had any issues either, but we don't have toddler boys. My experience with three brothers is that young boys can't successfully aim in a toilet consistently, and that was way before the popularity of the taller toilets.

[CSuzette]

5’9” female with long legs. Small toilets and small cars make me feel like I am sitting on the ground. If you are tall get the comfort height!

[Papa bear]

I was the first responding poster on this.  I will reiterate that I HATE the tall “comfort height” toilets.   I’m 6’2”. Tall by most standards.  They still SUCK.


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[GuitarStv]

I was the first responding poster on this.  I will reiterate that I HATE the tall “comfort height” toilets.   I’m 6’2”. Tall by most standards.  They still SUCK.


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Yep.  I'm 6' and hate 'em.  They're uncomfortable to poop in.

[BlueHouse]

I was the first responding poster on this.  I will reiterate that I HATE the tall “comfort height” toilets.   I’m 6’2”. Tall by most standards.  They still SUCK.


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Just curious how you guys like the "hole in floor" eastern toilets?  I understand why those people are all so thin.  I don't want to eat anything because I didn't want to risk having to be in that position any longer than absolutely necessary.  I did not eat any cheese or chocolate for months!

[GuitarStv]

If you can't comfortably sit in a squatting position for an extended period of time, you have some serious health issues.

[Villanelle]

I was the first responding poster on this.  I will reiterate that I HATE the tall “comfort height” toilets.   I’m 6’2”. Tall by most standards.  They still SUCK.


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Just curious how you guys like the "hole in floor" eastern toilets?  I understand why those people are all so thin.  I don't want to eat anything because I didn't want to risk having to be in that position any longer than absolutely necessary.  I did not eat any cheese or chocolate for months!

IME (living in Japan for about 5 years), even the Japanese don't like those toilets, possibly excepting very old people.  Go to a bathroom at a train station or a mall and the Eastern toilet stalls sit empty while people wait in line for a Western toilet.

Then again, the Western toilets in Japan are pretty gucci!  I am going to miss the heated toilet seats in this, my first winter in a cold place since leaving!

[JustFixIt]

Personally, wife and I both hate standard height toilets.   
We replaced ours with comfort height and have no issues taking care of business. 
I'm tall (6' 2"), she's not.

[BlueHouse]

Then again, the Western toilets in Japan are pretty gucci!  I am going to miss the heated toilet seats in this, my first winter in a cold place since leaving!

Yeah, I bought a Toto washlet -- totally worth it.  And the heated seat keeps my small bathroom warm so I can keep the heat down lower than I otherwise would.  I think I save money overall between lowering the heat throughout the rest of the house, and using less toilet paper!

[neophyte]

I was the first responding poster on this.  I will reiterate that I HATE the tall “comfort height” toilets.   I’m 6’2”. Tall by most standards.  They still SUCK.


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Just curious how you guys like the "hole in floor" eastern toilets?  I understand why those people are all so thin.  I don't want to eat anything because I didn't want to risk having to be in that position any longer than absolutely necessary.  I did not eat any cheese or chocolate for months!

As long as they are clean, I am a fan of the squatty potty.  When they are bad though, they are bad.  As far as public restrooms go, a clean squatty potty is my top choice. At home I prefer a western toilet, but lower is better than higher.