How can I prevent the water from hitting me while sitting on the toilet?

Question

This is very related to How to avoid splash sounds in public toilets?. However, still it is different: I don't mind the sound, but I mind the water itself hitting me from below. It's both unpleasant, and not hygienic. The water isn't really clean to begin with.

When sitting on toilet and defecating, how do I prevent cases of the water from the toilet hitting the buttocks from below?

In the linked question, there is currently one answer that gives a direct answer to my question as well, but I'm looking for more answers and hacks, which are not related to the sound.

Answer 1

Turn sideways on the toilet, move forwards or sit off-center so that you poop on the porcelain part of the bowl instead of dropping poop directly into the water. This does of course exchange one problem for another, namely that you increase the chance of staining the bowl in such a way that requires a (guaranteed-to-be-absent) brush to clean the bowl. Flushing the toilet so the bowl is wet can help reduce sticking/staining but it's more a function of what you've eaten than how "non stick" you can make the bowl. Flushing the toilet first does also allow you to analyse which parts of the bowl get the most water flow, and gives you a part to aim for where the flush stands the best chance of washing away the evidence

The other alternative, which may or may not be palatable to you (probably depending on whether you're a parent or not) would be to wrap some tissue around your hand and catch/deflect the falling poop so that it's dropping from less of a height/hitting the water with a lower speed. The backsplash won't be so high, and you'll remain dry. Before balking "what? I couldn't possibly touch falling poop with a tissue covered hand" - consider that it's not really any different from what you're doing during the process of wiping when you're done...

Answer 2

Put some toilet paper into the bowl before pooing, it will cushion the fall of the poo and stop the splash.

Just be aware that if you are doing a large quantity the poo will eventually push the paper down into the water in the toilet so you might want to add a bit more paper before continuing.

Answer 3

In my country, the front of the bowl curves gently towards the back. The rear of the bowl has deeper water and a sharp bend into the U bend and outlet.

If a lump lands in the deep water, it will cause a splash.

The trick is to sit quite forward on the seat and aim for the front-most water line. Not only does this prevent splashing, but the lump will (ideally) follow the curve and disappear before the flush is used.

Edit - Add diagram

Answer 4

If you adjust the flush valve in the back tank you can make the water level higher or lower to reduce the splashing.

There are two possible ways this can work...

• lower the water level, any splash will have to fly higher from the water surface before it hits you.
• Raise the water level, anything falling into the water will fall a smaller distance and therefore not splash as much. I would try this one first.

After you adjust the valve to the right spot, you shouldn't have to play with it again for a few years when something wears out.

Answer 5

"(W)hen sitting on toilet and defecating, how to prevent cases of the water from the toilet hitting the buttocks from below?"

Carry a collapsible camping cup around with you, and when you are sitting on the toilet hold it under your bottom and poo in it. Then stand well away from the toilet and with an outstretched arm tip the poo from the cup into the toilet bowl.

Alternatively instead of a collapsible cup you could use a cloth anti-virus facemask. But you may not wish to reuse it either as a facemask or as a solution the next time you need to poo and wish to avoid impact with water from the toilet bowl.

A third option would be to poo in one of your hands. Yes, most people would consider this to be disgusting, but you did not say that that would be an impediment and if done successfully it would prevent your bottom coming into contact with water made dirty by something other than your own poo, which has of course already come into contact with your body on its way out.

A fourth possibility, which cannot be recommended because it would almost certainly be injurious to your health, would be to ensure that before doing a poo you have always consumed sufficient quantity of a laxative to make you suffer from diarrhoea. If you carry a piece of piping with you of at least the required diameter you could it hold it to your bumhole at an angle to the toilet bowl of say 45 degrees and then poo the diarrhoea along it. I would suggest fixing a funnel to one end of the pipe, and then holding it maybe 2-3 inches from your bum. Then any splashing from the diarrhoea (fresh out of your bum) hitting the funnel would be the price paid for not being hit by splashes of water from the toilet bowl (possibly laden with impurities originating outside of your family). (This might, however, be ruled out as an answer insofar as the problem was posed in terms of "when [you are] sitting on [the] toilet".)

Answer 6

Get the water out of the bowl first

If there's no water, then there's no splashing! There are two ways to accomplish this.

1. Using the supply valve

Assuming that the water supply valve is accessible and the toilet is a siphon type (with a tank on the back), try this:

1. Turn off the water supply
2. Push and hold the flush lever, and watch the bowl -- as soon as you see the siphon kick in (the water starts to drain quickly) release the lever. The siphon will pull most of the water out, and if you time it right, no additional water from the tank will flow in to replace it (even if you don't time it just right, the level will be lower than it was before). The rim jets* will also not run, reducing water level in the bowl.
3. Do your business into the (mostly) empty toilet bowl
4. Turn the supply back on -- you'll hear the tank filling in the back
5. Once the water stops running, flush (if you flush too soon there might not be enough water to empty the bowl)

*How the rim jets work:

When the supply line enters the tank it splits in two directions -- there's one outlet for refilling the tank (the fill valve), and then the refill tube directed into the overflow pipe to supply water to the rim jets which rinse the bowl (source):

By turning off the water line, you're preventing water from going to the rim jets, which reduces how much water goes into the tank when you flush.

Finding and operating the supply valve

The water supply valve is usually on the wall, but sometimes comes up out of the floor, and may be behind the toilet and hard to reach.

Toilet water supply will either have a knob that you rotate until it stops -- either a quarter turn, or a couple of rotations:

Or (less often) a plunger that you pull out:

You'll probably want to use a paper towel since the knob will be gross.

2. With a bucket of water

This is impractical, as you're unlikely to have a bucket with you, and even if you did, you might draw unwanted attention filling a bucket and carrying it with you into the stall in a public restroom -- but it is effective! It will also work on any type of toilet.

1. Fill a bucket with about a three to four liters of water
2. Pour it into the bowl quickly
3. The siphon will activate, and the bowl will drain

Here's a video showing a plumber using this method to empty a toilet before performing repairs.

Answer 7

1. Drop some toilet paper in the bowl so that there is no exposed water surface.
2. Now poop.
3. It will fall on the toilet paper and there will be no splashes.
4. Flush the latest poop.
5. Keep going to step - 1 until done.

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Real life hack:

When you have an idea of what's your poop aim, you do not anymore need to cover the entire water surface. Just put the paper to cover the ball park surface.