Our New Apartment — The Squatty Potty

The blog post entitled Our New Apartment — The Inside had 29 comments, 18 of which included some reference to the SQUATTY. (These comments are unfortunately not here because they were at my old blog.)

squatty potties at a plumbing shop

Not all of the comments were negative, but they showed a range of feelings from curiosity to disgust.

Dawn wrote

Wow! I still am a little worried that i would fall down in the squatty potty! lol… Blessings,

Valerie wrote

Good Morning! I showed my boys your photos and they were amazed at that bathroom! Great education.

DeborahW wrote

Wow, that’s huge! My son lives in Luo Yang and has a 2-bedroom apartment. It’s not as nice as yours, though, only one bathroom, but thank goodness it’s a western toilet! I have visited him twice and learned to use the squatties but I don’t think you ever really get used to it.

Emily wrote

Wow. That seems big. How nice that you all get your own rooms and there are enough ‘extra’ bathrooms to not have to fix the squatty potty into a ‘real’ one. haha.

solidrock wrote

What a beautiful apartment! So big ( by china standards), light and airy. I just love all the natural light.The potty is unique…I am not sure how one navIgates that at night!

SmallWorld wrote

I love it! Very clean lines and minimal. That toilet is, well, wow.

Stacy wrote

Your new place is quite roomy! Love the sage green in the kitchen! My only question is, what is that squatty potty all about?

jenn4him wrote

The whole squatty potty is new to me. Do tell more!!!

KerryLeighinNC wrote

Will you laugh if I say that I miss the challenge of the “squatty potty”? LOL!

Marsha wrote

I really wish we had bathrooms like that… not the squatty potty though… no thanks. I can do it but you can’t exactly read in there, y’know? LOL Wait, was that TMI?!

Melissa wrote

I actually like the toilet. It looks much more sanitary than Western style. Although I’m sure it is a lot harder to use.

Anonymous wrote

As someone with damaged knees, I am SOOOO thankful that we don’t have squatty potties here in Florida!!!

Heidi wrote

The apartment looks very nice, with the exception of the squatty potty. We went into a public ladies room in Vietnam, right near Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum, only to discover the squatty potty! Needless to say, I decided to hold it. Thank goodness you have one regular commode! LOL

ivyvega25 wrote

On the other hand, are all chinese toilets the same?

Wow, looking at it from the bright side, what a workout for your quads!!!!

Dana wrote

Your apartment looks great. My daughter and I enjoyed talking about the squatty toilet.

Cristina wrote

I’m curious, do they equip the squatty toilet with rails for the elderly and people with bad knees? It looks neat, I just don’t think I could get up from that position. )

Ritsumei wrote

Here’s a question though: how are you *supposed* to use those squatty pottys? I ran into one several years back, and ended up pulling one leg out of my pants. I’m pretty sure that’s not normal, but I was worried that I’d get icky. LOL!

journeyinto wrote

So glad you have a western toilet also.

I was so surprised by the abundance of comments that I decided to make a lens at Squidoo all about the Squatty Potty. You obviously need way more information! If you click over, you’ll find photos of me demonstrating proper stance and explaining exactly how to use it.  (And, no, Ritsumei, you don’t take your pants all the way off to use a squatty. It’s not that cumbersome.)  Now I know you’ll all rush over to see THAT. But here are some additional thoughts for the blog.

First of all, the squatty is not that bad. It’s a toilet. You use it to relieve yourself, so it’s a necessary part of life. You just get it done whether you sit or squat.

Yes, we use squatties. It would be really hard to live here without ever using them. We’ve used latrines in rural areas. And we’ve used other toilets that are best described as troughs. Those have no stalls. You just line up and go in front of everyone. You may think, “I could never do that.” Well, it’s not fun. (Since when was going to the bathroom “fun?”) But it’s not torture either. And each time you do it, it gets easier and easier. And believe it or not, you can get used to it.

The squatty in our home is our “guest” bathroom, off of the dining room. We do use it! It’s a back up when someone else is in the master bedroom toilet. Or it’s a closer option by when I’m in the kitchen and don’t want to walk back to the bedroom. And it really does make a great guest bathroom for Chinese guests. They are usually more comfortable using it, especially in someone else’s home. I’ve discovered that many apartments have a western toilet in the master bedroom and a squatty in the guest bath. So the western toilet, since you sit on it, seems more personal. And the squatty seems more public – no contact necessary.

I’ve never fallen into a squatty, but I have dropped gloves into one before. But then again, I’ve dropped lots of things into western toilets as well! (Haven’t you?) As long as you look at what you’re doing, falling in seems unlikely. Even Sprite, who’s been using them since age 3 has never fallen in. By all means, turn on a light when using the squatty at night! (My husband is known to carry a flashlight/torch into dark squatties.)

Marsha, believe it or not, people DO read while on the squatty. They smoke and send text messages too. How do I know? Remember those trough style, open toilets I told you about? There you go. You learn more than you ever wanted to learn.

As Melissa pointed out, the squatty can be more sanitary than a western one, especially when you’re in public and don’t want to touch a toilet. Think about trying to clean off the seat of a western toilet. Not fun. Think about trying to squat above a western toilet. That’s a real workout for the quads as ivyvega pointed out in her comment. But when using a squatty, you squat all the way down so that it’s not a muscle strain at all.

Using a squatty is not hard to use. Think about toddlers. Haven’t you seen them squat to do their business? It’s actually the natural position for evacuating bowels (don’t you love that phrase?). We westerners have come to think that sitting is the best position, but did you know that in cultures where people squat to toilet, there is almost NO incidence of hemorrhoids and other bowel related diseases? Believe it or not squatting to toilet is actually used as a treatment for hemorrhoids by some people! And it’s effective!

A couple of readers brought up a good point about folks with disabilities or injuries. Yes, for them, the squatties are hard. Some people simply cannot get into that position. My guess is that if they do go out, they try to manage their trip so that they are home before they need to “go” or they know of a particular place on the route that has a western toilet. For example, in my favorite supermarket’s toilet, there is a row of stalls – all squatties — and then one bright yellow western toilet in the main bathroom area. I asked the toilet attendant (yes, all bathrooms have these) why there is a toilet in the middle of the bathroom. She said it was for old women (who can’t squat is the assumption). So sometimes there are accommodations (strange as they may be) made for disabled people. I also have seen for sale a seat that can be placed over a squatty – sort of like the raised toilet seat for hospital patients.

More Posts Like This One:

1. Our New Apartment — The Kitchen
2. Our New Apartment — Unpacked & Cluttered
3. Our New Apartment — The Inside
4. Our New Apartment — The Complex

Tagged as: apartment, squatty potty