# So could someone tell me about toilet waters? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [April 12, 2012, 3:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-could-someone-tell-me-about-toilet-waters/618528 "2012-04-12T03:02:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![grude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47774/32.png) [@grude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/grude)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2012, 3:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-could-someone-tell-me-about-toilet-waters/618528/1 "2012-04-12T03:02:00Z")
So every pharmacy has this shelf devoted to toilet water(here in Trinidad at least) they have vaguely Victorian sticker art and names like rose water, Florida water, kananga water, heaven water? you get the idea. Faintly scented and smells of alcohol, I take it is some sort of cologne? My wife is no help she says its probably old people stuff they keep around to placate the elderly and fussy.😃 ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2012, 3:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-could-someone-tell-me-about-toilet-waters/618528/2 "2012-04-12T03:02:44Z")
They taste funny. ---
**Author:** ![Inner\_Stickler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inner_stickler/32/318_2.png) [@Inner\_Stickler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inner_Stickler)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2012, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-could-someone-tell-me-about-toilet-waters/618528/3 "2012-04-12T03:08:21Z")
> [@grude](#): > > Faintly scented and smells of alcohol, I take it is some sort of cologne? Basically. Ideally, perfumes and colognes are for fancy things and eau de toilette is for every day use. ---
**Author:** ![Nunzio\_Tavulari](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/b9bd4f/32.png) [@Nunzio\_Tavulari](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nunzio_Tavulari)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2012, 3:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-could-someone-tell-me-about-toilet-waters/618528/4 "2012-04-12T03:26:41Z")
You’ve heard of bottled water and how it costs more per gallon than gasoline? Toilet water is expensive bottled water for spoiled dogs. The alcohol is actually a type of mouthwash. Many people consider dog breath to be unpleasant. ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2012, 3:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-could-someone-tell-me-about-toilet-waters/618528/5 "2012-04-12T03:43:11Z")
[Eau de toilette](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eau_de_toilette), where “toilette” is derived from “to wash”, and is what someone does at their dressing table. Very weak perfume. ---
**Author:** ![Rachellelogram](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rachellelogram/32/8689_2.png) [@Rachellelogram](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rachellelogram)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2012, 5:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-could-someone-tell-me-about-toilet-waters/618528/6 "2012-04-12T05:50:26Z")
It doesn’t actually come from toilets. You’re welcome! ---
**Author:** ![The\_Second\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bbe5ce/32.png) [@The\_Second\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Second_Stone)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2012, 6:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-could-someone-tell-me-about-toilet-waters/618528/7 "2012-04-12T06:05:25Z")
> [@jjimm](#): > > [Eau de toilette](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eau_de_toilette), where “toilette” is derived from “to wash”, and is what someone does at their dressing table. Very weak perfume. This. Thank you for the straight answer. ---
**Author:** ![grude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47774/32.png) [@grude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/grude)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2012, 6:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-could-someone-tell-me-about-toilet-waters/618528/8 "2012-04-12T06:06:58Z")
So you don’t as the wiki article claims put this stuff in your bath water? So it is watered down cologne, so…why not just let peeps water down concentrate at home? It seems like a useless niche. ---
**Author:** ![Lynn\_Bodoni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47c2d/32.png) [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2012, 7:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-could-someone-tell-me-about-toilet-waters/618528/9 "2012-04-12T07:13:27Z")
> [@](#): > > So it is watered down cologne, so…why not just let peeps water down concentrate at home? It seems like a useless niche.[URL=“[http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/editpost.php?do=editpost&p=14958071](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/editpost.php?do=editpost&p=14958071)”] It’s what you give to your great aunt Lavita when you have to give her SOMETHING, but you don’t want to spend a lot of money. It’s also what you give your 6 year old daughter, when she wants something that smells nice, but she’s inclined to pour the whole damn bottle on herself, and you don’t want her to pour something that costs $100 an ounce (or more) on herself. Basically, when you give toilet water, you are saying either “I’m broke” or “You tend to bathe in this stuff”, or both. ---
**Author:** ![Moonlitherial](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4bbf92/32.png) [@Moonlitherial](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moonlitherial)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2012, 1:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-could-someone-tell-me-about-toilet-waters/618528/10 "2012-04-12T13:28:02Z")
> [@grude](#): > > So you don’t as the wiki article claims put this stuff in your bath water? > > So it is watered down cologne, so…why not just let peeps water down concentrate at home? It seems like a useless niche. It’s not like you can water it down with well… water. It’s a combination of alcohol and water and the scent would be altered if the consumer were to take this on themselves. I find most scents too concentrated and on the rare occasions that I wear a scent it’s an eau de toilette strength for that reason. ---
**Author:** ![Sigmagirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c89c15/32.png) [@Sigmagirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sigmagirl)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2012, 1:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-could-someone-tell-me-about-toilet-waters/618528/11 "2012-04-12T13:32:47Z")
The alcohol evaporates very quickly, so it’s good for people who apply too much because it doesn’t have much staying power. Perfume is oil-based, so it hangs around. ---
**Author:** ![Merneith](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/57b2e6/32.png) [@Merneith](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Merneith)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2012, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-could-someone-tell-me-about-toilet-waters/618528/12 "2012-04-12T16:07:24Z")
> [@grude](#): > > So you don’t as the wiki article claims put this stuff in your bath water? > > So it is watered down cologne, so…why not just let peeps water down concentrate at home? It seems like a useless niche. It’s from a time when actual water was of very dubious quality. It used to be that water was considered too rough to put on a lady’s face. Hence alcohol based “water” was popular because it was more sanitary and cleaner. That’s also why cold cream used to be popular as a ladies’ face cleanser. You massaged it on your face and the wiped it off with tissue paper - no actual water was involved at all. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2012, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-could-someone-tell-me-about-toilet-waters/618528/13 "2012-04-12T16:34:18Z")
Dogs like toilet water