# Why Aren't Toilets made of Plastic? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [December 26, 2013, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-arent-toilets-made-of-plastic/677236 "2013-12-26T22:43:45Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![alphaboi867](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alphaboi867/32/3898_2.png) [@alphaboi867](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alphaboi867)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2013, 1:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-arent-toilets-made-of-plastic/677236/21 "2013-12-28T01:56:30Z")
> [@AaronX](#): > > They’re made of stainless steel in utilitarian situations where aesthetics aren’t required (prisons), so I think SS is at least as practical, but ceramics win on appearance. Or naval vessels. ---
**Author:** ![JKilez](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e5b9ba/32.png) [@JKilez](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKilez)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2013, 4:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-arent-toilets-made-of-plastic/677236/22 "2013-12-28T04:19:46Z")
What gets me is that the seal that connects the toilet to the plumbing is just a hunk of soft wax. No need for space age materials when you can just smush a wax ring out with the weight of a 100 pound ceramic throne. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2013, 7:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-arent-toilets-made-of-plastic/677236/23 "2013-12-28T07:13:19Z")
> [@JKilez](#): > > What gets me is that the seal that connects the toilet to the plumbing is just a hunk of soft wax. No need for space age materials when you can just smush a wax ring out with the weight of a 100 pound ceramic throne. Kudos to the wax-ring inventor and the “s” trap dude. Fairly simple ideas that work great and haven’t really been improved upon. ---
**Author:** ![chappachula](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/d2c977/32.png) [@chappachula](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chappachula)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2013, 10:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-arent-toilets-made-of-plastic/677236/24 "2013-12-29T10:50:38Z")
> [@ralph124c](#): > > Ceramic toilets are durable-but they weigh a ton. I’m a little late to this thread, but I just want to say that I recently did major renovations on a house. It’s a stressful process: There are many,many problems to be overcome, and huge bills to pay to contractors.You invest massive amounts of energy and time. You lose time from your job causing strain with your boss, and you spend too much time with the spouse( arguing about colors and fabrics), causing strain to your love life. But I want to proclaim loudly and proudly: **Never once, not for a single moment of time, did I worry about how much the toilets weigh.** 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![ralph124c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@ralph124c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralph124c)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2013, 1:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-arent-toilets-made-of-plastic/677236/25 "2013-12-29T13:50:48Z")
> [@chappachula](#): > > I’m a little late to this thread, but I just want to say that I recently did major renovations on a house. > It’s a stressful process: > There are many,many problems to be overcome, and huge bills to pay to contractors.You invest massive amounts of energy and time. You lose time from your job causing strain with your boss, and you spend too much time with the spouse( arguing about colors and fabrics), causing strain to your love life. > > But I want to proclaim loudly and proudly: > **Never once, not for a single moment of time, did I worry about how much the toilets weigh.** 🙂 How very profound!:rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![slaphead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9bcb4/32.png) [@slaphead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/slaphead)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2013, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-arent-toilets-made-of-plastic/677236/26 "2013-12-29T14:24:01Z")
> [@ralph124c](#): > > How very profound!:rolleyes: I want to echo \*\*chappachula \*\*- having done a major upgrade of the entire lower floor of our house, which involved literally months of umm-ing and aaah-ing over kitchen and bathroom items, it never even occurred to me to wonder how much the toilet weighed. Size, colour, shape, positioning in the room, integration with the desired cistern arrangement, delivery from the vendor, coordination with the sink choice - of a long long list of considerations, weight of a fixed in-house lavatory simply did not appear. As far as I can remember, weight wasn’t even shown in the catalogs. Has it occurred to you that this is considered a non-issue by pretty much the entire rest of the world? i.e. no-one other than you gives a crap? ---
**Author:** ![FluffyBob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ecb155/32.png) [@FluffyBob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FluffyBob)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2013, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-arent-toilets-made-of-plastic/677236/27 "2013-12-29T15:14:09Z")
> [@usedtobe](#): > > Some people weigh 300# pounds. > > On more than one occasion, I’m sure they are known to just “plop down”, full force. > > What plastic did you have in mind? Installing a toilet stable is not always simple either, floors are often not very flat, and there are usually just two little bolts holding the thing down. The weight and rigidity of porcelain make it easier to stabilize. Also about the plastic - show me anything made of plastic with 1-2" thick walls. The volume of plastic we are talking about here is huge. ---
**Author:** ![ZenBeam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/3ab097/32.png) [@ZenBeam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZenBeam)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2013, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-arent-toilets-made-of-plastic/677236/28 "2013-12-29T16:44:20Z")
> [@slaphead](#): > > no-one other than you gives a crap? 🙂 That Gizmodo link mentions that Stainless toilets would feel very cold, since steel conducts heat very well. If not for that, I have no doubt there would be designer stainless toilets available, the same way there are stainless appliances. (Maybe there actually are, I didn’t check.) ---
**Author:** ![monstro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@monstro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monstro)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2013, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-arent-toilets-made-of-plastic/677236/29 "2013-12-29T16:57:11Z")
I had a plastic toilet when I lived in Florida. If it wasn’t plastic, it was something besides porcelain. It stained quite frequently. I hated it. ---
**Author:** ![tapu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/49beb7/32.png) [@tapu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tapu)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2013, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-arent-toilets-made-of-plastic/677236/30 "2013-12-29T17:23:44Z")
> [@Drunky\_Smurf](#): > > I’d say between 300-400 dumps. No way–many more. I’ve been at public events where people line up all day to use a “potty,” for many days in a row. The units don’t break down there! ---
**Author:** ![runningdude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e9c0ed/32.png) [@runningdude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/runningdude)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2013, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-arent-toilets-made-of-plastic/677236/31 "2013-12-29T18:28:30Z")
> [@gotpasswords](#): > > All of the ones I’ve seen are made of thick, but fairly soft plastic that can be blow-molded - probably something like high density polyethylene. It’s tough, resilient, long-lasting, etc., but it can be easily scratched. This isn’t a problem for how porta-johns are serviced, but unless you spray and scrub your bathroom with disinfectant than blast the room with a hose to rinse it all out, it’s not so good for home use. Actually, I think Japanese bathrooms are specifically built to be hosed down in a similar manner. Kitchens in the other parts of the world are also built this way, negating the need to wipe them down! ---
**Author:** ![TBG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c89c15/32.png) [@TBG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TBG)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2013, 4:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-arent-toilets-made-of-plastic/677236/32 "2013-12-31T04:10:11Z")
Do you want a guest who weighs 400lbs using your pretty good plastic toilet or your completely proven ceramic toilet? ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2013, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-arent-toilets-made-of-plastic/677236/33 "2013-12-31T16:09:13Z")
> [@Lemur866](#): > > How often you need to move a toilet? Once or twice a decade? How often do you need to move a bathtub or shower? Yet those are more often made of plastic nowadays. And the lids of toilets are most commonly plastic, too. ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2013, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-arent-toilets-made-of-plastic/677236/34 "2013-12-31T16:21:04Z")
> [@Chimera](#): > > I prefer the latest in front wall fresh air orifices combined with a wide capacity gutter installation below. You mean you crap out a window? ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2013, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-arent-toilets-made-of-plastic/677236/35 "2013-12-31T16:24:08Z")
> [@Freudian\_Slit](#): > > You mean you crap out a window? The old ways are best. ---
**Author:** ![Raguleader](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/258eb7/32.png) [@Raguleader](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Raguleader)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2014, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-arent-toilets-made-of-plastic/677236/36 "2014-01-01T01:17:38Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > How often do you need to move a bathtub or shower? Yet those are more often made of plastic nowadays. And the lids of toilets are most commonly plastic, too. But most people don’t shit in their bathtubs either, so the ease of cleaning is not as big a deal. Plus, tubs are much bigger than toilets, so weight might be more of a concern for them given the difficulty in moving one to install it. ---
**Author:** ![TBG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c89c15/32.png) [@TBG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TBG)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2014, 2:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-arent-toilets-made-of-plastic/677236/37 "2014-01-01T02:42:31Z")
You sit in a tub. You sit on a toilet. One needs a lot more strength than the other to support a person’s weight. I’ve never seen a plastic tub, though. Not saying I doubt they exist, just I’m not sure they’re nearly as common as being said. Plastic (or something like that) shower stalls yeah, those I’ve seen. Can’t say if I’ve seen a shower stall that wasn’t like that. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2014, 3:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-arent-toilets-made-of-plastic/677236/38 "2014-01-01T03:15:57Z")
> [@Raguleader](#): > > But most people don’t shit in their bathtubs Most? Most? Most? ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2014, 3:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-arent-toilets-made-of-plastic/677236/39 "2014-01-01T03:30:40Z")
> [@Raguleader](#): > > But most people don’t shit in their bathtubs … Hmm. Is it “Shit in the toilet and sit in the tub” or “Sit on the toilet and shit in the tub”? I can never keep that straight. ---
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2014, 12:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-arent-toilets-made-of-plastic/677236/40 "2014-01-02T12:50:13Z")
> [@TBG](#): > > You sit in a tub. You sit on a toilet. One needs a lot more strength than the other to support a person’s weight. > > I’ve never seen a plastic tub, though. Not saying I doubt they exist, just I’m not sure they’re nearly as common as being said. Plastic (or something like that) shower stalls yeah, those I’ve seen. Can’t say if I’ve seen a shower stall that wasn’t like that. When we refitted our bathroom three or four years ago pretty much all the bathtubs we looked at were plastic. Fibreglass reinforced acrylic seemed to be the norm: [http://www.bathstore.com/products/baths/all-baths/acrylic-baths](http://www.bathstore.com/products/baths/all-baths/acrylic-baths) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-arent-toilets-made-of-plastic/677236.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-arent-toilets-made-of-plastic/677236.md?page=3)