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The shape of your toilet bowl plays a role in how comfortable you feel whilst seated, the amount of support your body gets, and also where it gets installed. It's important you look into each of these things before coming to a decision. We've compiled and compared the advantages and disadvantages of the most common bowl shapes below to help you in your research.
Comfortable
Modern exterior
ConsNot for small spaces
The external design of toilets will differ from manufacturer to manufacturer. However, in our experience, we find that companies producing elongated bowls spend more time on improving the aesthetics. This will include paying more attention the details on the tank lid and bowls base. Alternatively, those designing round bowls will typically be focusing on saving space and making them as compact as possible.
Not much changes in terms of flushing power. Regardless of the style you choose, each will have a variety of different flushing mechanisms available to you, be it gravity or pressure assisted. However, there are steps you can take to compare the flush power of different toilets, and that's through the MaP performance website. They provide ratings for individual products ability to handle waste in bulk. This is available to the public, and you can even download a PDF format that shows the scores of every product tested.
We've spent time analyzing several brands in our guides, and one things for sure, the market leaders have toilets available in all shapes and sizes. There is no shortage in this regard.
TOTO have some great options, both round and elongated, the Ultramax II listed above is certainly worth a look, as to is the Drake II and Eco Soiree. Then there is American Standard and Kohler, both produce excellent alternatives including the Memoirs, Tresham, and Champion 4.
Understanding the size requirements of your bathroom should be something you know before you go shopping. How big is the room? What's your rough in size? If you don't know the answer to these questions, you should be looking into it.
To measure your rough in, get yourself a measuring tape and measure from the finished wall (remove any skirting board) to the center of the waste outlet pipe. This will typically be 12 inches in most households, but some will be either 10 inches or 14 inches.
Both answers will help you decide whether you require a round or elongated shape bowl. In general, round bowls are better suited to small bathrooms as on average, they protrude two inches less.
While there isn't much difference in how the toilets is used or operated, the two different shapes can effect user comfort. When sitting down, the elongated bowl provides more support for your legs and body, as well as extra space for the male anatomy. They also tend to have a larger water spot which helps ensure males are more accurate with their aim, leaving the washroom more hygienic and clean for the next user.
