Why are toilet's made of porcelain?
 

My dad told me he knocked a metal sculpture off a shelf above their toilet and it broke the bowl. Of course the toilet is ruined now and they have to buy an entire new one.

Is there a specific reason they are made out of porcelain? Wouldn't some sort of coated fiberglass be stronger and less fragile? I would think much cheaper to produce too.

I don't actually know but Porcelain would be easier to keep clean than a coated fiberglass.
Also... They are stainless steel in prisons and aircraft. That's about safety though.

I guess traditionally they've always been porcelain so people are used to that.

Baths are often coated fiberglass now were they used to be steel coated in enamel. What's better in the long run?

Why Toilets Are Still Made of Porcelain

A toilet needs to do three things well, according to Brian Hedlund, Kohler's senior product manager for toilets. First, "It needs to be a flushing engine." Next, he says, "It needs to be water-proof, clean, and sanitary." Finally, explains Kohler's king of thrones, "it needs to be sturdy." Because people sit on it. Some of those people will be quite heavy. Porcelain, as it turns out, aces at all three of these requirements.

Most important to the user is that the toilet be an effective, ahem, waste remover. But what looks to most of us like some water swirling down a hole to who-knows-where is actually a machine with a pretty complicated design. "The tank, bowl, jetway, trapway—it's highly detailed," says Hedlund. "There's a lot of intricate engineering." Vitreous china toilets (what we call porcelain) are made from clay and water. The manufacturing process, which includes being poured into a mold, finished, glazed, and then sent through a kiln, is pretty straightforward and fairly inexpensive.

Plastic, on the other hand, is formed into objects via extrusion or injection molding. For a structure as complicated as the toilet, plastic manufacturing is prohibitively expensive. That's why plastic's presence on the throne is typically confined to the seat; it's just too expensive to have a leading role.

Another factor is durability. Let's face it, we've all needed to haul ass to the toilet—and when that happens, the thing better damn sure not give way beneith us. Vitreous china is super strong and highly rigid. Plastic, though, has some give. While it likely won't buckle under the weight of a hard landing, it certainly might feel that way, and the way it feels matters to users.

Ok, so maybe plastic isn't practical. What about stainless steel? It's strong and easy to manufacture. Hell, they have steel toilets in jail, right... The problem, it seems, is user experience. While stainless steel is super sturdy, it's also really sensitive to temperature changes. In other words, it will freeze your ass. Topping it with a plastic or wood seat just doesn't look right, and prison chic doesn't go very far in the average home.

Porcelain is also a champ at shrugging off water. It may sound simple, but a porous material will allow liquid and bacteria in, so being impervious to both is important in a structure that's main job is to deal with waste. The key to keeping water out is in the porcelain's glaze. After the toilet is coated, it's fired in a kiln. Unlike, say, grout in a shower, which takes on both water and bacteria, the glaze stops bacteria at the toilet's surface.

Well, I was wrong... I figured this was going to be a thread started by vash.... Can't see who started the thread on my iPhone. :D

Ha, that's what he says. Nothing to do with the malaysian chicken curry he had the night before ;)

The great thing about replacing toilets is they are amazingly cheap. So buy a good brand one like a Duravit.

Also... They are still made by hand and it's one of the few things that hasn't been completely "off shored" to China.

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Make sure they buy a decent quality toilet with a fully glazed trapway.

I just put in a Champion 4. Seems OK so far.

I prefer porcelain when I am coming down off of a bender, and praying to the gods. I do need one of those heated seats this time of year.

How would it sound saying "praying to the fiberglass god".?

You need a Ferguson

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Kind of cool knowing my poops are going to china.

Making them from marshmallows would be much more comfortable.

I've never tried eating only marshmallows. Sounds like it's worth a try!

That would mess with your blood sugar though. Not a good thing :(

A lot of work and only a split second and one M-80 and they're GONE!

There are huge differences in toilets.

When we moved into our house the "builder quality" toilets in the house were horrible. They would clog up with good nose blowing into a single tissue. And they were designed for a 4 year old. I would sit with my knees at face level. And that is just a very slight exaggeration.

I replaced them with an American Standard comfort height elongated bowl power flush. You can't stop those up. They use very little water and one flush and it is almost a explosion flush. Gone.

I still have a plunger in the garage somewhere but we don't keep one next to every toilet anymore.

Do American Standards come in fine china and are they real rugged? I would like to drop anchor in fine china.

You can buy a $99 toilet or a pay the price for a top quality toilet and you will think it is fine china when you don't have to plunge a crappy plugged cheap toilet.

This is too complicated. I think I'll just stick with using the neighbor's bathroom.