Dutch "Inspection Shelf" Toilet

(Netherlands) An American expatriate in Holland provides some practical advice for visitors finding a need to use Dutch facilities.

Restroom and toilet design departs significantly from what one expects in the U.S. In particular, Dutch toilets are designed with an "inspection shelf."

Thanks to Dutch toilet design, you are given the opportunity to examine your fecal matter before sending it on its way to the sewer.

While it is an appalling idea, it is also a practical one. Many diseases and health issues can be detected by examining stool samples.

While the shelf toilet, flachspueler, allows for close visual examination of human deposits along with any necessary assessment of geometry, density and volume, it also is believed to reduce splash and save water.


Interestingly, excrement staged on the shelf for a period of examination will tend to stick. According to expat Tiffany Jarman Jansen:

If you do succeed in getting everything off the shelf and down the hole in one flush, odds are high that traces will be left behind.

To avoid having to clean up after yourself with a toilet brush or, gods forbid, your bare hands, try making a soft bedding of toilet paper for your stool to land on. The toilet paper will act as a raft and carry everything away without a trace.

Note that it's theoretically possible to avoid excreting on the shelf by mounting the toilet 180 degrees from the normal seated position. This allows for the excrement to fall directly into the exit hole, bypassing the shelf. Information on the success of the reverse-mounting technique has not been found.

Nevertheless, a visit to Holland will allow you to see windmills, wooden shoes and tulips plus, if you desire, a chance to inspect your stool.

One other thing -- Dutch bathrooms are famously known for their birthday calendars. What better place to remind everyone of everyone else's birthday?