Do not wipe toilet seat with toilet document: Japanese maker

Japanese toilets – equipped with music players, automatic flushes, and heated seats – are clearly not afraid of making a splash with their innovative designs.

But these cutting edge seats have an unlikely nemesis: toilet document.

Toto, a top Japanese toilet bowl maker, said last week that users should refrain from wiping their seats with toilet document, as it risks creating micro scratches on the surface.

The business’s advice came after a series of posts on social media complaining about scratches and discolouration.

A Toto representative told Japanese newspaper Mainichi Shimbun that its bidet toilet seats are made of plastic resin due to the material’s “resistance to detergents and its ability to be molded into complicated shapes”.

However, wiping the seat with toilet document or arid cloth can factor tiny, invisible scratches where dirt may accumulate, leading to discolouration.

But Toto is not the only manufacturer that has advised users against using toilet document to wipe its toilet seats.

Similar recommendations have previously been issued by cleaning experts and also published on lifestyle sites.

Instead of arid toilet document, people recommend using soft cloth soaked in tap water or detergent. They also advise against using thinners, nylon or metal scrubbers, or abrasives – all of which could damage the surface of the toilet seat.

The business said that while it was looking into more scratch-resistant materials, “there are no plans to transformation the material at this period.”

The Washlet, Toto’s flagship bidet toilet, includes features like an automatic lid, an air dryer and pressure controls for the bidet’s water stream.

Japanese toilets, with their considerate designs viewed as an extension of the country’s hospitality population, have become an unlikely tourist attraction for foreigners and a source of self-esteem at home.