Buying a new toilet seems like a tough job when you don’t know what you are looking for. If you are a tall person or have any disabled family members who live with you or visit you frequently, you need a toilet that is easily accessible by all people. The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) has set standards for all the specifications in bathrooms, and that includes toilet dimensions and their installation too. Furthermore, these criteria set by the Americans with Disabilities Act ensure easy accessibility of toilets to people who need additional support or assistance while sitting on or getting up from a toilet.
If you are looking for the best ADA toilet or want to transform your regular bathroom into an ADA bathroom, the following tips will help you.
Check the height
Checking the height of the toilet is vital, and for that, you will need a measuring tape when you go to purchase the new toilet. Use the measuring tape to measure the toilet from the base of the floor to the top of the toilet seat. Make sure that the measurement of the top of the toilet bowl with the toilet seat attached should be between 17” to 19”. Furthermore, when you have installed the toilet, measure again to check if the toilet height is right and complies with ADA criteria.
Give it space
The Americans with Disabilities Act recommends choosing a toilet with an undercut because this is how a toilet meets with the requirement of toe clearance. Additionally, ADA also suggests that there should be a gap of at least nine inches between a toilet and the floor, and space should be at least 25” in depth.
An undercut bowl is a bowl that has space between its bottom and the base of the toilet floor. Undercut bowls provide more space for users to rest their feet, which also improves the accessibility to the toilet.
Read the label
Toilets usually come with the tags of “chair height” and “comfort height,” and this label indicates their height dimensions. Chair height and comfort height toilets have higher dimensions than regular toilets; however, sometimes these toilets don’t meet ADA’s toilet height specifications and have measurements about 16.5” which is less than the standard size of 17”.
Flushing system
The flushing system of an ADA compliant toilet should also meet ADA requirements for flushing systems, which means that a flush control should be no higher than 44” from the mounting surface. Additionally, it shouldn’t require more than 5 lbs. of force for its activation, and it shouldn’t twist or strain your wrists while activating it. Toilets that have flush valve controls to activate the flush usually meet ADA’s flush requirements because they don’t require 5 lbs. of force; however, toilets with button activation require more than 5 lbs. of power, which doesn’t meet ADA criteria.
Right location
Before installing a toilet, you need to consider the walls of the bathroom, and if there are any barriers. If you have limited space in the bathroom, make sure that you install the toilet in such a way that its flush lever is easily accessible. Furthermore, if the right side of the toilet is against the wall or a barrier, make sure that the flush valve is on the left side, and vice versa. The flush valve should be on the open side of the toilet so that users can access it conveniently.
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