Hi Forumosa. First off, I want to say thanks to the admin for approving this post and hopefully not banning me. And apologies to all in advance as this might not be everyone’s cup of tea…
So, I was in a 7-Eleven just off Ren Ai Road yesterday – the one kitty-corner to the Cathay General Hospital – and in the basement there’s, shall we say, an interesting toilet. I think it basically had something akin to a garbage (food) disposal contraption in it – something like an InSinkErator that you’d see back in N.A.
So, without getting too explicit, basically you do your business, flush, and then from what I can tell, the magic starts. There’s this loud whirring, and everything gets, uhh, chopped up so it won’t clog the works when it gets flushed down the tubes! Ingenious, right? But also dangerous… So, it’s gotta be something else. Or does it? (Pretty much every Seven you go to has a sign saying don’t flush toilet paper down the toilet as it clogs easily – this one seemed to be actually doing something about it!)
I’ve been in Taipei for decades. Usually, I think I’ve seen it all, but I haven’t seen anything like it before. Have y’all encountered something similar? If you’re curious (and brave enough), I’ll attach the address… Remember, it’s in the basement. So, be careful.
This is a myth for some reason the locals believe. I guess it’s because a bunch of types of paper is called 衛生紙, and people put the wrong type down the toilet and clog it.
If you use real toilet paper, then nothing will happen as it’s designed to dissolve. If they’re actually chopping up waste, then they’re trying to solve a problem that’s already been solved.
I hope not! I hear the admin here don’t suffer fools so just trying to stay on their good side.
Like many, I’ve seen a toilet get clogged, but it wasn’t by toilet paper alone. Still, I can see why the management of a store or restaurant would rather not have to clean up a flooded bathroom, so they put up these notices to patrons on the off chance the notice may prevent a potential accident from occurring.
Thanks for the reply. Have you seen one of the toilets in question though?
Ive seen a poop-blocker once, but not a garbage disposal. A garbage disposal sounds like a great way to really aerosolize those particles more than flushing a toilet already does! I feel like the poop-blocker I saw was in the basement at Ooh Cha Cha near Technology Building? There was a sign that said something about only going number 1 here and putting tp in the trash can and a stern warning and maybe even a fine if you did poop in that toilet. Maybe it wasn’t there, but it was somewhere in Taipei…
Hi. This toilet also had something like this. The best way I can describe it is that it looks like what you would put over the drain in your kitchen sick to prevent food scraps and other bits from going down it!
Thanks for your reply. There were other signs up but none saying that guests should limit their bathroom activities to #1… There was the one of the picture of the guy squatting on the seat of the sit-down toilet. That one always cracks me up. Oh, it sounds like the folks at that Ooh Cha Cha really meant business!
My mum’s house back in the UK has one of these. They’re so you can put a toilet in places where you haven’t got room for big sewage pipes, or if your toilet is below the sewage line and needs to be pumped upwards. If you’re really fascinated, here’s one on Amazon. I hope that’s satisfied your curiosity.
Hi. This makes sense because if the toilet in question is in the basement of the Seven, it probably is below the sewage line – I’ve never really thought of the engineering required to flush a toilet and gravity can’t aid in the waste and whatnot going down the pipes!
Yes, this is very interesting! Thanks. The blades still sound kinda dodgy though haha!
Sounds like a Macerating pump. I have one in the basement hooked up to the slop sink. It’s an up-flush pump. Pretty much chews its food before pumping it into the exit pipes.
Hi! I had my phone out and was going to take a pic but then I thought to myself, “Why are you taking a pic of a public toilet because it made some whirring noise? Are you some crazy person?” No, I’m not a crazy person. Although posting the question on an Internet forums may lead some people to believe otherwise!
Hi. OK pic coming next time I’m in that area, but only because it’s been requested! Actually, a video is probably what everyone wants so you can hear the whirring. Lid down, of course.
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