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Original poster

sink in toilet? How important is it?

49 replies

april1st · 08/01/2013 14:05

How important is it to have at least a small sink in the toilet?

We saw this house we think it is sort of ok but there isn't a wc in the bothroom so the toilet is seperated from the bathroom.... yes .... ok. That isn't too much a problem but the major problem to me is that there isn't a sink in the toilet. The estate agency's plumber said the toilet is too small to fit in even the smallest sink. Should we just give up on this house?! And just hope the market will get busier in the next few weeks?

OP posts:

TheFallenNinja · 08/01/2013 20:30

It's not really your plumbers call

timidviper · 08/01/2013 20:38

I grew up in a house with a separate loo next door to a bathroom and, guess what, it didn't kill us! If having to go next door to wash your hands makes you feel sick you really need to get a life to be honest.

Busyoldfool · 08/01/2013 21:05

I grew up with no basin in loo too but I wouldn't do it now. (We also didn't have a shower and I'd give up most things before I'd give up that!). Yes mooncup users, little "accidents", inexperienced bottom-wiper kids, cleaning... many reasons to put a basin in there. Tiny corner ones or that brilliant all in one sink/cistern, (saves on water too -friends of mine have one), would do the trick.

Slainte · 08/01/2013 21:12

It's really important. I think B&Q are doing those integral loo/sinks, mentioned upthread, quite cheaply at the moment though I can't see them on their website.

Trills · 08/01/2013 21:15

Very very important IMO.

The whole point of having a toilet that is not in the bathroom is that you can use it while someone else is in the bathroom.

If it has no sink then you'd have to go to the kitchen sink in order to wash your hands.

littleducks · 08/01/2013 21:17

Think carefully we made an error on this one.

We had a (50s?) flat like this with loo no sink downstairs and main bathroom minus loo upstairs. We put in a tiny corner sink cold water only run off in pipe for toilet, cost £150 ish. Most neighbours had no sink and thought we were mad.

The water used to be really cold, I wish we hadn't moved there and wasted our money!

littleducks · 08/01/2013 21:19

Think carefully we made an error on this one.

The water used to be really cold, I wish we hadn't moved there and wasted our money!

Rhubarbgarden · 08/01/2013 21:23

I loathe toilets that don't have sinks. It would be a deal breaker for me. My BIL has this set up and he uses the kitchen sink to wash his hands .

EldonAve · 08/01/2013 21:29

beyond grim to have no sink

FishfingersAreOK · 08/01/2013 21:43

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/property/1618475-Arghhh-I-knew-this-would-happen-teeny-tiny-cloakroom-sink-suggestions-please

Couldn't stand a sinkless loo....we had the above issue and put in a teeny one linked to in this thread. Tis a slight PITA being so small - but it is there!

Polyethyl · 08/01/2013 21:44

It really is grim and filthy not to have a Sink. You can train your family to wash, but guests are harder to ensure they aren't lazy.
I too bought a flat with a small separate Loo. Finding a basin small enough to fit took time and research... but persistence and ignoring the plumber's grumbles paid off.
There are some really space efficient basins available.

maxmillie · 08/01/2013 21:55

Gross. You can get tiny toilets that just fit on te wall, sure it's doable!?

carpetsw33per · 08/01/2013 21:58

This is a nightmare if you are a guest trailing through the house with a Mooncup incident.

usualsuspect · 08/01/2013 22:00

It's hardly bloody grim and filthy or gross.

LilBlondePessimist · 08/01/2013 22:24

Oh fgs, 9 out of 10 houses here in Australia have at least one, if not two toilets without sinks in them. To be fair, they are generally directly next door to either the family bathroom or laundry which has a sink, but it's a no brainer. Kids just get into the habit of going straight to the closest sink and washing up immediately. In fact, I was laughing yesterday, as ds1(8) used our ensuite (which does have a sink) but came straight out after flushing. I was about to chastise him for not washing up when he walked straight into the family bathroom and washed up there so it really does become second nature.

There are always flush able wet wipes in our toilets too, so this would cover any sanitary issues until you get to the sink.

Nothing sick, gross, disgusting about any of that.

cantspel · 08/01/2013 23:04

It is probably a lot less filthy or gross than having a loo in the same room as you tooth brushes.

The spread of toilet water droplets is not limited to just those large enough to feel. Thanks to "the aerosol effect", a veritable cloud of tiny droplets travels far outside the toilet when it is flushed. The aerosol effect was first brought to light by University of Arizona environmental microbiologist Charles Gerba when he published a scientific article in 1975 describing the disturbing results of his tests on bacterial and viral aerosols due to toilet flushing. He conducted tests by placing pieces of gauze in different locations around the bathroom and measuring the bacterial and viral levels on them after a toilet flush. His results were more than a little disturbing: he found that the aerosols traveled as far as six to eight feet away from the toilet.

So i will stick with keeping them separate even if i have to use the sink next door knowing my toothbrush is not harboring poo particles from the flush.

MirandaWest · 08/01/2013 23:08

When I was growing up the toilet and bathroom were separate. I bet they were for a lot of the people on this thread.

usualsuspect · 08/01/2013 23:10

When I was growing up our toilet was outside

OrangeLily · 08/01/2013 23:14

We just moved from a house like this! Was awful 1. Not having a sink 2. Going to the loo in such a horridly small space

BreconBeBuggered · 08/01/2013 23:22

Jeez, how grim can it be? Bit of anti-bac if the bathroom's occupied then wash properly when the bathroom's free. It's not as if there'll be someone in the bath all day long. But don't buy it if it's a deal-breaker.

I'd rather have 'em separate like that if there was only one bathroom.

Himalaya · 08/01/2013 23:32

Ooo I like the loo with the sink on top

LilBlondePessimist · 09/01/2013 01:47

Which is why cantspel I insist on keeping the toothbrushes in one of those little cover thingys that's stuck to the wall in our ensuite which has both loo and sink. And try to get dh to put the lid down before flushing!

echt · 10/01/2013 08:39

Routine anti-bac is part of the reason we have resistant bacteria in the world today. Get rid. Leave it for the hospitals, though I was appalled to see visitors go into ICU where DH was in recovery, where signs all over said wash your hands. They didn't. Fuckers.

Hot water, soap and drying is the answer. Apparently you should soap and wash your hands for the time it takes to sing "Happy Birthday". Twice.

As for the basin in the lavatory. Yes, do it.

Having said all this, I grew up in a home with an outside lav and all hand washing would have to be done at the kitchen sink. I cannot remember ever being told to wash my hands at any time, e.g. before meals, after the lavatory, in my entire upbringing. Nor did I.

PigletJohn · 10/01/2013 10:32

antibac gel will not get the poo from under your fingernails, or kill the norovirus or other viruses on your skin.

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