Toilet Paper Holders: The good, the bad, and the ugly.

     I remember the time I had to select toilet paper holders in my first house.  As a homeowner rookie, I made my decision entirely on the look of the apparatus, and I completely ignored the functional aspects of my options.  I settled on solid brass toilet paper holders with the spring rods in the middle that separated two colonial looking end pieces that mounted to the wall.   I’d grown up with the spring-rod type, so I figured I might as well go with something familiar.  I didn’t feel like investing a ton of money on hardware in my 2 ½ bathrooms, so I ended going with the prettiest and most inexpensive brass toilet paper holder I could find.  Brass, by the way, was ‘in’ at the time –check out my article on Ode to Apolo:  Go For the Gold, Silver and Bronze in Interior Decorating.

At that time, I was clueless as to how to use a cordless drill, so I borrowed my dad who painstakingly hung all three toilet paper holders snugly to the wall and within reach. (It’s always a good idea to do a mock bathroom reach before installing, by the way.  You’ll thank me later.)  Within a few days when it was time to change the roll in my master bathroom, I quickly realized that I had made a mistake with my toilet paper holder purchases.  That dang solid brass, embedded spring rod was so hard to dislodge that I pinched my finger trying to get the empty toilet paper roll off to replace with a fresh roll.  After I finally did get the old roll off, I had the same problem trying to get the fresh roll installed and back into place.  I endured the process every couple of days over the next nine years until I made a move into my next home.

The next time I was determined to make my choice based on human factors and usability instead of entirely on looks.  So, I began my research.  It’s that research that I want to share with my readers to possibly save you time, and give you some advice on things to consider before changing out your old toilet paper holders or before selecting ones for your new custom home. 

So many choices.

There are a ridiculous amount of colors, metals, styles, and designs when it comes to toilet paper holders.  There is the most common, traditional spring-loaded type that I spoke of earlier, but after my experience, I’m now a firm believer that if you buy a holder that makes it too challenging to change the toilet paper roll, no one but you will do it.  Face it, we all hate changing the toilet paper, so make it easier on everybody and consider buying something else. 

There are also toilet paper holders with an open-ended single rod with one end attached to the wall.  These can be installed facing up, sideways, and even diagonally.  The ease of loading/unloading toilet paper with these models can’t be beat, but beware that when you install sideways, if  you pull on the paper too fast, sometimes the roll comes flying off.  Face it, no one wants to spend time leaning over to grab a runaway toilet paper roll.  If you go the single-armed route, just make sure that there is some sort of a lip at the end of the rod to keep that center, cardboard part of the roll from making a getaway. 

Some of my friends have chosen freestanding, decorative toilet paper holders.  I actually like these if you have a larger bathroom and place them within reach of the toilet.  These are also a great option if the width of your bathroom is tight—no one wants to bang their knees on the TP holder when they sit down or stand up from the toilet and often a wall mounted toilet paper holder in these spaces is just not a good idea.  Definitely, go the freestanding route.

There are even some dispensers that hold multiple rolls—I think that’s a clever idea to save space, but your house is not a road side park.  Personally, I like to keep my toilet paper protected—no dust bunnies creeping all over it, so multiple roll dispensers aren’t really something I’d recommend.

With whatever style you choose:  spring-loaded, free-standing, or single-armed, keep in mind that some aren’t designed to hold the larger, double roll sizes of toilet paper.  If you’re a double-roll toilet paper fan, just measure the distance from the perimeter of the cardboard center to the outside of the roll.  Ask the store clerk if you can take the toilet paper holder out of the box (or do it without him looking) and do a quick verification of your measurement to make sure the double roll will fit.   

Humor in the bathroom.

There are so many other quirky types of toilet paper holders, some that I find funny, and I cannot help but mention.  There are the fragrance emitter types where the center rod is actually an air freshener and every time you pull out new squares a lovely aroma is released.  I appreciate the creativity, but I’ll stick to my air freshener in a can, thank you. 

There are animal-themed toilet paper holders.  For the deer hunter in your life, check out this toilet paper holder that mimics deer antlers.  There are talking toilet paper holder dispensers that are sure to scare the you-know-what out of your house guests every time they pull off a square.  There are toilet paper holder puzzles that provide a challenge for you and your house guests before exposing the fluffy, white tissue.  I even found an iPod docking station toilet paper holder.  Exactly how much time is one spending on that toilet that he has to dock his iPod?  I shake my head.  During my research I also found a battery operated dispenser toilet paper holder with a cute dog character on the front of it.  I can see how that might attract the little guys to learn how to use the toilet—after all, pushing a button to load the paper and spew out a few squares out seems fun.  But for parent readers, I urge you to not start your children on this.  They’ll never learn how to change the roll if they don’t learn the old fashioned, manual way.

The options are endless, so go for it!  Whether you’re an over the top or under the bottom toilet paper loader, pick toilet paper holders you love.  Just remember ease-of-use is crucial when making your final choice so that you don’t “flush away” your money.