The toilet and bathroom are extremely important rooms in the house as they are places where water (money) drains away. The ch’i should be allowed to flow smoothly into and out of these rooms without impediment. Consequently, overly ornate bathrooms are not good from a feng shui point of view as they tend to hold the ch’i inside the room. In fact, the Chinese prefer relatively simple, functional bathrooms with little in the way of ornaments or other decorations. All the same, you should make this room a pleasant one with delicate colors and one or two objects that yuu find attractive. A potted plant can also help encourage ch’i into this room. Green and blue colored towels help you to relax, while at the same time encourage the water to flow freely down the pipes. Blue is also a good feng shui color for the bathroom and toilet as it relates to the water element.

Light colors are better than dark ones in the toilet and bathroom. Different shades of blue to represent the water element make a good choice. However, any color works well here, except for red (as water and fire oppose each other). A friend of mine in Phoenix has a white bathroom, but his shower curtain provides some welcome color. It is blue with goldfish swimming all over it. Because it is the only color in the room, you cannot help but notice it. This provides an extremely effective silent affirmation every time the bathroom is used.

The one exception to a simple, purely functional bath­room is when it is located in the marriage sector of your home. If it is located here, make the bathroom as beautiful and as attractive as possible. Display favorite ornaments and hang a crystal from the ceiling to encourage the ch’i. Ideally, the bathroom should have a window to allow light and ch’i to enter. This is because the bathroom is considered a negative location in feng shui. We do not want all the love and romance to be symbolically flushed down the toilet. By enhancing and beautifying this room, we are encouraging ch’i in and effectively remedying what is normally a negative situation.

If the bathroom is located in the middle of the house, in the good luck area, it will send negative ch’i throughout the house. It will also send all your good luck down the toilet. If the toilet is located here, it is known as a “dead” toilet. The remedy for this is to place mirrors on all four walls inside the bathroom, which symbolically make the room disappear. It is also a good idea to place a mirror on the outside of the door to a “dead” toilet.

The other unfavorable locations for the toilet and bath­room are in the southwest, northeast, south, and beside or facing the front door. It is believed that if the toilet and bathroom are placed in the southwest and northeast the occupants’ health will suffer. If it is placed in the south, the occupants will squabble and not get along with each other. If it is placed beside or in front of the front door, it is believed that the occupants will get a bad reputation. These are traditional interpretations, and there is a remedy for each of these locations. A mirror on the outside of the door reflects the ch’i away from the toilet and bathroom.

The bathroom also should not be located at the end of a long hallway, as this creates a shar heading directly toward it. This means that the beneficial ch’i that has come in through the front door ends up in the toilet! The remedy for this is to keep the lid down on the toilet and to keep the toilet door closed. It would also be beneficial to place a mirror on the outside of this door to make the room sym­bolically disappear.
Mirrors are necessary inside the bathroom, of course. Avoid mirror tiles though, as they create a netting effect that constricts the flow of money.

Traditionally, the north side of the house is considered the best location for the toilet and bathroom.
The bathroom and toilet should not be placed in the Wealth, Fame, or Career sectors of the house. The Death, Disaster, Six Shars, and Five Ghosts locations are all good places for the toilet.

It is preferable for the toilet and bathroom to be sepa­rate rooms. If they are combined, you may be able to sep­arate them with a half wall or screen.

The bathroom needs to be kept clean. Unpleasant smells, leaking taps, windows and doors that stick, and any other problems in this room all create negative ch’i, that can adversely affect the wealth and well-being of everyone in the house.

The water pipes should be concealed, if possible. Exposed pipes allow you to see the water—which equals wealth—drain away. Consequently, this room should not be situated in the north or southeast parts of the house. These are the career and wealth sectors.

Keep the bathroom door shut if this room can be seen from the front door, living room, dining room, kitchen, or anyone lying in bed. A toilet facing the front door is believed to flush away all of the ch’i that enters the house. The Chinese prefer to keep the doors to the toilet and bathroom closed anyway, as a matter of good etiquette. They also keep the lid down on the toilet as they do not like to see their money being flushed away.

Any upstairs toilets and bathrooms should not be situ­ated over the front door or kitchen. Both of these loca­tions are related to family problems. A toilet above the kitchen means that water and waste is flushed directly past the most important room in the house.

En suite bathrooms are not recommended from a feng shui point of view, as they spread negative ch’i out into the bedroom. The remedy for this is to use extractor fans as well as natural ventilation to get the negative ch’i away from the bedroom itself. Ceramic surfaces can also act as a remedy for en suite toilets. It is interesting to note that ceramic surfaces are frequently used in bathrooms and toilets around the world. Perhaps, people subconsciously knew that these surfaces can act as a remedy for negative ch’i.
Naturally, there are remedies for any problems caused by the placement of the toilet and bathroom. A mirror on the outside of the door will remove any problems caused by these rooms facing the front door, or being directly above it.

Feng Shui Tips

61 The toilet should be as inconspicuous as possible.

62 The bathroom and toilet should not open directly on to the door of a main room on the opposite side of the hallway.

63 The bathroom should not be sited at the end of a long hallway.

64 Bathroom and toilet doors should be kept closed.

65 Use a screen or half-wall to separate the toilet and bathroom if they are both in the same room.

66 Toilets should not be placed in the middle of the house. This spreads negative ch’i throughout the house.

67 A toilet should not be sited close to the front door. If it is, negative ch’i from the toilet will clash with the positive ch’i coming into the house.