Bathroom and toilet Vastu: direction, seat facing and drainage

Almost every flat has at least one toilet in a less than ideal place, so this guide spends as much time on adjustments as on directions. It covers the difference between a bathroom and a toilet, which way the seat should face, how the floor should slope, attached bathrooms, colours and ventilation, and what is commonly suggested for a toilet in the north-east or south-west.

Which direction suits a toilet or bathroom

The north-west is the air zone of movement and release, and the west is linked with steady results, so both suit a toilet. The north-east is kept pure for prayer and water, and the south-west is kept heavy and steady for the head of the family, which is why waste is kept away from both.

Bathroom and toilet are not the same

Older Vastu texts treat a bathing room and a toilet as two different spaces. A room only for bathing is lighter, and many consultants accept it in the east or north, where morning light comes in. A toilet carries more weight in Vastu terms and is the one kept firmly out of the north-east and south-west.

In a combined bathroom, the common advice is to place the bathing area towards the east or north of the room and the toilet seat towards the west or north-west of the room. The wash basin and mirror usually go on the north or east wall, and the geyser in the south-east corner, the fire zone.

Seat facing, drainage and doors

The toilet seat is commonly placed on the north-south axis, so the person sits facing north or south. Facing east or west while using the toilet is commonly avoided. For drainage, the floor of the bathroom is usually sloped so water flows towards the north or east, and the outlet sits on that side.

Keep the toilet door closed when not in use and the seat lid down. Fix leaks and dripping taps quickly, and keep the floor dry. These small habits come up in almost every Vastu consultation about bathrooms.

Attached bathrooms

An attached bathroom in a bedroom is commonly placed on the west or north-west side of the bedroom, not in its north-east or south-west corner. Keep its door closed at night, and avoid a bed whose headboard shares a wall with the toilet seat. If the bathroom door faces the bed, a curtain over the door is a common adjustment.

Colours and ventilation

Light colours suit bathrooms: white, cream, light blue and light grey. Very dark tiles are commonly avoided. Good ventilation matters in Vastu as much as in daily life, so a window or exhaust fan is usually placed on the east or north wall, and the exhaust is run after every use.

Adjustments without rebuilding

• For a toilet in the north-east or south-west, keeping it spotless, dry and well ventilated with the door always closed is the most common advice
• A bowl of sea salt or rock salt in the corner, changed weekly, is a commonly suggested adjustment
• Some consultants suggest a metal strip at the threshold or around the toilet, in a metal chosen for that direction
• Light, plain colours and a bright light are commonly suggested for a toilet in an avoided zone
• If the bathroom door faces the bed or the main door, a curtain is commonly suggested

These are traditional practices that many families follow. They vary between Vastu schools; for your own home, a consultant can say which matter most.

Related Vastu guides

• Vastu remedies without demolition: Room use, colours, light, clutter, mirrors, plants, salt and yantras: traditional fixes, and when to rebuild.
• Bedroom Vastu: The right direction for the master, children’s and guest bedrooms, with bed, mirror and wardrobe tips.
• Vastu colours: The shades traditionally linked with each direction and room, with easy ways to use them in a rented home.
• Vastu tips for home: Where each room traditionally goes, how to treat the centre and the corners, and what to change in a flat.
• Water tank Vastu: Where the borewell, sump, overhead tank and septic tank go, and the directions to avoid.

Your personal best directions come from your Kua number. Check your whole home with the house Vastu calculator, see whether your house number suits you, and find your lucky number. More tools: all free calculators.