We’ve all had the urge to drop a deuce in the shower; only a few brave souls have acted upon that urge. Sure, you could clench your butt cheeks until you’re done scrubbing down or pause your shower for a trip to the toilet. However, if you ask these people, it’s just easier to let it rip right there.
But what happens to the turd once it plops onto the shower floor?
Enter waffle stomping: a technique that entails stepping on your fecal matter, forcing it down the drain. Yes, it’s exactly as unsanitary as it sounds. So why would anyone subject themselves (or their plumbing) to such a travesty? Good question—and one that has haunted the dark corners of bathroom humor for years.
What Does ‘Waffle Stomp’ Mean?
“Waffle stomp” is a slang term for pooping in the shower, then stomping on the turd with your foot to cram it down the slotted drain cover, creating a waffle-like effect.
Waffle stomping derives its name from the Belgians (yes, the same people who invented Belgian waffles), who allegedly developed the technique in the mid-18th century—presumably because their plumbing systems couldn’t handle their huge dumps.
Millions of people across the world turn to waffle stomping when nature calls mid-shower. Whether it’s the aftermath of Taco Tuesday or the post-coffee rumbles, the privacy and soothing effect of the shower provide the perfect cover to destroy the evidence—and save a trip to the toilet in the process.
The act of squashing excrement with your bare feet while you’re washing up might seem barbaric. And yet, we discovered that the world is full of proud waffle stompers.
What Percentage of People Waffle Stomp?
It’s estimated that 1 in 30 people poop in the shower. We can assume those shower sh*tters are also waffle stompers, unless they’re manually removing the poop from their shower or just leaving it there.
This data was extracted from a survey of 1,000 people about hygiene habits. It’s natural to be skeptical with such a small sample size. But after digging around the internet, we found real people with real accounts admitting that they do indeed defecate in the shower and stamp it down the drain with their foot.
“My wife poops in the shower and stomps it down the drain,” wrote one DUDE in r/TrueOffMyChest. “I feel disgusted and betrayed. I can't even look at her over breakfast anymore…A few times we've had to snake the drain due to a clog. Now I know why. I'm not sure I can live this life anymore.”
We also found a Twitter poll which seemed to reveal a similar ratio to the aforementioned study, further bolstering the evidence.
Have you ever done a poo in the shower and shoved it down the drain??
— Charlotte Bayes (@CharlotteBHC) February 17, 2020
There’s even a dedicated r/Wafflestomp subreddit where shower poopers have a safe space to communicate.
Does Waffle Stomping Work?
The pro-waffle stomp community insists that a well-executed stomp is an effective way to do one’s business without the need to make a separate bathroom trip, flush the toilet, or wipe your ass. However, plumbers beg to differ.
While shower drains are designed to handle water flow, they’re not built to handle solid materials—even when diluted. Plumbing pipes in showers tend to be narrower than toilets, and they lack the special S-bend trap that toilets have to keep everything moving smoothly and block unpleasant odors. When someone attempts waffle stomping, even with a splash of water to help, they risk creating a whole mess of clogging issues.
On top of leaving you a hefty plumber bill, waffle stomping may also leave you with diseases.
Dr. Stuart Fischer, an internal medicine physician in New York, notes that waffle stomping puts people in contact with a variety of harmful pathogens. These can pass through toenails and open wounds on the foot, leading to infections. He also noted that if bacteria gets on the surface of a waffle stomper's foot, it would take intense scrubbing to get it off, leading to it potentially lingering for days or weeks.
Bottom line: Whatever efficiencies you’d gain by dropping a deuce mid-shower would be offset by clogged pipes and the risk of E coli.
Is Waffle Stomping Socially Acceptable?
Social media users lost their shit (pun intended) when a lawyer in Australia, recirculated a Reddit post in which a man detailed his wife's waffle stomping habit. “Divorce and restraining order,” one user commented.
This raises a question: Is waffle stomping “normal” anywhere in the world?
As far as we know, waffle stomping hasn’t gained mainstream social acceptance anywhere—though the internet has its communities dedicated to oddities like this. In most places, the reaction to waffle stomping ranges from confusion to outright horror, placing it somewhere between an unspoken taboo and a bad joke. It’s safe to say that if waffle stomping is practiced, it’s more a matter of personal (and highly private) choice rather than any culturally accepted norm.
In fact, if you were to openly discuss waffle stomping in most social circles, you'd likely receive a mix of raised eyebrows, a few horrified stares, and probably a speedy change of subject. Even in countries with notably lax attitudes about bathroom humor or bodily functions, waffle stomping hasn’t exactly found its way into the local etiquette guide. So, in the grand arena of social acceptability, waffle stomping remains firmly in the “only if you’re alone and willing to risk your plumbing” category.
And if you’re tempted to start waffle stomping because it will liberate you from the scourge of dry toilet paper, remember DUDE Wipes are a cleaner and more convenient alternative than dropping a deuce in the shower.
