Extract from The Feng Shui Doctor by Paul Darby (£9.99, Duncan Baird Publishers)
Energy drain
Clean, pure, flowing water represents good yang chi, power and 'richness of life' (ts'ai fu). However, watery rooms such as bathrooms and utility rooms need particularly careful treatment in feng shui. In these rooms, we constantly make the water filthy as we use it. As the dirty water is discharged, the chi in your home is polluted and then lost, draining protection and energy from the building and possibly from you. This process is literally called a 'drain' (kou chu). However, you can easily control the problem so you get the most from your bathroom.
A healthy bathroom
Your most powerful tool for stopping the drain of energy is the earth element. In the Destructive Cycle of elements, earth blocks and absorbs water, just as blotting paper absorbs ink. Earth colours and accessories also control the water's yang chi so the energy is strong but not overpowering.
The chi of a bathroom should be slightly more yang than yin. To promote 'richness of life' without using water, choose rounded shapes for fixtures such as bathtubs and sinks, and accessories such as mirrors. These shapes also keep the flow of chi 'measured and meandering'. Avoid straight edges if possible - they speed up the chi.
The layout of your bathroom
If you're planning a new bathroom, try to arrange it so the toilet, sink and plughole (drain) for the bath are all positioned against the same wall. This arrangement concentrates all the draining energy in one area. It also strengthens the other walls, which is an advantage if you have a bedroom or office on the other side of these walls.
In addition, hide the toilet in a recess or behind the door if you can, so it's never the first thing you see on entering the bathroom. (If you've ever been to the bathroom in someone else's house and had to spend a few moments looking for the toilet, that's the effect to aim for.) Remember to keep the bathroom door shut to protect the rest of the house from the draining energy in the room.
If the bathroom is above your kitchen, try to avoid having the toilet over the oven because the toilet's water energy will clash with the oven's fire energy. If you already have a toilet here, use earthy flooring such as terracotta, limestone or slate; its energy will block the water.
The benefits of wet rooms
Wet rooms (walk-in showers), which are becoming increasingly popular, are actually beneficial in feng shui terms because they let dirty water drain away immediately while you're washing, as opposed to baths and shower trays, which hold on to the water. If you're planning to build a wet room, choose surfacing and non-slip flooring that symbolizes earth, such as limestone, slate, granite or terracotta.
The power of light
Natural light is important in a bathroom because it helps to stabilize and freshen the chi. Often, however, especially with small toilet rooms, there are no windows at all. In any bathroom, especially one with no windows, you need good lighting. Ceiling-mounted halogen lights minimize shadows, while spotlight racks of three or five lights can be used to correct problem areas. Point the spotlights at the door, toilet, sink, bathtub and shower, symbolically 'pushing them apart' and thus reducing their power on the energy of the room.
Perfect plumbing
Keep your bathroom fixtures in good condition and fix any plumbing problems, such as dripping 
water or leaks. Aside from the practical benefits, getting a plumber in is a worthwhile investment for feng shui because it will help to stop any needless outflow of energy.
Earthy colours
Use earth colours and symbols throughout the bathroom. Earthy colours give a warm, welcoming feel, and will give the strong protection you need to stop chi from being distorted and drained away.
For walls, tiling, flooring and fixtures, choose colours such as yellow, terracotta, caramel, stone, pink, peach, apricot and plum. Even accessories such as face cloths, bathrobes, towels and shower curtains in these colours will be helpful. If you wish to use patterns, keep them as simple as possible, and limit yourself to two or three main colours. Get the colours right and you'll feel the warmth.
Protective accessories
An especially good way to stimulate beneficial earth energy is to decorate your bathroom with earthy accessories. You could have stone or terracotta dishes or pots, filled with pretty, rounded pebbles, and nightlights and candles in earthy colours. You can also place attractive pebbles in plugholes, when a bathtub or basin is not in use, to prevent small losses of energy; just choose pebbles large enough not to slip down the drain.
Often, in feng shui, you're told that plugs should be placed in plugholes, but pebbles do the job much better. If you develop a leaky tap (faucet) when you're not at home, the pebble will still allow water to flow away, but a plug will let stagnant water collect.
The power of scent
Using pleasant scents can stimulate the chi in a bathroom, and is a quick and easy way to make yourself feel uplifted or, conversely, relaxed. Scented candles provide soft light to add to the atmosphere. Alternatively, and for a more lasting effect, you could have a bowl of scented stones. Lavender and citrus scents are beneficial because they symbolize earth. Patchouli is also good because it has a purifying effect. However, don't use pine or sandalwood, because they belong to the wood element, and also avoid floral scents, because they have very fiery energy.
Stay away from the seashore!
If you use 'watery' symbols and decorations in your bathroom, you'll add to the yin energy and aggravate the problems. The classic blue bathroom, with lots of shells, dolphins, crabs, starfish, killer whales, fishing boats, frogs, fishing nets, divers, and so on - what I call the 'undersea world of Jacques Cousteau' - is best avoided if possible.
The colour blue is a symbol of water, so you should really try to keep it out of rooms that are already over-dominated by water. (Indeed, think carefully wherever you use blue; apply it in splashes and small touches, rather than over large areas.) Blue can sometimes be a cold, unwelcoming colour, and a bathroom can be a cold room anyway, especially first thing on a winter morning, without adding to the effect.
Using wood and metal
Many people have plants and wooden cabinets or other furniture in their bathrooms. However, you should beware of using wood, because wood supports water in the Constructive Cycle of elements, so it will actually increase the bad effects of the nasty water. Replace wood symbols with earth symbols, or paint any fixed wooden items in earth colours; the wood, when painted, will take on the element symbolized by the colour of the paint. Metal colours, such as white or silver, have a neutral effect in bathrooms - but they can give a rather cold feel, so balance them with earth symbols.
Mirrors
Mirrors in bathrooms can increase light, but they also symbolize water and can worsen the draining energy. Have the smallest mirror that will serve your needs, with a frame or a bevelled edge to control the water energy. Hang it so it won't reflect a toilet or bidet and fix it at the height of the tallest person in your house, so it won't 'cut off' the top of his or her head. Avoid mirror tiles, because their edges chop up the chi.
'Hiding' the bathroom
Hanging a mirror on the outside of a bathroom door effectively makes the room 'disappear' and will help to stop the bathroom from draining energy out of the house. Using a mirror is a particularly good idea if the bathroom is beside or facing a front or back door, or a bedroom, kitchen, study or office door.
You can also 'hide' the bathroom by keeping the door closed at all times. If you have an en-suite bathroom with no door, either add a door or, if this is not possible, hang a curtain over the entrance to separate the bathroom from the bedroom.
Controlling energy loss
It has often been said that flushing the toilet equals 'flushing away wealth'. More accurately, the flow of dirty water down a toilet pulls the chi away from the rest of the home. To stop this energy drain, close the toilet lid before you flush, and keep the lid down at all other times.
For extra protection, a traditional feng shui method to suppress the draining effect of a toilet is to hang a small, unobtrusive wind chime with five solid metal bars above it.
The bars push energy down into the toilet. If this remedy is not to your taste, simply use earth colours as described on previous pages, and place a bowl or pot of decorative pebbles close to the toilet, to reduce this downward pull of energy.
Doctor's orders
Problem: You have a bathroom in a bad location, such as beside or opposite the front door or facing the back door.
Remedy: Block the draining effect of the water immediately by using warm, rich earth colours in the bathroom. Keep the door closed. If your bathroom is on the left-hand side of the front door (as you face the door from inside), hang a mirror on the bathroom door to 'hide' the room.
Enhancing bathrooms in any pa kua sector
Bathrooms can easily drain the energies of any pa kua location. For a bathroom in any sector, the solution is to add earth colours to block the drainage of energy. You can also use metal, but avoid fire, wood and, in particular, adding more water symbols.
Location, location, location
North: You need to be especially careful with a bathroom in the north, because this location is already governed by water, so the water energy is likely to be overpowering.
Northeast: This is one of the best possible locations for a bathroom, because it is governed by earth, which will help to control the energy of the water.
East, southeast: These two sectors are governed by wood, which supports water and will actually increase the draining energy.
South: This sector is ruled by fire, which clashes with water. Using earth symbols will help to control both of these elements.
Southwest: Like the northeast, this sector is ruled by earth, so is one of the better choices for a bathroom.
West, northwest: These two sectors, whose ruling element is metal, are also among the 'least worst' choices for bathrooms.
Extract from The Feng Shui Doctor by Paul Darby, priced £9.99, published by Duncan Baird Publishers.