list of public toilets in Ireland’, it comes in the form of a shared Google map so that users can open it on a smartphone and then refer back to it whenever it’s needed.


A second app has been launched by Healthmatic, a company that operates public toilet facilities on behalf of local authorities in Ireland. The Healthmatic App provides details and locations of clean, hygienic toilets by region, town, or city for ease of use. Details of opening hours and any applicable charges are also listed.


Meanwhile, Changing Places Ireland allows users with disabilities to find fully accessible toilets in the country. The Changing Places Ireland map includes address, contact information, facility details, and opening hours for all registered facilities. Safe Nights Ireland – a club for people with motorhomes – includes details of all public toilets situated in convenient places for those who enjoy travelling on the open road.


So technology is proving immensely useful in helping people to find a public toilet when they are out and about, and at the same time, the transparency technology provides is helping to drive up standards.


It was once a fairly common sight to come across unhygienic public washrooms with no soap, no toilet paper, wet floors, and messy units. Before the advent of social media, we would all use such facilities with distaste and would probably suffer in silence.


People today are increasingly unwilling to accept unhygienic public washrooms, and are much more likely to share our experiences and name and shame those venues that we find to be substandard. We may, for example, upload our experiences on social media, tweeting about them and uploading images of messy loos.


As a result, there’s no longer any hiding place for operators of unsavoury toilets. At the other end of the scale, venues offering washrooms that are particularly clean or noteworthy are attracting attention from appreciative users.


For example, Dublin’s Liquor Rooms have gained a high social media profile – partly due to their washrooms, which feature quirky art and statement mirrors which are ideal for taking ‘selfies’.


Also in Dublin, Bar 1661 is repeatedly being featured on Instagram due to its aesthetically-pleasing décor and attractive washstands made from marble, sycamore, and oak. The Ladies’ in Café Bombo are also popular for selfies, decorated as they are with pink tiles and basins against a backdrop of playful monkeys drinking cocktails and smoking cigarettes.


Japan is perhaps the epicentre of the high-tech toilet, with companies such as Toto offering electronically-operated models that come with heated seats, remote control operation, and integrated bidets.


There’s said to be growing interest in these units in Ireland, with bathroom retailers such as Soaks in Belfast and TileStyle in Dublin including working models of the Toto Washlet in its showrooms. In fact, the House of Zen restaurant in Belfast’s cathedral quarter has already


www.tomorrowscleaning.com


installed high-tech Toto toilets for its diners – and is currently attracting publicity on social media for having done so.


On a less headline-grabbing plain, many public washrooms have been using low-level technology for years in the form of touch-free fixtures. Automatic taps and sensor- operated flush systems avoid the need for visitors to have to touch potentially-contaminated surfaces while also making the facilities more accessible for the less abled. Smart dispensers are meanwhile helping to ensure that the supplies of soap and paper never need to run out.


Sensors incorporated into washroom dispensers allow cleaners to check remotely on levels of soap, toilet paper, and hand towels. This removes the need for staff to have to make multiple journeys to physically check on dispenser status, saving time and cutting cleaning costs.


Essity’s own Tork Vision Cleaning enables cleaners to check on dispensers via a smartphone or tablet. The technology also incorporates people-counters that enable a facility to build up a profile of washroom visits. The office manager can then use the data to identify those toilets attracting the highest levels of traffic. The cleaner’s routes can be streamlined accordingly, again saving time and labour costs.


"Technology will continue to evolve and help shape the


washroom experience of the future.”


There are other ways in which technology can be used to change the face of the public toilet in future. Wellness toilets designed to assess the user’s blood pressure, blood oxygen levels, and heart data whenever they use the washroom have been developed in the US and may well cross the Atlantic, for example. Some of these models are also able to detect the prevalence of COVID-19 in communities – something that could prove highly useful in winters to come.


Quirky ‘talking points’ in toilets such as hologram mirrors and urinal video games that allow visitors to play virtual football, drive a car, or operate a tank while using the loo are making the washroom visit more fun and putting the venues concerned on the social media map.


We can be sure of one thing: technology will continue to evolve and will help to shape the washroom experience of the future. This will make public facilities safer, more hygienic, easier to find – and generally better.


www.tork.ie/visioncleaning TOMORROW'S CLEANING IRELAND | 15


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