FM & TECHNOLOGY
TECH IN THE TOILET
What is the point of technology in the away-from-home toilet? Essity’s Stuart Hands looks at the many benefi ts it can deliver such as speeding up washroom use, promoting health and safety, and driving up standards.
What are the chief requirements of a publicly-used washroom?
At the time of writing in summer 2021, most of us would put hygiene and safety fi rmly at the top of our priority lists. So any toilet in use by multiple people should be cleaned frequently in order to reduce the microbial load and help reassure users that the premises are safe.
Public washrooms should also be easy to locate when they are needed and accessible to everyone, whatever their age and ability.
Facilities should be kept well stocked with essential soap and paper products to promote hand washing and to ensure that all cubicles remain in use. In an ideal world, publicly-used washrooms should be aesthetically- pleasing and pleasant to use as well. This has the twin benefi ts of enhancing the reputation of the venue while also encouraging people to linger for long enough to practise good hand hygiene.
One requirement that is unlikely to feature high on anyone’s priority list, in fact, is technology. We tend to associate the term ‘high-tech toilets’ with publicity-grabbing gimmicks and gadgets that serve no essential purpose.
For example, Japanese toilets have become famous the world over for various enhanced features such as heated
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seats, ambient lighting, mood music and built-in bidets. Some are even able to sense how the user approaches, lifting the seat for a man and lowering it for a woman. And many of these toilets have become so complex that they need to be operated via a remote control.
Before COVID-19 lockdowns came into effect we witnessed another novel use of toilet technology. There was a growing trend among bar and pub managers to install video screens in the men’s washrooms to allow gamers to play virtual football, drive a car or operate a tank while using the loo.
And ‘talking toilets’ that remind users to refrain from fl ushing forbidden objects down the loo or asking visitors not to smoke have been cropping up in various public spaces over recent years including Virgin Train carriages and the De Balle Cultural Centre in Amsterdam.
In these examples, technology has been used to create talking points and provide toilets with extra functions that are fun, but unnecessary. However, technology need not be synonymous with gimmicks.
For example, many of us have come to appreciate the sensor technology widely available in our public washrooms that allows us to access soap, paper and water without touching any surfaces. Sensors are being used in other ways too – to count the number of visitors
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