AlamoSpursFan
08-16-2006, 12:05 PM
:lol
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/news.html?in_article_id=400885&in_page_id=1770&in_a_source=
Paperless toilets rolled out in Britain
By JAYA NARAIN
17:39pm 16th August 2006
When it comes to bathrooms, we British have a very conventional tastes concerning our conveniences.
Bidets have yet to catch on in this country and the Continental hole-in-the-ground contraption can bring on vivid nightmares for weeks. But now a new paper-free unit has been unleashed on the unsuspecting public that aims to change our bathroom habits forever.
With a control pad that looks like something from a spaceship, the new toilet-seat fits over a regular toilet providing hi-tech lavatorial experience.
The technology only works when someone is perched on the gently-heated seat and gives the user a variety of choices.
After using the toilet the client can choose between 'bidet' and 'wash' with the former involving a warm jet of water while the latter is a little more bracing incorporating a powerful upward-facing shower.
The next option initiates a gale of warm air which dries the user before the experience finally comes to an end.
Known as 'Japanese washlets', these units have become all the rage in South Asia and up to 70 per cent of households in Tokyo boasts at least one.
The Saki restaurant in Smithfields, London, claims to be the first commercial establishment to fit the paperless toilet in the UK.
Iyako Watanabe, the Japanese-born managing director, said: "It's just like when mobile phones came in. For a while there were lots of refuseniks, but once you get one, there's no going back."
Colin Davies, managing director of Ascot Hygiene - the only UK distributor of the Dutch-manufactured £450 toilet seats - said: "It may be difficult to break down the traditional reticence of the British to accept change in the bathroom but this is the product to do it.
"Unlike a bidet this is all incorporated into your toilet, there is no need to change any of the sanitaryware, and can be used with ease. It is fairly advanced but a lot of people will like it because it is paperless, hygienic and a pleasant experience."
He says there has been a lot of interest from disability groups who say the ease-of-use is exceptional.
The British Toilet Association (BTA) - which campaigns for better public toilets - claims the UK is slowly improving its lavatorial tastes. Each year the association presents a Loo of the Year award - the current holder is Moto Hospitality for its service stations - and judges say the standards are rising every year.
Richard Chisnell, the director of the BTA, said the UK was looking to the East for advancements in toilet technology.
He made a trip to Beijing last year before London won the 2012 Olympics and said the Chinese public toilets were second to none. "The Chinese have spent £25m installing 3,500 tourist toilets and they are marvellous. I'd never seen anything like it in my life.
"There were settees, telephones, everything was automated. They were proper visitor comfort stations."
Armitage Shanks, one of the biggest sanitaryware manufacturers in the UK, says demand has gone through the roof for its Sensorflow systems, which use panel sensors to detect the proximity of the user's hand to avoid them having to touch the flush.
Cannon Hygiene, which supplies washroom products, has reported a doubling in sales of automatic soap dispensers and no-touch taps. Mr Chisnell of the BTA says the goal for the UK is for everything, from locking the door to flushing the toilet, should be automated.
Marshall Beach, of Cannon Hygiene, said: "People have much more of a hygiene awareness than they use to."
Mr Davies of Ascot Hygiene says units are selling fast and have even attracted buyers keen to do their bit for the environment. He said the paperless loo is ecologically sound because there is less waste being flushed into the sewerage system.
"British people aren't quite a prude as they used to be about things like this and I believe these units are the future."
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/news.html?in_article_id=400885&in_page_id=1770&in_a_source=
Paperless toilets rolled out in Britain
By JAYA NARAIN
17:39pm 16th August 2006
When it comes to bathrooms, we British have a very conventional tastes concerning our conveniences.
Bidets have yet to catch on in this country and the Continental hole-in-the-ground contraption can bring on vivid nightmares for weeks. But now a new paper-free unit has been unleashed on the unsuspecting public that aims to change our bathroom habits forever.
With a control pad that looks like something from a spaceship, the new toilet-seat fits over a regular toilet providing hi-tech lavatorial experience.
The technology only works when someone is perched on the gently-heated seat and gives the user a variety of choices.
After using the toilet the client can choose between 'bidet' and 'wash' with the former involving a warm jet of water while the latter is a little more bracing incorporating a powerful upward-facing shower.
The next option initiates a gale of warm air which dries the user before the experience finally comes to an end.
Known as 'Japanese washlets', these units have become all the rage in South Asia and up to 70 per cent of households in Tokyo boasts at least one.
The Saki restaurant in Smithfields, London, claims to be the first commercial establishment to fit the paperless toilet in the UK.
Iyako Watanabe, the Japanese-born managing director, said: "It's just like when mobile phones came in. For a while there were lots of refuseniks, but once you get one, there's no going back."
Colin Davies, managing director of Ascot Hygiene - the only UK distributor of the Dutch-manufactured £450 toilet seats - said: "It may be difficult to break down the traditional reticence of the British to accept change in the bathroom but this is the product to do it.
"Unlike a bidet this is all incorporated into your toilet, there is no need to change any of the sanitaryware, and can be used with ease. It is fairly advanced but a lot of people will like it because it is paperless, hygienic and a pleasant experience."
He says there has been a lot of interest from disability groups who say the ease-of-use is exceptional.
The British Toilet Association (BTA) - which campaigns for better public toilets - claims the UK is slowly improving its lavatorial tastes. Each year the association presents a Loo of the Year award - the current holder is Moto Hospitality for its service stations - and judges say the standards are rising every year.
Richard Chisnell, the director of the BTA, said the UK was looking to the East for advancements in toilet technology.
He made a trip to Beijing last year before London won the 2012 Olympics and said the Chinese public toilets were second to none. "The Chinese have spent £25m installing 3,500 tourist toilets and they are marvellous. I'd never seen anything like it in my life.
"There were settees, telephones, everything was automated. They were proper visitor comfort stations."
Armitage Shanks, one of the biggest sanitaryware manufacturers in the UK, says demand has gone through the roof for its Sensorflow systems, which use panel sensors to detect the proximity of the user's hand to avoid them having to touch the flush.
Cannon Hygiene, which supplies washroom products, has reported a doubling in sales of automatic soap dispensers and no-touch taps. Mr Chisnell of the BTA says the goal for the UK is for everything, from locking the door to flushing the toilet, should be automated.
Marshall Beach, of Cannon Hygiene, said: "People have much more of a hygiene awareness than they use to."
Mr Davies of Ascot Hygiene says units are selling fast and have even attracted buyers keen to do their bit for the environment. He said the paperless loo is ecologically sound because there is less waste being flushed into the sewerage system.
"British people aren't quite a prude as they used to be about things like this and I believe these units are the future."