Due to COVID-19, people are now more concerned about the hygiene of public washrooms than ever before. One Hundred Restrooms conducted a survey in December 2020 to understand current customer needs and expectations concerning the hygiene of public toilets. According to the study, 60% are worried about the quality and hygiene of toilets in public spaces such as train stations, petrol stations, shopping centres, and municipalities. It’s no wonder why touch-free bathroom gadgets are increasing in demand lately.
If you’re in the market for a new bathroom or remodelling an existing one, be sure to explore the latest tech options available. Read on to discover some valuable, modern technology in the washroom.
Smart Toilets
A smart toilet looks and functions just like a regular one but comes with a handful of in-built features that makes it way more convenient and safer. They are fitted with either a button or motion sensor to flush automatically.
Some smart toilets come with seat warmers with customisable settings for extra convenience. Another popular feature is a mechanised toilet lid that automatically opens and closes for a touch-free experience. A night light feature helps you reach your toilet without turning on the washroom lights at night.
If you require a bidet, smart toilets provide front or rear spray wash with adjustable water pressure and temperature and drying functionality.
Though smart toilets are expensive and consume more electricity, you can’t overlook the hygienic benefits from their complete touch-free experience. They are also environment friendly as they reduce water consumption for flushing. Smart toilets are also highly accessible for the elderly and differently-abled to efficiently carry out their hygiene routine.
Sensor Activated Taps
Modern-day taps come with motion sensors that turn on and off with just a movement of your hand to provide a hygienic touch-free washroom experience. Adjustable settings and different modes let you adjust the running tap’s temperature, flow, and duration.
These motion sensor taps are built with infrared technology that turns on when they sense objects below, such as hands, turning off automatically when removed.
Whether it’s for reducing water consumption at your home or minimising physical contact in public areas like shopping malls and corporate offices, modern motion sensor taps are brilliant for the long term. These can be a great addition to health and safety as they help control the spread of germs through hands-free functioning.
Automatic Hand Dryers
Automatic hand dryers also use infrared technology to detect motion, turning on whenever they detect hands under them. Some run for a specific time frame like 30 seconds and automatically turn off, whereas others run as long as your hands are under them.
You need motion sensor hand dryers in any touch-free washroom to minimise human contact, especially in public facilities. There’s added benefit in that they are a huge energy saver compared to push-button dryers. Similarly, smart hand dryers are a more hygienic and environment-friendly option against traditional paper towels.
Digital Showers
Built-in smart technology in showers has revolutionised the modern showering experience. Showers, nowadays, come with LCD panels to control water temperature, water flow, and shower time. More advanced showers even come with voice recognition, letting you operate solely by speech.
Smart showers are a great asset to the futuristic bathroom. They help save water using settings to control shower time. For instance, you can adjust your digital shower in advance for a long and relaxing lazy Sunday morning shower or set it up for a quick one before bed or office.
These futuristic showers also aid in maintaining a hygienic washroom to keep you safe from bacteria and viruses using fully touch-free technology or reduced touchpoints.
The self-cleaning function in some showerheads cleans off automatically and prevents calcium and mineral deposits. You get an increased lifespan on your showerhead while also saving yourself the trouble of cleaning it manually.
Some showerheads come with waterproof Bluetooth speakers. You don’t have to worry about setting up your regular speakers or damaging them with water contact. Spare yourself from running audio devices in your room in high volumes and enjoy your favourite music, podcasts, news, etc., right from your shower.
Smart Lockers
Worrying about losing the locker key isn’t something your customers or visitors should be doing when they are in your gym, library or similar establishment. To your rescue, technology has made its way to smart lockers. Digital locks operating with passcode provide keyless access. As multiple people use lockers in public spaces, it is necessary to maintain proper hygiene. There are smart locks with touch-free technology operating via Bluetooth and mobile apps that reduce touchpoints for sanitary purposes.
Smart Lockers have a lot to offer than just keyless access and better hygiene. The digital technology provides secure self-service storage facilities while helping facility managers maintain governance with real-time usage reporting.
In addition to providing a highly secure storage system, smart lockers in public areas like hybrid workplaces, gyms, educational institutions, and sports complexes help lessen physical contact through reduced touchpoints. Users get more safety, especially during a pandemic.
Smart LED Mirrors
You may think, do I really need smart mirrors? It’s a valid thought. Even if you adopt modern technology in your washrooms, it’s easy to overlook smart mirrors at present. Since we look several years ahead of us when redesigning bathrooms, futuristic bathrooms will be incomplete without smart mirrors.
Adjustable light settings, including simulated natural outdoor lighting, set smart mirrors apart from the rest. This lets you view yourself in different lighting conditions. You can opt to get a more advanced smart bathroom mirror that provides weather forecasts, news, traffic updates, and so on to get more things done during bathroom visits.
Though installing smart mirrors in all public places may not be ideal, they would be great at workplaces. Seeing as some smart mirrors even detect your mood and tell jokes to relieve stress, your employees can return from the washroom feeling physically and mentally refreshed. The advanced lighting options that smart mirrors offer are a great addition to the washrooms of spas, beauty salons, and other such establishments.
Touch-free Soap Dispensers
When everything else in your smart washroom operates without human touch, why leave out the soap dispenser? This bathroom accessory comes with sensors for motion detection. The touch-free soap dispenser automatically dispenses just the right amount of liquid soap into your palm when placed under it.
You go to a washroom to clean yourself up. No wonder how many dirty hands are laid on the soap dispenser daily. You wouldn’t want to risk touching that pool of germs, especially when technology in the washroom has done wonders to keep you safe. Hands-free soap dispensers let you wash out the germs off your hands without exposing them to even more.
Self-cleaning Technology
Self-cleaning technology in washrooms employ nozzles that spray sanitising agents on the floor and toilet. After a minute or so, it sprays water all over to wash the sanitising agent away. Then automatic dryers dry the floor by pushing the liquid towards the drain.
The cycle repeats after a few usages of the washroom, sanitising the cubicle to provide a fresh, hygienic bathroom ready for subsequent use.
Using automated technology like this in washrooms saves the cost of maintenance tremendously. You even get a cleaner restroom compared to conventional washroom facilities.
Automatic Ventilation Systems
Automatic ventilation systems offer better ventilation to washroom cubicles and the general bathroom area. These automated systems effectively utilise natural ventilation through windows that help circulate fresh air in your washroom space, enhancing air hygiene. With a design that automatically turns on and off to maintain comfortable temperature and humidity in your washrooms, you can be sure to have mould-free walls and floors.
In addition to all this tech, there are other intelligent bathroom gadgets such as smart scales, soaking tubs, warming drawers, heated bathroom floor, refrigerated bathroom cabinets, and waterproof TVs. These are more suitable for private use in houses and hotels than public washrooms. However, commercial facilities can leverage them to convey a sense of luxury and contemporaneity.
Installing High-Tech Bathroom Accessories?
The technologies we’ve explored here can help maintain healthy hygiene levels in public washrooms. Smart bathroom gadgets also help tackle environmental issues by saving power and water consumption while providing the utmost comfort. From smart toilets that detect and reduce the amount of water used for each flush to sensor-activated taps that turn off automatically when not in use, such innovations can make a real difference not only to your convenience but also to your pockets.
If you’re a designer or builder looking for ways to incorporate cutting-edge technology in washrooms or are simply responsible for managing a public bathroom, please get in touch with our team of experts. We are happy to discuss your options and advise on the best ways to implement these technologies into your existing setup or help build an entirely new smart washroom.
