Thisoldtoilet: September 2017

Wednesday, September 27, 2017

Replacement Toilet Lids and Seats - Don't buy a new toilet until you read this: Not all toilets give same performance - This Old Toilet 800-658-4521

Testers compared 2  brands of toilet with same price tag and found drastic  performance differences.  CR photo

When you make changes to your bathroom, the toilet is an important part of the equation. What is there to consider? The shape and style, right? And whether it will fit the right distance from the wall. But oh, there is so much more!

Consumer Reports tests to see if toilets effectively wash away debris, whether the bowl is left clean after a flush and how water-efficient they are.

What makes one toilet better than another? To illustrate, CR selected two toilets that cost the same - $150. But one is a recommended model, and the other has the lowest score in their ratings. Why?

The Mansfield Alto got only fair marks for waste removal. In several tests the sponge debris stayed in the bowl.

But the Delta Prelude does its main job very well.

And how clean is the bowl surface afterwards? One CR test is to draw a water soluble marker ring around the inside of the rim, to see if one flush can wash it away.

The Mansfield bowl was only “fair,” with markings left behind after each flush. A good performer has the power to rinse away most of the debris, most of the time.

The CR recommended Delta model did an excellent job powerfully rinsing the ring away.

And when you shop , check out the efficiency rating. The Delta uses less water than the Mansfield - just 1.28 gallons per flush versus 1.6 gallons.

If you have a toilet from before 1990, you can save 19 gallons per person, per day by switching to one with the EPA’s WaterSense sticker on it.

And to find out if yours is leaking and needs to be fixed or replaced, put a few drops of food coloring into the tank. In 15 minutes if there is color in the bowl - you’ve got a leak.

source: http://komonews.com/news/consumer/dont-buy-a-new-toilet-until-you-read-this-not-all-toilets-give-same-performance

by consumer reports

Wednesday, September 20, 2017

Replacement Toilet Lids and Seats - Tokyo is upgrading airport toilets with voice guides for the blind and waiting areas for service dogs - This Old Toilet 800-658-4521

A therapy dog wears a Superman Halloween costume as part of a program to de-stress passengers at the international boarding gate area of LAX airport in Los Angeles, California, United States, October 27, 2015. REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson - GF20000035658

In preparation for an expected 40 million visitors during Tokyo’s 2020 Olympic games, the Japanese government has launched a national toilet improvement campaign.

A good restroom is a high expression of Japanese hospitality or omotenashi; in 2015, the national government established an annual “Japan Toilet Grand Prize” to encourage innovations in toilet technology. The new campaign focuses on public facilities, and aims to redesign “comfort rooms” for all types of users from around the world.

Japan is already world-famous for its high tech Toto washlet toilets—a delightful self-cleaning unit with heated seats, dryers, and deodorizers. But the government’s challenge in preparation for the Olympics is to rethink the entire experience—from mitigating lines in bathrooms to standardizing toilet icons.

In preparation for an expected 40 million visitors during Tokyo’s 2020 Olympic games, the Japanese government has launched a national toilet improvement campaign.

Tokyo’s Narita airport is the first to be overhauled for the Olympics, with its “total toilet makeover” drive. New “designer restrooms” opened at the Narita International Airport earlier this month, featuring not the singing toilets, beeping bidets or sanitary wipes for smartphones that have awed visitors to Japan in the past, but rather thoughtfully-considered accessibility features.

Two new bathrooms in Narita’s Terminal 2 include a voice-guidance system that talks blind users through the space, and a light alert system to help signal to the deaf in emergencies. There are also designated double-wide stalls for travelers with service animals. These pet-friendly units have leash hooks, pet mats and cans for dog waste disposal, Japan Times reports.

“We decided to equip all bathrooms with universal design and renovate the toilets as well,” Naoki Ohata, spokesperson for the Narita Airport. Universal design means eliminating barriers for the most number of users. Universal design touches (pdf) in Narita’s airport restrooms include:

Directions for visually impaired

Braille and tactile information panels

Toilet bowls with handrails

Hooks for putting canes and umbrellas

Space for putting belongings

Lowered washbasins

Wider stalls so you can change clothes

Children’s toilet facilities

Wheelchair compatible toilets

Emergency alarms

Ostomate facilities

Beds

Narita has earmarked ¥5 billion ($46 million) to refurbish the airport’s remaining 148 bathrooms. Japan’s busiest international hub also announced plans to phase out traditional washiki squat-toilets in favor of traditional Western-style units.

Even after the Olympics, these improved facilities will be vital to Japan’s increasingly infirm population. “Japan is working to make cities more accessible and livable because the population is aging,” explains Atsushi Kato chairman of the lavatory research center Japan Toilet Labo to Japan Times. “Everyone is trying to create a society where the elderly can enjoy being outdoors, travel or shop.”

source: https://qz.com/1077828/tokyo-is-upgrading-airport-toilets-with-voice-guides-for-the-blind-and-waiting-areas-for-service-dogs/

by Anne Quito

http://www.thisoldtoilet.com

Wednesday, September 13, 2017

Replacement Toilet Lids and Seats - This toilet themed restaurant is guaranteed to make you think twice about that chocolate ice-cream- This Old Toilet 800-658-4521

A CHAIN of toilet themed restaurants in Taiwan is single-handedly demolishing the old adage “you don’t s**t where you eat”.

Modern Toilet celebrates bowel movements and quick nips to the loo with a variety of dishes that look just like POO.

You don't see this on Come Dine With Me — You don’t see this on Come Dine With Me

All the dishes and drinks are served in mini toilets, bidet-shaped bowls and mugs inspired by urinals and she-pees.

While the idea of it is enough to make most people gag, it’s popular with Taiwanese hipsters – and families.

Unlike in the West, where faecal matter is seen as something to be flushed away and not thought off again, poo is regarded as something cute and lucky in Chinese culture.

Superstitious Chinese folk believe stepping in poo is a good omen, and you are bound to receive good luck.

Similarly, if you dream about poo it is said to be a sign that something good is coming your way.

But regardless of old wives’ tales, it’s hard to believe that anyone would be pleased to see what is being served to them at Modern Toilet.

Piles of poo are all over the restaurant - but thankfully they're even edible or fake — Piles of poo are all over the restaurant – but thankfully they’re even edible or fake

There are even tiny toilets to serve truffles in... at least we hope that's a truffle — There are even tiny toilets to serve truffles in… at least we hope that’s a truffle

From horrifying thick turds of chocolate ice-cream to steaming portions of curry dished up in a mini lav, it’s less feast for the senses and more a game of mind over matter.

Adding to the bathroom ambience of the restaurant is the seating, with diners taking their seat on actual toilets.

On the menu they can enjoy either Chinese hot pot dishes, or European classics such as spaghetti or pork chop.

Every meal comes with a complimentary green tea and a serving of the eye-popping chocolate ice-cream that really could double for a poo.

The outside of the restaurant holds few clues about the wonders that await inside

If you were drinking from a cup shaped like a portable urinal would you opt for apple juice?

There are Modern Toilet restaurants all over Taiwan, with the first one opening back in 2004.

In 2013 a toilet themed restaurant opened in Los Angeles.

Diners are served their main meals in dishes shaped like small toilets

However, US diners weren’t impressed with Magic Restroom’s menu, which included Golden Poop (brown curry), Constipation (noodles with soybean paste) and Smells Like Poop (braised pork over rice).

Puddings were even more likely in prompt a dry-heave, with Bloody Number Two (vanilla-strawberry sundae) and Black Poop (chocolate sundae) both up for grabs before the restaurant quietly closed down eight months after opening.