Archive for Toilet News
Toilet Paper Debate Reveals a Great Underclass
Posted by: | CommentsProfessor Toilet tries to avoid controversy, but this must be said. There are two Americas.
The 60 to 75 percent who say that toilet paper should be over.
And the 25 to 40 percent who believe, who truly believe, that toilet paper should be under, a.k.a. The Underclass.
Tearing at the very two-ply of our nation, the toilet paper under vs. over debate even has its own Wikipedia entry, “Toilet paper orientation,” which fills more than 23 typed pages with more than 9,000 words, 129 notes and 119 references.
Toilet Paper Under Over: An Historical Perspective
There was a time in our history when people weren’t torn asunder by over/under. Toilet paper didn’t exist. So that was easy.
The founding fathers’ original intent was clearly for us to be a toilet-paper-over nation.
The first mention of toilet paper on broadcast television is said to be about the toilet paper under over issue. It’s credited to All in the Family’s Archie Bunker yelling at Meathead for…can you guess? Under, of course.
Another member of the underclass was Ann Landers, who came out and declared her toilet paper orientation to be under. She later said it generated more letters than anything else in the 31 years of her column.
It’s polarizing.
American Standard put the squeeze to the issue twice: first in 1993, with an advertisement and survey conducted at that year’s Kitchen & Bath Industry Show. “Over” won. Our 2008 Bathroom Habits survey reaffirmed the overwhelming preference for “over” with 75 percent of respondents clearly standing up to the Underclass.
Soothing a Nation’s Rift with Quilted Softness
But being America, the Professor is proud to say that for every polarizing issue, there’s always something we can find that unites us. In the case of toilet paper, we can all agree on incredible resentment for the jerks who leave an empty roll.
Good.
Better.
The WORST.
Are Water Saving Toilets Stopping Up Sewers?
Posted by: | CommentsWhen the Professor talks water-saving toilets, the focus tends to be on whether or not it has the flushing power to effectively clean the bowl and avoid household clogs. But every now and then there is a reminder that all that waste has to GO somewhere. A toilet flush not only needs to clear the bowl, but also keep waste moving through the sewer system.
Older 3.5 gallon per flush (gpf) toilets used plenty of (you might even say too much) water to move waste through drainlines down to the sewer system, but as 1.6 and even 1.28 gpf toilets become the norm, some reports emerged questioning whether the reduced amount of water was enough to power waste effectively through the pipes underground.
Studies to date have found that the reduced water flow is not to blame. A drainline carry study performed in Australia at locations deemed to be of “above average” difficulty in terms of drainline length and slope (or lack there of) found that water saving toilets caused no blockages. Other studies have demonstrated that poor drainline installation is the main cause of sewer back-ups, including rough joints, debris from construction being left in the pipe, and even lengths of pipe that slope the wrong way.
A new study by the Plumbing Efficiency Research Coalition is scheduled to begin early this year, thanks in part to a generous donation of test apparatus by American Standard Brands. With water shortages critical in many parts of the world, and drought forecast for the entire southern tier of the US in 2012, any study that helps build end-user confidence in high-efficiency plumbing will enable this significant water savings to continue, rather than literally sending technical advances in flushing performance “down the drain.”
World Toilet Day: Better Toilets and Better Toilet Flushes
Posted by: | CommentsYesterday the Professor was thrilled to tune in to NPR’s Science Friday to hear toilet experts discuss a favorite issue: building a better toilet. Participants included Jim McHale, vice president of engineering at American Standard; author Rose George; Frank Rijsberman of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation; and Daniel Yeh, engineering professor and toilet inventor.
The topic of the day was World Toilet Day, an event designed to raise awareness about the 2.6 billion people on earth – that’s 1/3 of the world population – who do not have access to proper sanitation. Lack of access to toilets lead to diarrhea, disease, and death, and represents a serious problem in the developing world.
This is why engineers are working on “reinventing the toilet” to create a commode that does not require access to a sewer system or clean drinking water for flushing. The Gates Foundation has also created a special program offering grants to engineers to create new toilet prototypes. Dr. Yeh is currently working on a model that uses anaerobic bacteria to digest waste, for example.
The Professor also appreciated the discussion
on the challenges faced by toilet designers in the U.S. McHale explained that the main concern at American Standard was to conserve water without sacrificing performance, and discussed the company’s participation in the EPA’s WaterSense program, which promotes water efficient products and encourages water-saving behaviors. The Professor particularly enjoyed McHale’s description of the H2Option siphonic dual flush toilet, an “engineering miracle” that uses smart science on the inside and an EverClean glaze on the outside to ensure that a wasteful “double flush” is never necessary to clean the bowl.
If you missed the original broadcast, you can listen in on the Science Friday podcast page.
Want to do more to support the fight for better sanitation around the world? Donate to the World Toilet Organization now!
World Toilet Day Broadcast on NPR
Posted by: | CommentsNovember 19th is World Toilet Day, which is naturally 
one of the Professor’s favorite holidays. Today NPR is helping to raise awareness about the lack of access to sanitation around the world by devoting a portion of this week’s Science Friday show to World Toilet Day. Guests will include Jim McHale, vice president of engineering at American Standard as well as several experts on global sanitation issues and civil engineering.
Catch the entire Science Friday episode from 2-4 pm. The World Toilet Day feature will start at 3 o’clock.
Follow the link above to find out what stations in your area will be broadcasting the show, or to listen online. In the meantime, check out the great toilet videos that are already posted on the website. And check back soon for the Professor’s recap on the show.
Overflow Protection for Toilets: Innovative or Unnecessary?
Posted by: | CommentsProfessor Toilet has become aware of a toilet now on the market with a remarkable “new” invention—it has overflow holes in the bowl so that the bowl won’t overflow if the toilet clogs.
This is a great innovation, except it is years too late. Years ago when toilets used 3.5 gallons or more of water per flush, if there was a clog the bowl would overflow and make a mess. We old folks like the Professor remember many horror stories about this.
Now that toilets use only 1.6 gallons and even less of water per flush, there is not enough water in a single flush to overflow the bowl. One would have to flush twice or even three times in order to overflow the bowl. If your bowl is clogged you are not going to flush the toilet again if you see the bowl filled up with water and not going down. This is common sense.
Furthermore, with all the advances in toilet flushing technologies, new toilets featuring oversized trapways are engineered to eliminate clogging. In fact, toilets such as the American Standard Champion®4 toilet, with the industry’s largest siphonic trapway at 2-3/8”, is engineered not to clog and will remove a 67% larger mass than a toilet with a standard 2” trapway.
So with new toilets that feature trapways in excess of 2”, clogging is essentially a non-issue. And, even if the rare clog occurs, the bowl won’t overflow unless it is flushed repeatedly.
Now, a couple more thoughts about this “new” invention:
- The extra trap seal required for the overflow uses and wastes about 30 ml. of extra water on every flush. This is not going in the right direction for saving water.
- The extra seal for the overflow contains only about 30 ml. of water—it can evaporate quickly if the toilet is not used frequently enough. This will result in sewer gases leaking into the room and a rather nasty smell.
- Also, the invention only works on clogs in front of the trapway (the same kind you usually won’t get with a Champion4 or Cadet3). If the clog is in the drain pipe and not in the toilet, the bowl will still fill up with water. While the bowl won’t overflow because of today’s water usages, the new invention nonetheless isn’t failsafe for all kinds of clogs.
The Professor is continually on the lookout for new toilet innovations to determine their real merits and communicate the facts to his audience so that they can make educated decisions.
Toilet Seats Make a Difference
Posted by: | CommentsAmerican Standards ships toilets seats to military base in Kabul, Afghanistan
Sometimes, a toilet seat can make all the difference in making a military base thousands of miles away feel a little more like home.
Jeff Delling, a US Army soldier, noticed the shortage of toilet seats at his military base in Kabul, Afghanistan, where he is currently stationed. Jeff recently reached out to the customer service team through the American Standard website with a special request; toilet seats to cover the “extreme shortage” at the base noting that, at that moment, only one in every 5 toilets actually had a seat.
“It’s one of those details you don’t think of,” Karen Reiker, AS Customer Service Representative, said of the modest request. She quickly forwarded the request and the donation was approved without hesitation. Within a week, ten American Standard toilet seats were shipped to the military base in Kabul, Afghanistan, much to the appreciation of those serving the United States overseas.
The swift action of Karen Reiker, Chris Hopwo and the Customer Service Team highlights American Standard Brands’ employee’s dedication to giving back to those who put their lives at risk serving the our country.
Great job Karen, Chris and team!!
‘Big Squat’ Helps Raise Awareness About Global Sanitation Issues
Posted by: | CommentsNovember 19th was World Toilet Day, an international homage to modern sanitation.
During his globetrotting commemoration of this sacred day, Professor Toilet was
pleased to see the initiative taken by one protégé, who organized “The Big Squat” in New York City.
Held in conjunction with World Toilet Day, the social fundraiser helped raise awareness for the four in 10 humans that live without adequate sanitation, and was sponsored by The People’s Own Organic Power Project (The POOP Project).
One attendee of New York’s Big Squat celebration of World Toilet Day helps The People's Own Organic Power Project advocate for the toilet-less in developing countries.
According to Shawn Shafner, founder and executive director of The POOP Project, the event was part of an ongoing campaign to “create constructive, educational poop-positive environments that allow people to move past this socially taboo topic in order to confront the global lack of access to clean water, sanitation and hygiene.”
Shafner founded the arts and education organization in response to the lack of public awareness about crucial sanitary issues. Sadly, he notes, children are the most susceptible to illnesses caused by poor sanitation, resulting in 4,000 preventable deaths every day. Yes, each day, inadequate hygiene kills in epidemic proportions.
“World Toilet Day is a way of honoring the modern plumbing system that most of us take for granted,” says Shafner. “But we’re also aware that this system presents a looming disaster this decade as fresh water becomes more scarce, even in major U.S. cities.”
Blogger Deanna Neil posted a good question and answer dialog with Shafner, including his assertion that America’s sewage system is old and overburdened and, moreover, using “fresh water to flush our poop is simply not sustainable.” He also offers a number of ways to learn about water and sanitation issues and advocate for change. Kudos to the “Puru” of POOP.
The Professor is a proud friend of John-Michael Gigliotti, a 14 year old autistic teenager and highly knowledgeable toilet fan, whose passion for the commode is impressing plumbing industry executives and improving the facilities at a public park in his hometown of Camden, PA with the help of plumbing manufacturer American Standard.
John-Michael’s parents say that he has been fascinated by toilets since the age of 3, and that as he grew older he learned all he could about the different styles, brands, and flushing mechanisms available. Earlier this year John-Michael was given a tour of American Standard’s Piscataway, NJ-based factory, where he thoroughly impressed the staff with his knowledge of the brand’s product line. John Michael’s father, Camden City Council Member John Gigliotti said that he “watched John-Michael in utter amazement at how he shared his passion and knowledge of your product line and the product line of your competitors with [Director of Design] Gary [Uhl] and other members of your team.”
John Michael and his Cadet 3 Toilet from American Standard
The company donated the toilet of John-Michael’s choosing – the Cadet 3 FloWise, a selection the Professor would fully endorse – to his family, and John-Michael has been happily giving all visitors “the demonstration” ever since. Council Member Gigliotti thanked the company for their generosity and for their engagement with his son, reflecting, “it is going to take this spirited type of thinking and approach to help transition many of these children into adulthood and obtain semi-independent living with meaningful employment.”
However, receiving a new toilet for his home didn’t stop John-Michael from thinking about other parts of his daily life that would benefit from an upgrade to a new American Standard toilet. Over the summer, while visiting a local park, he noticed that the restrooms were in poor shape. He suggested to his father that they contact the company and ask if they could help by replacing the toilets, urinals, and sinks with better models. The Professor is pleased to report that American Standard agreed to help, and has told John-Michael to identify exactly what is needed at the park. They will then donate whatever products he believes will improve the park facilities.
John-Michael is still making his selections, but the Professor looks forward to learning what his recommendations are and offers a tip of the hat to this new, civic-minded colleague, the teenaged Toilet Guru.
