FEATURE
Sanitaryware: rethinking the way
we touch and handle things
33
By
Eamonn Ryan
With the Covid–19 pandemic continuing to spread, the need for
personal hygiene has become more pertinent than ever. One of the
high-risk areas is community toilets and public restrooms. Combined
with the need for water efficiency, new-age smart toilet systems
could be an effective solution to the problem.
Ceramics are not a mechanical product, so the battle
against Covid-19 is primarily waged by the choice of
mixers and taps. These then are at the forefront of the
battle against Covid-19 and sanitaryware and fittings
suppliers have been scrambling to make available a
range of touch-free taps and mixers in chrome-plated
brass. Long before Covid-19 became a household
name, the major challenge to brassware was water
efficiency – now products need to combine both.
As offices and shopping malls reopened, so usage of common
restrooms increased. Given the hazards associated with
restrooms, where innumerable hands touch the taps and
faucets, certain measures (with a cost component) need to be
taken to ensure they are ‘safe’ to use. Public or commercial
restrooms are increasingly being designed around the concept
of keeping them infection-free.
Some of the solutions in the short-to-medium term include:
• Touch-free taps/faucets or sensor taps
• Sensor doors which open and allow movement without
individuals having to touch handles
• Integrated wash basins with sensor taps/faucets and soap
dispensers, along with hand dryers
• Free-standing dispensers with foot pedal kept at the
entrance of the restroom; dispensers are tagged to
a sensor, which provides real-time refill status of the
dispensing solution
• Toilets equipped with self-washing mechanism
button, the hidden spray arm extends and cleans your bottom
with a jet of pleasantly warm water. You decide the water
temperature and the intensity and position of the shower spray.”
What’s not to like?
The name ‘shower toilet’ is a misnomer – it is not simply a toilet
situated in the shower. Initially inspired by the bidet, they look just
like normal toilets; however have water jets built in to the toilet
bowl, often accompanied with a drying function, to replace toilet
paper in your clean up routine. The shower toilet is becoming a
popular bathroom solution worldwide due to its practicality and
hygiene benefits, especially in Asia. However, in many western
cultures old-style toilet paper is still the favoured option.
Rethinking touch
In the communal toilet and bathroom, there are multiple
surfaces and spaces which people are likely to touch and come
into contact with. Elements such as toilet flushes, taps and
soap dispensers, for example, are all likely to be hazardous at
a time where there is risk of viral contagion. Therefore, whether
as plumber or a consumer, we all need to rethink the way we
touch and handle things. Owners of commercial and retail
buildings are increasingly looking to install hands-free options
The pandemic has created opportunities for sanitaryware
manufacturers – and they appear to be rising to the
challenge and focusing their resources to develop and
introduce cost-effective, intelligent solutions. These are the
future of public hygiene.
Intelligent toilets, which have been popular in Japan for many
years, are now available in South Africa. Features include
everything from motion-sensor night lights to hands-free
opening and closing, shower toilet options, odour extraction
units, warm air dryers and even seat-heating. The Geberit
website describes the shower toilet thus: “At the touch of a
Eamonn Ryan
Darryl Brainin, director of Burgess Plumbing.
September 2020 Volume 26 I Number 07
www.plumbingafrica.co.za