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« Blogging Notes | Main | Transcending Rotten »

October 27, 2009

Speechless

Donald Pittenger writes:

Dear Blowhards --

I am dumbfounded. I do not know what to say.

We were at Seattle's home show Sunday and one of the displays featured this:

Toilet-wash%20basin%20combo.jpg

Which is a new product by a firm named Caroma whose Web site is here.

I cannot imagine myself using the thing as intended.

Or otherwise.

Later,

Donald

posted by Donald at October 27, 2009




Comments

They're actually a pretty common style in Japan, where the sink and tub are in a different room than the toilet. One gets used to them... and one falls in love with bidet style toilets. Wish they were affordable here.

Posted by: Spike Gomes on October 27, 2009 12:46 AM



On the bright side, it's a toilet, not a bidette. Doesn't that make it a little more acceptable?

Posted by: mike shupp on October 27, 2009 12:49 AM



The home version of a prison toilet?

Posted by: Saint Russell on October 27, 2009 12:52 AM



Why not? The first time I saw a picture of one of those, I thought it was genius. Apparently they are quite popular in Asia.

I've also seen a twist on the concept where, instead of a sink, there was a decorative waterfall which served to fill the tank.

Posted by: Johnny Abacus on October 27, 2009 7:09 AM



Why not? What is wrong with using the "gray-water" produced by hand washing to flush the toilet? Since peeing into the sink seems to be something every man living in countries with indoor plumbing has done at least once ... a use of modern plumbing fixtures that introduces human waste into the place where the pisser and others wash their hands ... this space and water saving device hardly seems that radical.

Posted by: Chris White on October 27, 2009 8:41 AM



Actually, this does work in certain instances. I had a storage space under my stairs which I thought might be a good place for a gardener's toilet. I needed an extra toilet and this would have done nicely. Obviously, this is not a good idea for a regular bathroom, and certainly not one that you would want to inflict on guests.

Posted by: Charlton Grriffin on October 27, 2009 10:18 AM



Why are bidets always so low that I can't use them anyway?

Posted by: dearieme on October 27, 2009 1:47 PM



Can't really tell the size from the pic, but it looks like I'd have to straddle the bowl somewhat to reach forward and wash my hands. If it's small enough that I wouldn't need to do that, it would be too small for me to sit on to do the Second Needful Thing.

Posted by: PatrickH on October 27, 2009 3:02 PM



which direction do you sit in? Facing the sink?

Posted by: Steve-O on October 27, 2009 3:30 PM



I like it.

It would be better if the tank/sink were offset to the side.

The hole at the bottom of the tank could be on one side, and there might need to be a pedestal of some sort to support the other side of the tank/sink.

Very clever.

Posted by: sg on October 27, 2009 7:11 PM



If it saves water and saves space...why not?

Don't we become like the Greens (shudder) when we oppose what is, in essence, a means of damming water for future use?

Posted by: Robert Townshend on October 27, 2009 9:38 PM



Easy solution: Stand up and turn around, then flush.
::Rolls eyes::
Toilet behavior is among the most needlessly stubborn things in the world. I mocked the Japanese bidet till I gave it a shot and lo, I became an instant convert.

Posted by: Spike Gomes on October 28, 2009 12:54 AM



The Japanese Toilet is really a toilet bidet combination and although nice is also very expensive. You can keep your current toilet and get the same benefits by adding a hand bidet sprayer for very little cost. A hand held bathroom bidet sprayer is so much better than a stand alone bidet and this is why: 1. It's less expensive (potentially allot less) 2.You can install it yourself = no plumber expense 3. It works better by providing more control of where the water spray goes and a greater volume of water flow. 4. It requires no electricity and there are few things that can go wrong with it. Available at http://www.bathroomsprayers.com

Posted by: Jeff9 on October 28, 2009 2:29 PM



I would love to have a dual-flush toilet as an alternative to the "if it's yellow, let it mellow" style of water conservation.

The hand-washing sink I can take or leave -- it's OK, I suppose.

Posted by: Chas Clifton on October 28, 2009 9:53 PM






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