Bathroom

As any barkeep will tell you, the bar/pub industry is a very competitive one, with business owners taking every opportunity they can to attract clientele to their establishments. If the usual approaches such as cheap drinks aren't doing enough on their own, however, now there's something else that may help draw the customers in ... or at least, into the men's washroom. It's called Captive Media, and it consists of urinal-mounted video game systems, where men control the gameplay by changing the trajectory of their urine stream from side to side. Hey, whatever it takes to make your watering hole Number 1, right? Read More

If you think this smells like a PR stunt, you're right. In an effort to raise awareness about bathroom emissions and water savings, Japanese toilet manufacturer TOTO has created the Toilet Bike Neo Project ... yep, it's a road-going, three-wheeled toilet fueled by "biogas" generated from the toilet waste. Read More

Oral hygiene has come a long way from the twigs, bird feathers and animal bones our ancestors used to clean their teeth. The first recorded toothbrush in history consisting of a twig with a frayed end called a chew stick dates back to 3,000 BC but toothbrushes have since evolved to include electric toothbrushes that move the brush head more rapidly than our puny wrists can manage. Such devices of course require charging, which usually means a charge station taking up valuable real estate on the bathroom counter alongside a rinsing glass. Now Philips has released a toothbrush that charges when placed in a glass that can still be used to rinse your mouth after brushing. Read More

Nobody likes the smell of a just-used bathroom – and no, we don’t mean a bathroom in which someone has just bathed. That’s one of the reasons bathrooms have ceiling extractor fans, although installing the wiring and ducting for such hardware is a hassle that it would be nice to avoid, if possible. The Odourbuster is an invention that reportedly does away with the need for a fan, by taking those nasty odors and sending them where everything else went – down the toilet. Read More

If you’re a guy who shaves in the shower, you no doubt know the frustration of trying to keep your shaving mirror fog-free. In some bathrooms, even just the installation of such a mirror can be tricky, as can positioning yourself to use it. Squarely addressing these conundrums is the Reflect, a combination showerhead and non-fogging mirror. Read More

From the “so simple it’s a wonder no one has thought of it before” file comes the self-standing Dews Toothbrush from Ryan Harc. With its ability to stand upright, the design offers a simple solution to the problem of where to put a toothbrush without running the risk of covering it in an assortment of germs which will happily make their way to the insides of your mouth next time you brush your teeth. Read More

In today’s water-conscious environment, any device that helps conserve precious H2O should be applauded. Paul Priestman from design company Priestmangoode has created the Water Pebble – a gadget that monitors how long you’re taking in the shower by flashing red when it’s time to get out. But what makes Water Pebble different from other timing devices is that the Water Pebble memorizes how long you took for your first shower and sets about gradually minimizing the amount of water you use by reducing the time it takes for the device to flash red in subsequent showers. Read More

Currently, your iPod might have your favorite songs personalized the way you like them and your laptop might be customized with your own homepage material. But what about your shower or bath? Do they know what you like? An easy-to-use interface for your bathroom is now available from Moen that gives you the ability to set and maintain water temperature, levels and flow with electronic precision – even remotely. The ioDIGITAL is available for three Moen products: the vertical spa, shower and Roman tub. Read More

Baby baths are handy when your child is young but they grow out of them quickly. Some designs can also be particularly ugly and take up valuable space in the home. The Flexi-bath ticks all the right boxes for looks, style and functionality - children can use the bath up to the age of four and it also folds up when bath time is over. Yes – you read correctly – it folds up flat when bath time is over. Read More