71–80 of 156 posts
(During the exchange with the aliens who live there, one
More chemical waste in our water system. There's nothing wrong with the amount of water we currently use to flush our toilets. Now, there's something to be said for a cleaner flush, but another solution to that problem - with many other benefits - is to consume more fiber
That depends entirely on where you live. Depending on the local situation, you might have almost no fresh water, way too much fresh water, or just the right amount of it. In these sort of conversations people often seem to forget that their local conditions are not universal.
500 flushes is less than a year for a toilet used twice a day (say before and after bed), I hope that coating is cheap, easy to apply, and doesn't create substantial pollution either as it is created or used. I hope the sewer system doesn't need to just add water as a result. Toilet water use doesn't seem like a big enough contributor to the problem that it's much use optimizing it in most places. But there are proba…
Sure, a flush is only 3-4 litres but that could make the difference in a dry summer.
Hi Everyone! Birgitt here from spotLESS Materials -- we are commercializing this technology and some of the authors of the Nature Sustainability paper are part of our team. I'll try answering some of the questions I'm seeing. Would love to hear your feedback! Check out our products at: https://www.spotlessmaterials.com/shop Check out the full research article here: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41893-019-0421-0#ci…
He was a bit more colorful, but in essence he said: With two liters of water you are not going to move 1kg feces far enough down the pipe, so it starts piling up. That's the reason why they get called there more often.
So no matter how you coat it (pun intended), what problem are you trying to solve? Also re-applying the lubricant after 500 flushes means I have to re-apply it after around four months with two people in a household using the toilet twice per day. With kids or more room mates, even more often? I think I'd pass and rather clean the toilet properly.
Why don't we use grey water to flush toilets? It can use water either from the bathroom sink or shower.
The reason so many 'amazing' idea never take off in houses and why cookie cutter housing rules.
There are big regulations, if you cross the piping you could theoretically contaminate the streets or larger water supply.
You now have two water systems in a house. Plumbing is not cheap, having two is more $.
You'll need a pump and holding tank, a place to run the pump and holding tank. It'll might me loud and can break down, will fail in blackouts. Can the tank get legionnaires disease?
500 flushes is less than a year for a toilet used twice a day (say before and after bed), I hope that coating is cheap, easy to apply, and doesn't create substantial pollution either as it is created or used. I hope the sewer system doesn't need to just add water as a result. Toilet water use doesn't seem like a big enough contributor to the problem that it's much use optimizing it in most places. But there are proba…
Cleaning a toilet sucks, this product will sell well if it works as claims and makes it easier. They will get $, you will not.
Cleaning public buildings is a huge cost that takes manual labour, if this product has a good price point and works as they say, it will save $100 of millions yearly.
No one in the real world actually cares about saving water in the home and being afraid of new things is boring.
The only question is "The researchers also predict the coating could last for about 500 flushes " In the past the issue stopping these products being everywhere has been the fact they wear out quickly when abraised.
Hi Everyone! Birgitt here from spotLESS Materials -- we are commercializing this technology and some of the authors of the Nature Sustainability paper are part of our team. I'll try answering some of the questions I'm seeing. Would love to hear your feedback! Check out our products at: https://www.spotlessmaterials.com/shop Check out the full research article here: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41893-019-0421-0#ci…
In a former flat I had a plumber over, we got to chat a bit. He said that in they often get called to subsidized housing, as the amount of water used in toilets there is often set to a low setting in order to save money. He was a bit more colorful, but in essence he said: With two liters of water you are not going to move 1kg feces far enough down the pipe, so it starts piling up. That's the reason why they get calle…
But maybe you mean only flushing twice per day, despite using it more frequently, in order to save water? That would beg the question of how this coating material would hold up when subjected for hours per day to the "toilet environment" you produce vs. a clean water environment.