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Why aren't we all using Japanese toilets?

priceonomics.com

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Re: Why aren't we all using Japanese toilets?

#81

Post by gallaghersean »

Reltair wrote: post #36
swampthing wrote: post #4

I might in the paranoid minority on this, but here are some concerns I have: * How does the toilet know that everything is clean? With toilet paper, you can just wipe with new toilet paper until there is no more residue. * What is the algorithm for the toilet's spraying? Does it end up spreading diluted feces around, or is it careful to spray outward-in? * What happens if feces end up on the nozzle? Is there some kin…

When I went to Japan and used the public toilets there, the nozzles would first go through an auto-cleaning process when you sat down.

Good, that would help with my fear. But then again, what's the algorithm of their cleaning. How does it know for sure it's clean? Honestly us Americans can be messy. I can only image what it would be like using one of these at Walmart, a public rest stop or even your infamous Gas Station restroom (if you want to even call those restrooms).

Re: Why aren't we all using Japanese toilets?

#83

Post by base698 »

swampthing wrote: post #4

I might in the paranoid minority on this, but here are some concerns I have: * How does the toilet know that everything is clean? With toilet paper, you can just wipe with new toilet paper until there is no more residue. * What is the algorithm for the toilet's spraying? Does it end up spreading diluted feces around, or is it careful to spray outward-in? * What happens if feces end up on the nozzle? Is there some kin…

Most of the ones I used had two settings for temp and two settings for power of stream. A few of them had an angle setting as well. You just press and held a button until you felt clean, then used toilet paper to dry off.

Re: Why aren't we all using Japanese toilets?

#84

Post by joezydeco »

tomjen3 wrote: post #14
MrFoof wrote: post #2

The US is a notoriously price-sensitive market. For a lot of folks, they wouldn't consider paying $1000+ for a toilet when the most basic American Standard can be found for about $125. A lot of people would find it hard to justify an order of magnitude price increase. I know Boston has a Toto showroom in its North End, but I really cant consider it due to the rules of my apartment building.

How long does a toilet last? Ten years? Then we are talking less than the cost of your internet connection (and we won't mention the cost of food, which is way more than that).

The tank and bowl itself will last 30-40 years no problem. There are no moving parts to the porcelain.

The valves and seals may need replacing, and the bowl should be kept clean to avoid staining, but I've never heard of someone replacing the entire unit every 10 years.

Re: Why aren't we all using Japanese toilets?

#85

Post by lux »

axusgrad wrote: post #20
lux wrote: post #10

Do these improve upon the ergonomics of the common toilet? I'm thinking of the comparison between sitting and squatting positions.

Heated seats. Finding a plumber I trust seems like a problem some startup has solved. There's never enough time to follow this up, I've been intending to upgrade for over a year.

I'm thinking something more like this:

http://ergonomenon.com/ergonomics-articles/the-ergonomics-of...

Re: Why aren't we all using Japanese toilets?

#86

Post by CanSpice »

DigitalJack wrote: post #74
masukomi wrote: post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I can confirm @aptimpropriety's claim after having tested this in bidets in multiple countries. It doesn't matter how high you turn on the water pressure, if you grab a piece of toilet paper afterwards it seems to always find some... remainders.

I believe those are referred to as "Klingons." I've never had the opportunity to use a bidet, but on top of the lack of a thorough cleaning, aren't you dripping wet after? Even in a half squat after the fact, I would expect this unsanitary water to run down one's legs.

The article states "Even still, many users of bidets use some amount of toilet paper, especially for drying purposes."

Re: Why aren't we all using Japanese toilets?

#87

Post by crusso »

radley wrote: post #7
swampthing wrote: post #4

I might in the paranoid minority on this, but here are some concerns I have: * How does the toilet know that everything is clean? With toilet paper, you can just wipe with new toilet paper until there is no more residue. * What is the algorithm for the toilet's spraying? Does it end up spreading diluted feces around, or is it careful to spray outward-in? * What happens if feces end up on the nozzle? Is there some kin…

- It's like washing your hands vs. wiping them off with a paper towel. You should wipe clean first, then you water clean. - The sprayer is manually controlled: when you're done using and flushing, then you wash & dry. It doesn't just stick out the whole time.

Regarding the sprayer, the question is not necessarily what happens to it when it's not spraying water... when the nozzle is in the process of spraying you, it's unavoidable that some of the contaminated splatter goes back into the nozzle.

Anyone who uses that toilet will inevitably share the germ cultures from one another's feces. That doesn't strike me as very sanitary.

Re: Why aren't we all using Japanese toilets?

#89

Post by majormajor »

The US population seems rather stubborn regarding toilet habits. This is anecdotal, but I knew a guy who interned about a decade ago with a company that produces a lot of toilet paper here in the US. He told me that they had internally developed forms of "wet" toilet paper that were pretty much superior to the dry kind in every way (think of the difference in trying to clean off your hands with a dry paper towel and a wet wipe of some kind), and IIRC they thought they could produce them in a way that wouldn't cause a substantial price hike, but whenever they did tests consumers almost universally hated the feeling, and regardless of how much better/easier they cleaned, they basically refused to consider them. Which is a shame, since dry paper really isn't the best cleaning tool...

Re: Why aren't we all using Japanese toilets?

#90

Post by CanSpice »

crusso wrote: post #80
aptimpropriety wrote: post #9

Every one of these articles gets the pitch of these toilets completely wrong - for every person, and in every scenario, these are not universally better. Consider the following experiment: Smear some mud on your arm. Now, using a jet stream the power of a squirt gun and very low precision, wash it all off in 10 seconds. Not so easy. Then - imagine if you put mud on a place with hair! Not only will it not be clean wit…

Very informative post. Thanks for getting into some details that were bouncing around in my mind. The article makes it sound as though you don't need toilet paper and that didn't sound quite right unless the jet was pretty significant and included some kind of soap.

The article actually states "...many users of bidets use some amount of toilet paper, especially for drying purposes."
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