Bathroom tech - I’m just not ready

MichaelB

MichaelB

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Maybe I’m part Luddite, but I’m just not ready for this much technology in the bathroom. From the latest CES, Kohler announces the Numi intelligent toilet. https://www.us.kohler.com/us/Kohler...ith-‘KOHLER-Konnect’/content/CNT131200001.htm
Numi intelligent toilet with KOHLER Konnect: Kohler’s most advanced toilet, the Numi offers personalized settings that let users fine-tune every aspect of their experience to their exact preferences, from ambient colored lighting to wireless Bluetooth®* music sync capability to the heated seat and foot warmer. Numi delivers hands-free control, personalized cleansing functionality, and exceptional water efficiency. Features of Numi with KOHLER Konnect can be controlled through voice-command, motion control or the KOHLER Konnect app.
Click to expand...
An app for the bathroom, with Alexa right there? I’ll pass, thanks. Some may find this useful, but for now everything I need a toilet to do can be accomplished quite easily without any iPhone, WiFi or AI. Besides, I doubt my “cleansing functionality” can get any more personal.
 
Not for me, but there's always someone who will pay for it. I've read where there's toilets in Japan that actually diagnose what you drop off, ie blood in your stool,etc.
 
According to the WSJ one needs to get rid of the bidet and install one of those fancy Japanese toilets in the bathroom. Oh, the shower needs to be converted to a two person steam shower. Add a free standing tub big enough for two and you're done. It's just another way to Blow that Dough.
 
Jerry1 said:
Not quite there, but I did get one of these.

https://www.homedepot.com/p/TOTO-A1...VwgOGCh3KsAPNEAQYAiABEgKp-fD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

Needed to have an electrical outlet installed next to the toilet but it was worth it. The bidet we had before, our first, was not electric. Warm water and a warm seat in the morning are much nicer.
Click to expand...

OK, that looks like one to add to the "Blow That Dough!" thread!

I don't have power that close to the toilet, so it would take some work. Surprised they don't use 48V wiring and a transformer so you could run low voltage wiring from the nearest outlet.

This would have made a great Christmas present! The laughs and comments as DW opened this would be worth the price of admission! :LOL:

-ERD50
 
I don’t need all of the audio and Alexa stuff in my toilet. But we do have a number of bidets in our house and I think they are well worth it. I purchased a BioBidet toilet seat from Costco when they had their holiday sale. It was around $250 and it provides a warm seat, warm water for washing, and hot air after the wash. It’s a small investment to make for a much more hygienic bathroom experience.
 
Other than the bidet, the main feature that I find (mildly) attractive in the Kohler toilet is the motion detecting flush mechanism, to avoid spreading germs. Now that would be somewhat nifty I think. But lights? music? heated seat and foot warmer? verbal operation of faucets in the shower and sink? None of those do much for me.

You can buy that Kohler toilet at Lowe's, for a mere $5,999.99 . And the emergency flush for power outages is an upgrade so I guess that costs more.

Definitely fits in the Blow That Dough category.
 
I don't know about the heated seat. Might be nice. But I get nervous about power, water & my twig & berries all next to one another
 
HFWR said:
Alexa: “OMG! What did you eat:confused:”
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When I was researching my bidet seat, one of the comments was:

Hey Google, wipe my butt! :D
 
Recently stayed in a hotel in Hawaii that had those high-end toilets (Toto Washlet) installed in some of their rooms...including ours. After experiencing *all* of it’s enhanced functionality, I reported back to my wife that I have never simultaneously felt so clean AND dirty at the same time.
 
One aspect of all this is clear to me.
All new builds and major bathroom renovations should have an electrical outlet installed near the toilet. The additional cost is very low. Doing it later is expensive.
 
In my last j*b, which was at a university, we occupied a space that was intended to be a luxury apartment for visiting professors. Short walk to campus, 1 Bed 2 Bath with very large high ceiling living area (old building, redone). Nice kitchen, high end appliances, etc. In a crappy neighborhood. It was redone by the U with a rent set at about 4x the area, and surprise, surprise, no takers. So we ended up setting up some cubicles in the living area, I ran the place and hired students to work for me.

One of the features was electric toilets. Had an electric flush but not the heated seat option. Still had a water pressure tank fill like your typical home toilet. Well, after several years that internal mechanism stopped sealing, and the toilet would "run" on and off since it didn't seal any more. The maintenance guy looked into the repair, and it turns out the unique parts cost more than buying and installing an industrial toilet. Never bothered to look up the brand, but he told me that new it was a few/several thousand $ new. :facepalm:

But we couldn't get raises that were promised after we quadrupled our outside funding in just a few years thanks to good performance. Then they forced us into a less convenient but fancier location since we needed to be showcased to outsiders, we were so successful, at substantially higher rent. Which has led to a decline in the amount the outside company funding us would spend on students. :(

I'm no longer there. :)
 
I may never be ready for that, but we don’t want Alexa or any of the other always listening digital assistants in our house, especially Google Assistant. But this thread isn’t the place to debate digital assistant privacy (again). I’ve managed in the bathroom without assistance for 64 years, why start now?
 
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More things to break so you have to pay to fix them.
 
Midpack said:
I may never be ready for that, but we don’t want Alexa or any of the other always listening digital assistants in our house, especially Google Assistant. But this thread isn’t the place to debate digital assistant privacy (again). I’ve managed in the bathroom without assistance for 64 years, why start now?
Click to expand...


But then how will “Big Health” know if you’re regular or not?
 
W2R said:
Other than the bidet, the main feature that I find (mildly) attractive in the Kohler toilet is the motion detecting flush mechanism, to avoid spreading germs.
Click to expand...

That sounds very cool. They have it on the toilets at my gym. But you have to quick jump out of the way before it flushes because it sprays a little. At home now sometimes I jump out of the way from force of habit.
 
I have 2 (not wifi or smart) bidet seats and I always will - :)
 
Midpack said:
I may never be ready for that, but we don’t want Alexa or any of the other always listening digital assistants in our house
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Neither do I! :flowers:



I deleted everything Facebook'ish from my phone when a rumour started going around about their app listening in on everything you say. Not sure if it's true but don't trust Zuch a bit and don't have the energy to find out properly.



And no security system with a camera in my home controlled by their central office. I want to pick my nose without an audience.
 
Thread reminded me of the high tech bathroom scene from the movie "Why Him?"https://video.search.yahoo.com/search/video?fr=mcafee&p=why+him+toilet+scene#id=2&vid=e1639e6258e1fdd2055078d4ba694872&action=view
 
misshathaway said:
That sounds very cool. They have it on the toilets at my gym. But you have to quick jump out of the way before it flushes because it sprays a little. At home now sometimes I jump out of the way from force of habit.
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Back at w*rk, we had one stall that would cough and spit out as high as chest level (5'10' man). It wasn't electric, so you had to pull the lever. One colleague complained that he was leaning down to pull the lever, and the flush coughed right into his face.


Disgusting. I avoided that stall like the plague.
 
I don't want any of the 'smart' features. Too much complication and things to go wrong for limited benefit, and too many negatives. Will the motion sensing really know when I want to flush? I can see issues where it keeps flushing and floods the place - no thanks. Or what if you accidentally drop something in - no don't flush!!!! - no thanks.

I was in one place with a motion sensor for the soap dispenser. It was placed such that it was difficult to get your hands rinsed and then dried w/o getting them splashed with soap again! :facepalm: It took "rinse and repeat" to a whole new level! I felt like a modern day Sisyphus!

But a warm bidet sounds good to me.

-ERD50
 
Yeah, those auto flushing toilets freaked out our 2+ year old grand daughter to the point where we couldn’t get her to go to the bathroom one a road trip we were on. I won major points when I stoped at a hotel to use their lobby bathroom that was not only clean, it didn’t have the automatic flush.

I don’t do that often, but I’ve come to learn that most hotels have a nice bathroom near the lobby. I try to use only ones where I typically stay. Mostly Hampton Inns. Better than a gas station - especially for the ladies.
 
W2R said:
You can buy that Kohler toilet at Lowe's, for a mere $5,999.99 . And the emergency flush for power outages is an upgrade so I guess that costs more.
Click to expand...

Maybe I've been spending too much time on this forum, but the first thing that came to mind was that some poor engineer, or more likely several of them, went to four or more years of engineering school to redesign something that's been working just fine for more than a century.:(

Oh well, it pays the rent I guess.
 
Walt34 said:
Maybe I've been spending too much time on this forum, but the first thing that came to mind was that some poor engineer, or more likely several of them, went to four or more years of engineering school to redesign something that's been working just fine for more than a century.:(

Oh well, it pays the rent I guess.
Click to expand...


I know you are talking about the high tech stuff, but don't laugh. A good friend of mine graduated with a degree in Ceramics Engineering and he made a career at Kohler. Yes, working on toilet and sink castings! He was proud of mentioning this at reunion events. With the new federal Watersense standards, they've employed plenty of Mechanical Engineers too.
 
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