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An intelligent toilet or smart toilet (sometimes referred to as a modern day bidet) is a bathroom plumbing fixture or type of electronic bidet toilet which incorporates traditional bidet cleansing (for genital, buttocks and anal hygiene), with the added enhancement of modern SMART home technology. [1]
Modern intelligent toilets incorporate electronic bidet cleansing functions into a ceramic toilet bowl for a low-profile and modern aesthetic. Intelligent toilet bidet functions are managed through voice command, mobile app or remote control navigation, [2] depending on the toilet's manufacturer, make and model.
Lower-cost options include a detachable toilet seat referred to as an "electronic bidet ("e-bidet")" seat, which are becoming increasingly popular as well. [2]
Intelligent toilets and electronic bidets alleviate numerous health concerns, especially for users with sensitive or damaged skin. [3] By eliminating fecal bacteria left behind by toilet paper, intelligent toilets also dramatically increase a user's hygiene by preventing the spread of bacteria to each user's hands. [3] Intelligent toilets can aid:
Intelligent toilets can be environmentally beneficial as they reduce a user's need for toilet paper, saving households money on paper products and allowing users to reduce their paper consumption over time. [2] [3]
Modern high-efficiency intelligent toilets also use 1.0–1.28 gallons of water per flush, reducing water consumption and waste as well. [4]
In the 1700s, Bidets introduced throughout numerous European countries as a standard for hygiene and in some countries, contraceptive measures. [5]
Electronic bidets are introduced around the world in the 1980s with popularity slowly growing in Japan, Europe and North America. [2]
By the 2000s, numerous vendors including AXENT Switzerland, American Standard, TOTO, Duravit, and Kohler introduce one-piece, design-conscious electronic bidets. As more suppliers enter the market, electronic bidet toilets become more uniquely-designed while manufacturers begin testing the incorporation of more advanced toilet functions and tools.
In the 2010s smart home technology and home automation gains momentum as homeowners begin incorporating digital lighting, climate, entertainment, appliance and home-monitoring systems into their homes. AXENT Switzerland debuts the user-monitoring and automated intelligent XT-SPA and AXENT.ONE Plus intelligent toilet at the Guangzhou Design Week in November 2017. Kohler promotes the Kohler Konnect concept suite and Veil intelligent toilet at CES in January 2018.
Intelligent toilets have been featured in the comedy Why Him? starring James Franco and Bryan Cranston. [6]
In a 2020 interview, American actor Dennis Quaid also announced that he bought a smart toilet, after being inspired from a stay at Las Vegas hotel. He also discussed his usage of a multiple wireless utilities. [7]
Toilet paper is a tissue paper product primarily used to clean the anus and surrounding region of feces, and to clean the external genitalia and perineal area of urine.
A flush toilet is a toilet that disposes of human waste by collecting it in a bowl and then using the force of water to channel it through a drainpipe to another location for treatment, either nearby or at a communal facility. Flush toilets can be designed for sitting or squatting. Most modern sewage treatment systems are also designed to process specially designed toilet paper, and there is increasing interest for flushable wet wipes. Porcelain is a popular material for these toilets, although public or institutional ones may be metal, etc.
Washing is a method of cleaning, usually with water and soap or detergent. Regularly washing and then rinsing both body and clothing is an essential part of good hygiene and health.
A bidet is a bowl or receptacle designed to be sat upon in order to wash a person's genitalia, perineum, inner buttocks, and anus. The modern variety has a plumbed-in water supply and a drainage opening, and is thus a plumbing fixture subject to local hygiene regulations. The bidet is designed to promote personal hygiene and is used after defecation, and before and after sexual intercourse. It can also be used to wash feet, with or without filling it up with water. Some people even use bidets to bathe babies or pets. In several European countries, a bidet is now required by law to be present in every bathroom containing a toilet bowl. It was originally located in the bedroom, near the chamber-pot and the marital bed, but in modern times is located near the toilet bowl in the bathroom. Fixtures that combine a toilet seat with a washing facility include the electronic bidet.
A toilet seat is a hinged unit consisting of a round or oval open seat, and usually a lid, which is bolted onto the bowl of a toilet used in a sitting position. The seat can be either for a flush toilet or a dry toilet. A toilet seat consists of the seat itself, which may be contoured for the user to sit on, and the lid, which covers the toilet when it is not in use – the lid may be absent in some cases, particularly in public restrooms.
A squat toilet is a toilet used by squatting, rather than sitting. This means that the posture for defecation and for female urination is to place one foot on each side of the toilet drain or hole and to squat over it. There are several types of squat toilets, but they all consist essentially of a toilet pan or bowl at floor level. Such a toilet pan is also called a "squatting pan". A squat toilet may use a water seal and therefore be a flush toilet, or it can be without a water seal and therefore be a dry toilet. The term "squat" refers only to the expected defecation posture and not any other aspects of toilet technology, such as whether it is water flushed or not.
A urinal is a sanitary plumbing fixture similar to a toilet, but for urination only. Urinals are often provided in men's public restrooms in Western countries. They are usually used in a standing position. Urinals can be equipped with manual flushing, automatic flushing, or without flushing, as is the case for waterless urinals. They can be arranged as single sanitary fixtures, or in a trough design without privacy walls.
Toilets in Japan are sometimes designed more elaborately than toilets commonly seen in other developed nations. European toilets occasionally have a separate bidet whilst Japan combines an electronic bidet with the toilet. The current state of the art for Western-style toilets in Japan is the bidet toilet, which as of March 2016 is installed in 81% of Japanese households. In Japan, these bidets are commonly called washlets, a brand name of Toto Ltd., and they may include many advanced features rarely seen outside of Asia. The basic feature set commonly found on washlets consists of anal hygiene, bidet washing, seat warming, and deodorization.
Washlet is a Japanese line of cleansing toilet seats manufactured and sold by the company Toto. The electronic bidet features a water spray element for genital and anal cleansing. and commonly appears on toilets all over Japan. The device was released in June 1980 and as of January 2022, Toto has sold more than 60 million units.
A public toilet, restroom, bathroom or washroom is a room or small building with toilets and sinks for use by the general public. The facilities are available to customers, travelers, employees of a business, school pupils or prisoners. Public toilets are typically found in many different places: inner-city locations, offices, factories, schools, universities and other places of work and study. Similarly, museums, cinemas, bars, restaurants, and entertainment venues usually provide public toilets. Railway stations, filling stations, and long distance public transport vehicles such as trains, ferries, and planes usually provide toilets for general use. Portable toilets are often available at large outdoor events.
A chemical toilet collects human excreta in a holding tank and uses chemicals to minimize odors. They do not require a connection to a water supply and are used in a variety of situations. These toilets are usually, but not always, self-contained and movable. A chemical toilet is structured around a relatively small tank, which requires frequent emptying. It is not connected to a hole in the ground, nor to a septic tank, nor is it plumbed into a municipal system leading to a sewage treatment plant. When the tank is emptied, the contents are usually pumped into a sanitary sewer or directly to a treatment plant.
A wet wipe, also known as a wet towel, wet one, moist towelette, disposable wipe, disinfecting wipe, or a baby wipe is a small to medium-sized moistened piece of plastic or cloth that either comes folded and individually wrapped for convenience or, in the case of dispensers, as a large roll with individual wipes that can be torn off. Wet wipes are used for cleaning purposes like personal hygiene and household cleaning; each is a separate product depending on the chemicals added and medical or office cleaning wipes are not intended for skin hygiene.
Anal hygiene refers to practices that are performed on the anus to maintain personal hygiene, usually immediately or shortly after defecation. Anal cleansing may also occur while showering or bathing. Post-defecation cleansing is rarely discussed academically, partly due to the social taboo surrounding it. The scientific objective of post-defecation cleansing is to prevent exposure to pathogens.
An aircraft lavatory or plane toilet is a small unisex room on an aircraft with a toilet and sink. They are commonplace on passenger flights except some short-haul flights. Aircraft toilets were historically chemical toilets, but many now use a vacuum flush system instead.
A toilet is a piece of sanitary hardware that collects human waste, and sometimes toilet paper, usually for disposal. Flush toilets use water, while dry or non-flush toilets do not. They can be designed for a sitting position popular in Europe and North America with a toilet seat, with additional considerations for those with disabilities, or for a squatting posture more popular in Asia, known as a squat toilet. In urban areas, flush toilets are usually connected to a sewer system; in isolated areas, to a septic tank. The waste is known as blackwater and the combined effluent, including other sources, is sewage. Dry toilets are connected to a pit, removable container, composting chamber, or other storage and treatment device, including urine diversion with a urine-diverting toilet.
A bidet shower—also known as a handheld bidet, commode shower, toilet shower, health faucet, bum shower, jet spray, hand shower, shatafa or bum gun—is a hand-held triggered nozzle that is placed near the toilet and delivers a spray of water used for anal cleansing and cleaning of the genitals after using the toilet for defecation and urination. The device is similar to that of a kitchen sink sprayer. In Pakistan it is commonly known as Muslim shower.
A toilet is a small room used for privately accessing the sanitation fixture (toilet) for urination and defecation. Toilet rooms often include a sink (basin) with soap/handwash for handwashing, as this is important for personal hygiene. These rooms are typically referred to in North America as half-bathrooms in a private residence.
An electronic bidet is a seat attached to an existing toilet or a part of the toilet itself, with a nozzle to squirt a jet of warm water for cleaning the anus and female genitals, electrically powered and with electronic controls. It replaces the conventional bidet, a separate plumbing fixture not attached to a toilet. Some bidets of this type have one adjustable nozzle on the side rim for anus and genital areas, or two nozzles on the back rim, a shorter "family nozzle" for washing the area around the anus, and a longer "bidet nozzle" for women to wash their vulva.
The tabò is the traditional hygiene tool primarily for cleansing, bathing, and cleaning the floor of the bathroom in the Philippines, Indonesia, East Timor, Malaysia, Vietnam and Brunei. Tabò is the Filipino name, while gayung and cebok are the equivalent terms used in Indonesia, Brunei, Malaysia, and East Timor. Its Vietnamese name is thau tắm or chậu nước. The tabò could most commonly be in found rural areas though it is also widely used in cities. The word may be related to the word cebok in Indonesia and Malaysia, which describes the process of cleansing oneself using a tabò in a mandi.
Gel wipe is a moisturizing gel applied to dry toilet paper for cleaning purposes, like personal hygiene, or to reduce skin irritation from diarrhea. It was developed in the 21st century as an environmentally sensitive alternative to wet wipes.