What’s in the tank for toilets and bidets?
Style-wise, the most dramatic shift we have seen in the bathroom remodels for a while is the trend towards wall mounted toilets and/or the inclusion of a bidet. Both trends offer exciting benefits. You can add a bidet to your design or some toilets double as a bidet and separate units are not necessary. Wall hung toilets are desirable when you need an additional 6” in the floor plan as the tank is recessed in the wall between two studs. Toto has a wall mounted toilet complete with the company’s Dual-Max 3D Tornado high efficiency flushing system. With fixtures hovering in the air, you have a fully open floor space and the illusion of a larger room.
Although a separate toilet and bidet are most common in European countries, the toilet with a bidet feature is what is gaining popularity here in the states. Conserving space is one of the reasons for opting for the packaged fixture. For those of you who just remodeled your bath and didn’t opt for the toilet with bidet features: rest assured that you can find bidet seats available from several manufacturers to use on your existing toilet. The bidet seat uses warm water from two separate nozzles to provide thorough cleaning.
Shape-wise, toilets have taken on a more angular look and many are now skirted making cleaning that much easier. Speaking of cleaning, American Standard has introduced ActiClean, a self-cleaning toilet. The toilet looks like the traditional toilet from the outside but it carries an on-demand cleaning feature which is controlled by a panel in the tank. With the simple press of a button you can initiate a quick 60 second clean or you can opt for the full ten minute cleaning cycle. To round out the focus on cleanliness and hygiene in the bath look for models with hands-free flushing as an option or for Kohler’s automatic opening and closing lid.