I have a toilet in my house from the 50's that looks surprisingly like the brand new toilet I just bought from Home Depot. There has been little innovation in the area of urinals and toilets. For some reason, the throne has withstood public demand for generally higher levels of sanitation (see anti-bacterial hand lotion, the food service industry, among others).
I've had a hard time finding folks to discuss this with me because most people would rather suffer than be forced into a humiliating conversation about bathroom issues.
Urinals: The current designs require a PHD in physics with a minor in geometry in order to prevent anything from leaving the receptacle and landing on my shoes, the floor, etc. (was that tactful enough)? Why isn't there a design that allows me to make a deposit without fear of reprisal. I'm thinking something with a lot less angles.
Toilets (with respect to numero dos): Yes, we are talking about the dreaded splashback. Some proposed solutions.....increase the distance between the water and my bum. Find a way to break the surface tension in order to decrease the "splash back factor". Eliminate standing water or replace it with another substance.
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A funnel like device so that you could insert the appendage into it and the funnel would direct the fluid into the toilet or urinal would work to eliminate the splash factor, but men are of different heights, so it would have to be on a sliding (up and down) fixture.
Making toilets higher would solve the aiming problem many male users experience. The problem would be keeping it comfortable to sit on (i.e. people don't like dangling legs). Maybe were there a footrest, like for barber chairs, this would work.
I think urinals are designed not to splash back if you hit the right point. The problem is finding that sweet spot. In dutch airports they have started to paint flies under the porcelin and apparently men try to sink the flies and hit the right spot. They claim this has helped their cut their cleaning costs.
If your unit is sufficient, you can hold it at a spash resistant angle close to the water or urinal wall. If your unit is not adequate, there are many pills online that can help you gain this advantage. Post your email address here and I will send you information.
Travel to eastern europe.. two differing designs exist.. never happened.. one has you dumping on a 'shelf' of porcelain, when you flush it all slides forward and down a smaller than standard hole.. the other has a more cone shaped and deeper endpoint, still water filled.. the second was a higher that standard unit, mebbe 6-8 inches higher seat..
There is research in toilet mech ongoing, the main difficulty lies in the mandates for low and ultra low flushing.. which invariably forces folks to flush 2-3 times per 'load'
When I was in the Army Air Corps army of occupation in Germany in 1945 I discovered urinals in German bases where one wall had running water flowing down steadily into a drain where the wall hit the floor. Men urinated against the wall and there was no splashback. Continuously running water might be wasteful, but if a sense mechanism started the flow as a user approached the wall, a more economical setup could work.
Chakel01: there was an experimental design for an extremely low-flush commode that might be applicable here. It employed a "plug" of detergent foam to replace the trap and flush mechanism. No splash, no noise, no unsightly ring.
You could have a splash free funnel for all height/appendage combinations by mounting it in the floor at a wall, with an appropriately proportioned backsplash panel on the wall. Might be convienient for chair users, as well.
The height of urinals should be made adjustable to accomodate males of various heights, including kids. I am thinking of hydraulic sliding mechanism for height adjustment and sensors (may be with manual height adjustment). I come and stand in front of it, and the urinal adjusts its height.This would cut on splashes that I have to see, when I go in a public urinal.
What about a deeper urinal, kind of shaped like a saxaphone- the water/trap part is very far down, so instead of aiming forward and getting splashed the user could aim further down and stay dry.
A deeper urinal with a higher front wall would solve the splash problem. The bottom of the urinal should be close to floor level, while the front wall of the urinal should be about 18 inches high. Aiming at the back of the urinal lower than the height of the front wall would ensure no splash-back.
As for splash-up while defecating, the obvious solution is to design the toilet with a lower water height. Many toilets are made with the bottom of the bowl considerably higher above the floor than necessary. A toilet with a tall bowl and a low bottom can have a lower water height without reducing the depth of the water. If you shop around you can certainly find toilets with taller than average bowls.
in the 50's urinals had the drain at floor level. As long as you had good enough aim to keep it off you feet, the angle was ideal for no splash-back. Also was good as floor-drain when mopping.
This one is sorta like the one I remember.
http://www.urbanhonking.com/liz/2006/05/the_urinal.html
The lack of splash was easily dicernible when wearing shorts.
I wonder whether the surface of the water might be disturbed (vibrated) and thereby change the mechanics of the splash?