How to Choose a Smart Toilet for Your Bathroom

If you’ve made the decision to automate your home with smart technology, upgrading to a smart toilet might be next on the agenda. Yes, a smart toilet will cost more than a standard model. However, the many features that go with them could make the investment worthwhile.

Smart toilets are already popular in countries like Japan, where personal hygiene is held to a very high standard. Many Australians are unwilling to give up traditional toilet habits, although these habits are gradually changing.

While a smart toilet may be regarded as a luxury item, the real benefits are in hygiene and water conservation. But that’s not all there is to this high tech bathroom appliance. So if you’re in the market for a smart toilet to complement other elements of your automated home, here’s what you should know.

The Benefits of Smart Toilets

Let’s consider some of the main benefits of upgrading to a smart toilet.

Smart Toilets are More Hygienic

Perhaps the most important benefit of a smart toilet is hygiene. In fact, with many models you won’t need to touch a lid, seat, flush handle or rely on toilet paper.

You will still have access to toilet paper, of course, but a bidet-style water spray is more hygienic than using toilet paper. It will certainly reduce paper use and wastage at home, too.

While cleaning a smart toilet is much the same as standard types, there are features which make the process easier. Householders won’t have to clean as often thanks to a quick-release seat and pre-misting to prevent grime from sticking to the bowl.

More importantly, there are also self-cleaning models which don’t require any cleaning effort. Some clean themselves using a wiper blade and water, while other variants also use UV rays to eliminate parasites and bacteria.

Smart Toilets are Eco-Friendly

Most smart toilets use less water than standard toilet suites. A smart toilet will only use the amount of water that is needed for a specific flush. Smaller flushes will use as little as 0.6 gallons, while a traditional toilet uses about 1.6 gallons per flush.

Water conservation is not only environmentally friendly, you will also notice the difference on your water bills, particularly in busy households.

It’s also important to note that bidet cleaning reduces and even eliminates the use of toilet paper, which is also beneficial to the environment.

Smart Toilets Offer Many Features

When it comes to choosing a smart toilet, there’s an extensive list of models ranging from complete units to seat attachments. Naturally there are big differences between buying a seat attachment and a complete toilet and cistern that need to be installed. It really depends on what you’re looking for.

Toilet seat attachment models are at the lower end of smart toilet technology. They do feature bidet cleaning, a range of water pressure settings, hand controls and quick-release seats for easy cleaning. But it’s the full smart toilet suite that really offers top tier benefits, such as:

• Automatic lid with foot pedal
• Bidet wash
• Hands-free automatic flushing
• Flush technology (prevents overflow)
• Air purification system (or deodorising)
• Heated water bidet
• Heated seat (with temperature options)
• Water pressure controls
• Warm air dryer
• Night light
• Self-cleaning abilities
• Built-in sensors (alerting you to tank leaks)

What Does a Smart Toilet Cost?

With such a wide range of smart toilet brands and models on the market, the prices vary accordingly. Due to the different levels of technology involved, smart toilets range from around $400 to beyond $8000 for all the bells and whistles, which doesn’t include installation costs. These are complete units including a cistern and will require installation by a qualified plumber.

A smart toilet seat attachment is much cheaper with prices ranging from about $200 to beyond $1000. These can be installed by a home handyperson rather than a plumber. To put it simply, the level of technology and special features you desire will determine how much you spend.

What Are the Negatives of a Smart Toilet?

There are genuinely few negatives to smart toilets. However, you may find it’s not quite right for you. Some negatives to worry about include:

• Upfront cost: The main downside of a smart toilet is obviously the expense. This includes the cost of the unit and installation. It can be viewed as a long-term investment, but many people will be unwilling to dip into the household budget for a hi-tech toilet.
• Giving up old habits: Most people are set in their ways when it comes to toilet habits, so paying for a hi-tech toilet while also changing traditional methods might be a step too far for some.
• Power costs: Smart toilet technology also requires power, which means either batteries or plugging into your electricity. While the savings in water are likely to be more significant, there’s no doubt there will be extra power or battery costs.

In Conclusion

A smart toilet is worth the investment if you value the range of features that come with it. It can be viewed as a luxury item but considering the benefits of water conservation, reducing toilet paper use, better hygiene and time-saving convenience, it is much more than that. If you are automating the rest of the house with 21st Century technology, a smart toilet should really be a part of that upgrade.

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