New on your honey do list: high tech toilets and more

High-Tech Bathrooms

By Brad Lucht

A few years ago there was a popular show on television called “Are You Smarter Than a Fifth Grader?”  Today that question might be, are you smarter than your toilet?

Yes, technology has come to the bathroom, from toilets to showers, from sinks and faucets to bathtubs, technology has become embedded into our common, everyday fixtures.

No-touch Toilet

You’ll never have to raise or lower that toilet seat again.  The Kohler Numi will automatically raise its lid as you approach it.  If you’re a man, all you have to do is place a foot to the side of the toilet and the seat raises as well.  

Upon sitting down, a fan activates, which pulls air from the toilet bowl through a carbon filter to remove odors and help keep your bathroom fresh.

Walk away, and both seat and lid close automatically.  Once you’re done, the toilet will automatically flush itself.  

The Numi does much more, offering personalized settings that let you fine-tune every option to your exact preferences, from ambient colored lighting to wireless Bluetooth® music sync capability to the heated seat and foot warmer.  Other upgrades include Power-Save mode for energy efficiency, emergency flush for power outages, and an intuitive touch-screen remote.

The Nuvi also offers chair-height seating that makes sitting down and standing up easier for most adults, along with an integrated, self-cleaning bidet.

Digital Shower

Now let’s suppose for a minute that you don’t have $10K lying around to upgrade your shower system.  That’s OK, for about $85 you can start small with the Kohler Moxie, a wireless, Bluetooth showerhead speaker.  

The speaker docks directly into the showerhead, so your music is closer than ever when showering. While it plays your favorite sounds, this revolutionary showerhead generates a full-coverage, revitalizing spray of water for a sensory experience like no other, with 60 angled nozzles that deliver a full-coverage, enveloping spray.

Another showerhead to consider is the Delta Temp2O.  It features three color LEDs to let you know when the water temperature is just right. Better yet, a battery-free, water-powered display shows an exact numerical readout, so you can be assured that the temperature is also safe for children or pets. And with six different spray patterns, you can customize more than just the temperature.

But if you are going to dream big, shower big.

Kohler’s advanced DTV+ (Digital Thermostatic Valve) showering system brings together four elements – water, steam, lighting, and music – to give you a true multi-sensory showering experience.

You design your dream shower by selecting the components you like, from the standard showerhead to handshower, rainheads, body sprays and foot sprays to spa-like hydrotherapy with music speakers, steam, and chromatherapy.

Faucets

Delta has introduced Touch2O.xt™ Technology, which allows the faucet to be turned on with a simple tap anywhere on the faucet or even hands free.  It senses your presence within 4” and starts the water starts flowing instantly and effortlessly, then automatically shuts off within seconds once you remove your hands. It is a great way to conserve water.

Mood by Noken is a digital sink faucet that comes with a display showing temperature and flow rate. It allows you to set programs for teeth brushing, face and hands washing, as well as limits on temperature and flow.

HansaMurano X is a touch-free bathroom waterfall faucet activated by an infrared motion sensor that not only turns the water on and off but also senses when someone is approaching and turns on the light, presenting the sink with a welcoming glow.

Bathtubs

For the ultimate in convenient and personalized bathing, integrate smart technology into your tub that is controlled by an i phone and tablet. Every member of the family can set up their preferences and let the tub automatically take care of the rest. Options include everything from water level and temperature to a voice system to notify you when your bath is ready.

Long soaks in the tub can be very relaxing, but the water often cools down before you are ready to get out.  Today tubs with built-in heaters keep the water at your preferred temperature for as long as you want.  The MTI Whirlpool bath has an internal heating system that keeps the surface of the tub warm, which keeps the water heated longer.

Whirlpool baths that featured powerful jets were once popular.  Now “airbath” systems incorporate small jets in the interior of the bathtub to deliver a steady flow of warm air bubbles that gently circulate to coax strain and stress from tired muscles.

Ready to get even more relaxed?

Kohler VibrAcoustic® Hydrotherapy features transducers that broadcast sound waves which travel through the water and gently resound in the body. These transducers are

strategically positioned within the shell of the bath, providing the most beneficial effects to the entire body, while leaving the bathing surface smooth and uninterrupted.

With VibrAcoustic technology, vibrations surround your body and resound throughout your core as the sonic rhythms pulse both above and below the waterline. Choose one of the four original compositions, or listen to music on a personal device.

These technologies, and many more, can be found at Neenan Showroom, 10330 State Line Road.  Call 913.599.4098 to make an appointment, and be prepare to be amazed.