Two years on from the dawn of the Covid-19 crisis, we still remember those scary weeks of early 2020, when we were forced – for the first time in our lives – to abandon human contact, withdraw entirely from the society upon which we depended, and retreat into our homes for a period of time scarily unknown. As we grappled with video conferencing, home schooling, and increasingly dire news headlines in the midst of a global crisis, a second doomsday scenario was brewing in the hearts of minds of people everywhere: the sudden, immediate fear of being stuck on the toilet… and finding ourselves down to the very last paper square.
A prospect clearly too bleak for anyone to come to terms with, society succeeded in convincing itself in a very short space of time, that living a life without toilet roll was the most terrifying threat it faced. As a result, March 2020 saw the panic buying of toilet paper sweep supermarkets across the country. Despite authorities repeatedly stressing that there was no shortage to fear, the disproportionate buy-up left trolleys stacked high, shelves empty, and frenzied shoppers fighting each other in the aisles.
Toilet Roll Be Gone: Why Did Tissue Paper Invoke Such Hysteria?
Toilet paper won’t get you from A to B in a genuine life-or-death crisis… so why was it this everyday item that sat at the core of our frenzied stockpiling response? Psychologists at the time surmised that the events unfolding had dramatically triggered our fundamental need to feel clean and safe. Since toilet paper is such an intrinsic part of everyone’s daily hygiene practice, it was quickly elevated in status, and coveted accordingly. As shoppers began seeing empty shelves where toilet paper had once been stocked, the vicious cycle of panic buying became self-perpetuating, and stockpiling behaviours grew disproportionately out of control.
Paperless Toilets: Our Worst Fear Or Our Best Idea Yet?
In March 2020, people convinced themselves that a life without toilet paper was unfathomable. But it turns out, we’ve already been living a life without toilet paper for decades.
In several European countries, separate bidets are required by law as an essential bathroom fitting. Used habitually, they are considered indispensable by many in parts of Western, Central and Southern Europe, Eastern Asia, and some South American countries.
Once a standard component of bathroom suites here in the UK, bidets have since fallen out of fashion – much to the dismay of those caught short in 2020 – likely because of the space they require, and the ready availability (until March 2020, of course) of alternative cleaning methods.
But there is a better way…
All-In-One Innovation: The Future Of Modern Bathrooms
In Japan, innovative toilets with integrated water cleaning features – combining the functions of a toilet and a bidet – have been around since the 1980s, and are currently installed in more than 80% of Japanese households. Eradicating the need for a separate wash toilet, these ingenious and hygienic systems not only provide an easy way to maintain optimal hygiene standards, but eradicate the need for the daily use of toilet paper in its entirety.
Introducing The SensoWash
The bidet is making a comeback… but not as you know it.
Considerably softer, gentler and fresher than toilet paper, cleansing with water meets every requirement that toilet paper does… whilst also exalting users to the stress-free status of being entirely exempt from any kind of panic-induced supermarket shortage of the future. This is why the concept of shower toilets – a toilet-bidet combo – are increasing in popularity.
The SensoWash – Duravit’s latest contribution to this progression – this paperless toilet has been designed to meet every requirement of the contemporary bathroom, providing hygienic cleanliness, superior comfort and ease of use, alongside a sustainable design.
With an array of variable cleaning features that allow users to adjust and store bespoke wash and dry settings, the SensoWash also features an innovative inner bowl night light, so that midnight trips can be navigated effortlessly, without interrupting the body’s circadian rhythm, for minimal sleep disruption. A heated seat, an adjustable energy saving mode, and a remote control for ultimate ease of operation combine to deliver a toilet that ticks every box, both in terms of comfort, and sustainability.
A More Sustainable Future with Paperless Toilets
If more of us embrace the concept of ditching the toilet roll in favour of water jet hygiene, we’d not only save ourselves from ever having to become embroiled in a panic-stricken trolley dash for the last mutli-pack in the aisle, but we’d be doing our bit for a more sustainable future, too.
The tree pulp that is required to produce the toilet paper we use, the tonnes of chlorine needed to bleach it, the gallons of water involved in the production process, and the plastics within which manufacturers wrap and sell it to us, could all be minimised if, as a society, we follow suit with other cultures, and embrace the shower toilet concept. Whilst a typical single shower toilet use requires only an eighth of a gallon of water, The average roll of toilet paper demands 37 gallons of water in its production process, not to mention the four gallons per single flush, to remove it from our bathrooms.
So, are we, as a society, ready to embrace a cleaner, more environmentally-friendly approach to hygiene, and free ourselves from the toilet paper scrambles of the future?
If you’d like to discuss upgrading your hygiene regimen with an innovative, eco-friendly and beneficial bathroom addition, get in touch with the team for more info, today.
