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Japanese tech gadget prevents elderly toilet accidents
Sydney April 6th 2020
Approaching a milestone birthday, its fair to say that my personal plumbing is in reasonable working condition. I have a skin check annually and a biennial colonoscopy and prostate check. And, I encourage my peers to do the same.
But, when my middle son recently took a trip to Japan it inspired me to research the technology that’s available with Japanese plumbing.
And apart from the wonderful bidet type toilets that do everything, I found this little gadget.
It simply measures what is going on with your personal plumbing.
When you’re out and about and your bowels need to be emptied, it sends you a text message warning that you’d better get to a toilet in the next ten minutes.
Now, I hope my three boys don’t have to help their dad with his toileting, but the benefits of the Japanese Poo app for the aged and disabled seem like a helpful advancement.
I encourage you to follow the link to see it.
Just Add Water
Everyone is talking about the upcoming summer like its the imminent return of an old old friend. My sunrise learn-to-surf visits to the local beaches find them full of boys and girls and boot campers getting buffed for the summer unveiling of the new bod. And everyone is drinking water out of water bottles.
Now, hydration is not a new theme and the sweat produced to work that body needs to be topped up with good old H2O, Adams ale, water, the universal solvent. Its well known that people who engage in strenuous physical exertion or live in a hot climate (that’s us people) need to drink plenty of water.
After swallowing more than my share of the Tasman Sea most mornings, I guzzle water from the beach taps to re-hydrate myself.
The human body is anywhere from 55% to 78% water depending on your body size. A simple rule of thumb, 2/3 of our body consists of water.
Did you know that your tissues and organs are mainly made up of water?
• Muscle consists of 75% water, Blood consists of 83% water, Bone consists of 22% of water, Brain consists of 90% of water.
• The recommended amount is 8-10 glasses of aqua per day.
• So remember, if your gonna work it, you have to re-hydrate it.
• Dr Dave says, Drink more water!
Blocked Pipes and Council Trees
Did you know many blocked sewers are caused by the tree roots from Council street trees?
This issue is becoming a very big drain on the budget of many local councils.
The council owned trees that make some of our more sought after suburban streets very special, are creating havoc underground by repeatedly blocking the sewer pipelines from many of the homes on those streets. Councils are fighting a losing battle trying to bring the tree roots under control.
The budgets of many local councils are strained as they just can’t keep up with the demand of their ratepayers to attend to sewer blockages caused by these street trees.
There is an economical way for local councils to Stop Tree Roots in Pipes and ease the burden on the budget and the ratepayers who have regular tree root blockages.
Vaporooter Kills Roots. Period!
Stop Leaking Taps
As a plumber, the majority of house calls I make have to do with leaking taps. Obviously in most cases it is correct to call a plumber but some times we are called to houses to carry out a simple plumbing job that takes five minutes which could have easily been completed by anyone with a little know-how.
Here are a few pointers that can help to avoid problems like these:
- Treat taps gently. They should be turned off with thumb & forefinger. If you are having an arm wrestle turning your taps off, stop it!
- Try to repair a dripping tap if you can. Always turn the water supply to the house off first!
- Simple repairs can be done by anyone. Don’t forget the o-rings, tap washers, tap seats and fibre washers. Lubricate them all.
- There are so many types of taps available today, even the pros need to seek advice.
- There is no shame in not being able to repair a dripping tap. I have seen plumbers who are grown men cry over leaks like these.
Flush with Facts #3 Thomas Crapper
Thomas Crapper was a plumber in the second half of the 19th and early 20th centuries who founded his own company in Chelsea, London in 1861.
Contrary to popular belief, Crapper did not invent the flushing toilet; that is said to have been invented by Sir John Harrington. Crapper however did make several patents relating to drain improvements, water closets and manhole covers. His plumbing business was quite successful, and supplied plumbing to members of the royal family, a feat for which many incorrectly believed he was knighted.
Although he did not invent the flushing toilet, Thomas Crapper & Co did successfully market and mass produce them. As soldiers passed throughout England during WWI it is believed that the slang term “crapper” was created due to the Crapper & Co’s logo being displayed everywhere.
Flush with Facts #2
August is the month of the good toilet flush!
Did you know the dual flush toilet cistern was a 1980 Australian invention by Bruce Thompson, an employee of Caroma?
The dual flush toilet cistern saves 32,000 litres of water per household per year. In 2014 most modern toilet cisterns have an internal overflow tube, so if your float valve doesn’t shut off, the water runs straight into your loo, rather than overflowing onto the floor….. So the single flush toilet cistern should be a thing of the past!
3 Tips for Healthy Hot Water
Who had a cold shower this morning?
Winter makes the need for hot water a high priority. If you think your heater is under performing do this quick water heater health check.
1. Check the colour of your water. If its brown, your water heater has a buildup of sediment or rust.
2. Check your Temperature and Pressure Relief valve (like the one shown below), pull the lever; it should spurt out water till you let go of the lever. If it dribbles afterwards, it needs attention.
3. Does the stop valve work? Try turning it off, test the water at your hot taps and turn it back on. Ideally it should stop the water flow through the heater.
Whether your water heater is gas or electric, storage or continuous, check it regularly.
If your hot water runs out get your friendly plumber to check it over
My car is powered by sewage
Methane powered beetle
This post was brought to my attention by the ever vigilant Richard Piper. When you ring our office for help you may speak to him. Tell him you enjoyed this post; I did!
Sewage powered VW Beetle hits the road in Bristol! A Volkswagen Beetle powered by gas from sewage has taken to the road for the first time in Britain.
This converted Beetle car runs on methane gas. The Bio-Bug was launched on Thursday by Wessex Water, which is generating methane from human waste at a sewage treatment works near Bristol.
The company claims the prototype is able to cover 10,000 miles annually on the waste from 70 households.
If the trial proves successful, Volkswagen will consider converting some of its fleet of vehicles to run on biogas.
Mohammed Saddiq, of GENeco, a Wessex Water subsidiary which runs the biogas plant at Avonmouth, said: “Our site has been producing biogas for many years, which we use to generate electricity to power the site and export to the National Grid. With the surplus gas we had available we wanted to put it to good use in a sustainable and efficient way. We decided to power a vehicle on the gas, offering a sustainable alternative to using fossil fuels which we so heavily rely on in the UK.
“If you were to drive the car you wouldn’t know it was powered by biogas as it performs just like any conventional car. It is probably the most sustainable car around.”
The Anaerobic Digestion and Biogas Association said the launch of the Bio-Bug proved that biomethane from sewage sludge could be used as an alternative fuel for vehicles.
Lord Rupert Redesdale, the association’s chairman, said: “This is a very exciting and forward-thinking project demonstrating the myriad benefits of anaerobic digestion (releasing energy from waste). Biomethane cars could be just as important as electric cars.”
Last month Volkswagen announced plans to conquer the green market with a new generation of hybrid and electric cars.
Antonio Gaudi water conservationist
Barcelona 2010
To visit Park Guell and see the home and creative brilliance of Antonio Gaudi is a special treat.
Gaudi created Park Guell for the citizens of Barcelona. It has gardens and homes with a view of the city and the Plaza.
The Plaza is a meeting place for the people of the city and the brightly coloured mosaic seating around the manmade plaza had a secondary purpose. The dry Mediterranean weather usually meant excess water used on something as soothing as a fountain for the citizens and visitors to the city was a waste of water. That didn’t phase Gaudi.
The water catchment created by the Plaza was a brilliant idea to collect any rainwater that fell, and through an underground filter and the storage system, the rainwater was then piped to the mouth of a Mosaic dragon lying in a garden with a fish and lily pond at the bottom of the beautiful staircase.
The ergonomic design of the seating around the Plaza, which was beautifully decorated in mosaics, was incredibly comfortable to sit back, relax and talk with friends and family.
Gaudi’s design allowed any water from those brief showers to fall to the back of the seating and then get channelled off quickly into a gutter on the outside of the seating and then dispersed to the dry garden areas below through a series of “spitters” hand carved in stone.
Absolutely Beautiful!
Park Guell Lion
Rain lions
A place for inspiration and relief
In previous blog posts on urinals and toilets, I showed you a field goal in a urinal that helped to reduce spillage, and also the infamous ‘fly in the urinal’ at Schiphol Airport. So once again, courtesy of Exponential Growth Strategist (http://www.ExponentialPrograms.com) Dr Marc Dussault (http://www.MarcDussault.com) here is another photo, this time of an unknown location in Amsterdam. This is just another example of how we can all take life a little less seriously and enjoy ourselves a little more.
A place for reflection
The next time you come across an interesting bathroom or other plumbing related installation, please take a picture and forward it to me – this blog is a collaborative effort from people travelling all over the world to bring you a mosaic of photos, articles and facts that are curious, intriguing and fun.
More from Venice 2
St Marco drain boat
Now Giovanni knows his way around the lagoon and the Grand Canal and all the other canals of the beautiful city of Venice.
His impressions of the sewers and sights of Venice along with his images of the way sewer is transported from the grand homes and palaces along the canals is always educational.
Apart from being a wonderful host and waterman, this excerpt from a recent correspondence underlines just how well our correspondent in Venice knows his way around his water bound city.
Hey Dave!
So can you imagine that Sophie the daughter of a friend from Evans Head, came to visit me in Venice?
Yesterday we had a great evening and this morning I had to wake up early ‘cause I had a commitment with a Norwegian novelist. He is writing a novel about somebody escaping from an island in the lagoon of Venice with a gondola, so he had to check out if it was possible for somebody to do it without knowing anything about a gondola before the moment of the escape.
I took him out on my gondola this morning at 8 for some research and now I’m back. I took these pics on the trip.
Gondolier at rest
So dear readers, this gondolier knows his S – – T.
Please enjoy some more images of Venice courtesy of Gio.
Cruise ship at anchor Venice
The latest sewer notes and history of Venice
Mozarts neighbours get the drains cleared
More S – – T from Venice! The best part about this blog is sharing with so many people and getting your insights into my topic, S – – T.
Our knowledge of the sewers of the world grows.
Basically, we all use our toilets regularly and if you are not, then seek medical advice. Now I’m not going to get into anything unsavoury in this post, but I have a few toilet jokes and stories lined up for you in the future. So stay regular!
Our regular readers would have read about the world famous Venetian Gondolier my friend Giovanni Giudice in earlier blog posts like Holy S – – T. A Gondoliers impression.
Here in Australia, as we drift into the cooler months it’s spring in Venice and Gio has been keeping me up to date with some interesting facts about the sewer movements and the history of his home town.
Here is an excerpt from a recent communiqué:
Mozart slept here!
Yesterday I took these pics of drain boats in the first one you can see how they get the pipes to the house. This house is just in front of the house where Mozart, Wolfang Amadeus Mozart, stayed when he came to Venice in the Carnival of 1771.
This is written on the marble white stuff you see. Probably there is still some Mozart S- -T!!
Drain boat at St Marco square
This pic is of another Drain boat in front of San Marco Square. As you see from the last picture, I have taken all these pics from my gondola. You can see I’m under the bridge and you see the back (stern) of my lady, my gondola.
Take care my friend,
Giovanni
If you are travelling to Venice and need a guide, look for Giovanni, he is the best!
He aims, he shoots, he scores!
Today’s blog post is from Exponential Growth Strategist (http://www.ExponentialPrograms.com) Dr Marc Dussault (http://www.MarcDussault.com) who tells me that Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam setup a test with a fly printed at the bottom of the men’s urinals to ‘reduce’ spillage. From memory, the reduction was astonishing, 75%+ reduction. The reason it seems is that given a target, men can actually aim quite well…
Marc came across this version of the same principle in his native Montreal, Quebec at a local sports restaurant called La Cage Aux Sports (http://www.cage.ca/pointe-claire)…
La Cage Aux Sports Urinal
Schiphol Airport Urinal
Let’s face it – spillage or no spillage – this just looks like a lot of fun doesn’t it?
Psst! If you look closely at the floor – there’s no spillage!!!
Plumbing Fixtures or Art?
Artist Clark Sorensen, the man who created the urinal/sculpture of former U.S. President George W Bush, has many other wonderful plumbing creations which can be used as functioning wash basins and urinals.
For examples of creative plumbing products and further information check out: http://www.clarkmade.com/
