Smart Technologies for Your Bathroom

Just over three quarters of Canadians own a smartphone. Of those, 90% admit to using their smart device while in the bathroom. (We’re not saying the other 10% is lying. Well, okay, maybe we are.) But if your phone is the only smart device in your washroom, you’re missing out on a lot of the futuristic sleek tech that makes a chic, contemporary bathroom more practical and hygenic. Here is a list of these kinds of smart bathroom gadgets.

Smart Sinks.

Most of us are familiar with the most rudimentary smart sinks. Popular in malls, they use infrared sensors to turn the water on and off by detecting hand movement. Even these basic smart sinks are great for use at home. Since most of us wash our hands after going to the washroom, having to touch the faucet both before and after washing the hands is a bit counterproductive. An automatic smart faucet prevents contamination because you never have to touch the sink with your dirty hands.

Of course, smart sinks can get far more sophisticated than that. They can be programmed with your preferred temperature settings and even placed on timers. For example, you can program a smart faucet to turn on for a few seconds to wet your toothbrush and then to turn off for a specific length of time (usually 1-3 minutes). After that period is over, the faucet turns back on, so you can rinse your toothbrush and your mouth. This makes it easy and intuitive to brush your teeth for your preferred length of time.

Voice-Control Assistants.

Google Homes, Amazon’s Alexa, and other voice-controlled assistants can be paired with smart lights, thermostats, and more. With these technologies, you can have your virtual assistant increase the temperature in your bathroom before you shower, dim the lights while you bathe, and turn on relaxing music. Virtual assistant technology is relatively new, so it’ll be interesting to see how this tech changes and become integrated into our lives as it’s further adopted by the general population.

Smart Toilets.

It may sound odd, but smart toilets are becoming increasingly popular. These high tech thrones offer several great, practical features (and others that seem a bit more out of place). Along with water efficient toilets, you can now purchase toilets that self clean both the bowl and the seat — perfect for families with little kids who dribble, toilets that clean your bum with water — this is actually more environmentally friendly than using paper, and even toilets with seat and feet warmers — because winter exists. Other smart toilets include features such as LED lighting, motion sensors for lowering and raising the toilet seat, and automatic flushing or dual flush.

Technology is becoming increasingly more integrated into our lives and homes. Early washing machines have been in homes since the 1940s, while dishwashers became commonplace around the 1970s. The internet took off in Canada during the 90s, and early smart phones were adopted by the mid-2000s. Today, our smartphones can now connect to our appliances to increase efficiency and convenience. Tomorrow, smart technologies in our bathroom and beyond will become the norm. If you’d like to learn more about smart bathroom gadgets, or you need a friendly Calgary plumber to help you install a smart appliance into your home, give us a call today! We’ll be there to help.