Guardian: Dyson Airblades or paper towels: which is more hygienic?

I can't believe I missed this article in th Guardian the week before last. It's right up my street as I hate Dyson Airblade hand dryers and simply refuse to use them, principally on my feeling that they were not hygienic (just take a look at the grime build up around the yellow rubber flanges) but also based on their horrotious noise - frankly repugnant. http://www.theguardian.com/news/shortcuts/2016/apr/13/dyson-airblades-or-paper-towels-which-is-more-hygienic

First Use of a Toilet

Not wanting to either be a bit disgusting, nor a proud dad, but this was my Son's first poo on the potty. Yesterday he accidentally did a wee and today a number two. Well done him. I was a proud dad as I took a photo. Sorry.

Interesting Dual Sided Urinal

This was an interesting urinal from Armitage Shanks - a dual cavity design with central fin. I believe the idea is to divide the flow one way or the other and prevent this issue that typical flat backed urinal have where the flow rebounds onto the users legs. This worked well. I also suspect it has the additional advantage of giving the more lazy user something to aim at, or make more of a game - "are you a lefty or a righty?".

The sink in this particular facility was less interesting, not an A-S design. The lack of indicator as to which way to turn for hot and cold put me off. The raised rim of the sink body with the shadow depth was displeasing.

Daft Punk Hand Dryers

This from @christreilly on twitter:

https://twitter.com/christreilly/status/662768589049606144

Derby Arms, Yorkshire - most excellent loos

This rather fine bathroom was waiting for me at a recent trip to a good countryside pub - the Derby Arms in Yorkshire, UK. Now I'm not usually one for the fancy above-board sink bowls, thinking of it as something of a fashion fad, but here they worked really well. The round shape was lovely - like an eyeball, revealing the warm wood below with taps which extended beautifully into the very centre of the bowl with an elegant tactile leaver. A win all round.

Even the urinals were elegant and properly laid out, just enough space (nobody likes an overcrowded urinal block) and a proper separator / privacy screen. The floor, in rough poured concrete, countered the elegant curves very well.

An elegant sink - ceramic in marble cutout

I liked this sink, it had a very nice feel with the ceramic bowl apparently exposed by the cavity within the sheet black marble surface. There is a bit of theatre about it, but it works. The tap extended far enough into the bowl to be useful for washing your hands although I didn't appreciate the off centre IR controller. No plug either, but acceptable in a public washroom.

Toilets on Holiday

Is it wrong that one of the things I was most looking forward to about going on holiday is exploring lots of new toilets. There is nothing like the toilets at an airport to really make one feel like the holiday has begun. Here are a couple so far from Korea.

22:44 Great Northern from Kings Cross

Train loos are some of the worst in humanity. British ones at least. I personally blame privatisation, but it could also be their poor design and the lack of care given by train operators. Here is tonight's monstrosity along with their sink taps which I never find intuitive. How visually impaired used find them I dread to think (how do they even find the braille notice in the first place?).

2/3's Universal Joint Plug

I really like these plughole plugs. They have a very pleasing form and function - an elegant solution to the problem of how to plug a hole. Unlike with standard plugs it can't get lost or broken. They have two degrees of freedom making them fun to play with. The only downside is that they can not be operated from outside the water. So if someone fills a sink to use then leaves it filled, the next person can only drain the sink my sticking their hand through the now dirty water to open the drain. But otherwise, brilliant.

A nice sink plughole design

Press or turn?

What is it with bathroom tap designers? Can they at least stick to one mode of action so we know where we are. That this tap need to have the word "PRESS" etched permanently onto is suggests a failure in the design - no tap should require instructions. On the plus side I do like the clear red and blue tags, but I have an issue with these too which I will address at a later date.

Nice sink design

This was a rather nice sink I saw a while back, like some strange astrophysical phenomenon.

Has automation has made us all idiots?

The truth about poo: we’re doing it wrong

This book review popped up in the Guardian this week and is worth a quick read: http://gu.com/p/49vh6/sbl

My old cast iron out toilet

This would have been the original out toilet before loos were integral to the British house. I was in a mood for re-decotraion and decided to tackle this otherwise unsightly space. Annoyingly I seem to not have photographed the final result, so I'll just have to leave you in suspense (was an improvement though).

Toilets on the Eurotunnel

A taste of Provence awaits the Eurotunnel traveller when they go for a quick wee while traveling under the Channel.

Nice image, shame about the ventilation grill

Slaves to technology

Is this how far we have really come, the need for signs to tell up how to operate buttons which used to be totally normal. Are we now so expecting to waft our hands at water pipes for them to release water that the idea of operating the tap manually has become alien? 

To be fair, in this case there was also a defunct wafty operator which is why this particular notice was in place. 

Inadequate Toilet Space

It's nice to have a sink within reach of the toilet for reasons that you either realise intuitively or else I won't be explaining. But when the sink is in your chest as you sit on the loo, no, that is too close.

Welcome to Shanked Off

Welcome to this little blog about bathroom design.

Bathroom? WC? Toilet? Facilities? Restroom?