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Science Technology

A Bathroom That Cleans Itself 285

Posted by ScuttleMonkey from the forget-bathrooms-lets-talk-about-cubes dept.
FiReaNGeL writes "Researchers at the University of New South Wales are developing new coatings they hope will be used for self-cleaning surfaces in hospitals and the home. It's made of a special nanoparticle coating that absorbs ultraviolet light below a certain wavelength and gives the particles an oxidizing quality stronger than any commercial bleach. Say goodbye to tedious bathroom cleaning!"
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A Bathroom That Cleans Itself More

A Bathroom That Cleans Itself

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  • So I never have to wash it?

    Business partnerships, anyone?

  • Bathroom cleaning? (Score:5, Funny)

    by GillBates0 ( 664202 ) on Tuesday February 07, 2006 @10:35PM (#14666482) Homepage Journal
    What is this "bathroom cleaning" you speak of? I'm intrigued and would like to subscribe to your newsletter.
    • It figures that someone with the last name of "Bates" wouldn't be into cleaning, especially things in the bathroom like a SHOWER.

      Stabby stabby!
    • What is this "bathroom cleaning" you speak of? I'm intrigued and would like to subscribe to your newsletter.

      It involves harsh chemicals and manual labor. I read about it in a history book. People did it to avoid having to move every few months. I've heard that people that adopt the practise have even gotten their security deposits back when they do move. It's just a rumor I heard so I don't know if it's true.

  • This is certainly welcome news! (Score:4, Funny)

    by Average_Joe_Sixpack ( 534373 ) on Tuesday February 07, 2006 @10:35PM (#14666487)
    ... for the mothers of most slashdotters.

  • Seems much better (Score:5, Funny)

    by nizo ( 81281 ) * on Tuesday February 07, 2006 @10:35PM (#14666488) Homepage Journal
    This seems much better than my idea of putting a big drain in the floor and using giant sprinklers hanging from the ceilings to clean my house; sort of like living in a giant dishwasher. Probably easier on the electronic devices too.

    • Re:Seems much better (Score:4, Interesting)

      by Narcissus ( 310552 ) on Tuesday February 07, 2006 @10:40PM (#14666524) Homepage
      That's basically how some of the public toilets in NSW work. I don't know if these [rba.com.au] are the guys that do the ones that I'm thinking of, but it's basically the same thing.

      Every X number of uses the room shuts itself up and automatically sprays itself down with various sprinklers and so on. Quite interesting, I thought...

    • Re:Seems much better (Score:5, Funny)

      by shitdrummer ( 523404 ) on Tuesday February 07, 2006 @11:21PM (#14666784)
      *Looks Left*
      *Looks Right*
      *Looks Behind*
      *Speaks in a very hushed tone*

      Or you could get married.

      *runs and hides*

      Shitdrummer.
    • This seems much better than my idea of putting a big drain in the floor and using giant sprinklers hanging from the ceilings to clean my house; sort of like living in a giant dishwasher.
      But your idea also cleans the occupants!
    • big drain in the floor and using giant sprinklers hanging from the ceilings to clean my house

      Giant dishwasher? More like the monkey cage at the zoo. Perfect for us who like to fling... poo.

    • There's a lady in California who lives in a "self cleaning house" much as you describe. Sprinklers in the cieling, drains in the floor, blowers in the walls.

      She and her inventor husband built it, I believe in the 50s. It was the sort of thing that appeared in Popular Mechanics and newsreels.

      The lady, now very old, still gives demonstrations by appointment. There was an article about her and the house in the paper a few years back. It all seemed kind of sad.

      I don't think cieling sprinkler type washing is rea

  • Will it sweep up stray hairs after I have shaved my shoulders before a hot date?

    It's the stuff people see that bothers them the most, in my experience :)

  • Thing is... (Score:5, Funny)

    by ScaryMonkey ( 886119 ) on Tuesday February 07, 2006 @10:36PM (#14666494)
    I never exactly said "hello" to tedious bathroom cleaning, as the watermelon-sized bacteria in there can attest to.
  • As much as a counter that sanitizes itself (which is what this product does) is perfect for hospital and other biologically hazardous places - I'd so much rather have table that used concentrated bursts of plasma to eliminate ALL on it's surface. Or perhaps someone can invent an oatmeal that doesn't dry rock hard on the bowl when I'm doing dishes.

  • Hands? (Score:3, Interesting)

    by mercuryswitch ( 952779 ) on Tuesday February 07, 2006 @10:37PM (#14666505)
    So does this clean your hands when you touch the surface?
    • It does, whether or not the nanoparticles directly do their job on the skin that's making contact. You're going to leave germs on the surface if you touch it, or run your hand along it. So there's less germs on your hand now. Since the surface is self-cleaning, you can assume you didn't simply trade the germs on your hand with the ones that would normally be on a regular surface, but instead have a net loss of germs on your hand. Does the oxidizing take place right on your skin as you stay in contact with t
      • This surface must outgas or undergo some level of desorption http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Desorption/ [wikipedia.org]

        So next time you clip your toe nails in the bathroom then have some strange need to scratch your ass (hey, it happens), you have just inserted thousands/millions of the company's property rights, well, ... right up your...

        I'm all for a Beowulf cluster but location is kind of important.
    • Uh, last time I checked, your hands didn't radiate ultraviolet light...

  • Sea shells (Score:5, Funny)

    by connah0047 ( 850585 ) on Tuesday February 07, 2006 @10:37PM (#14666506)
    They should just install 3 sea shells in each bathroom. That will make a cleaner society for us all.

  • Comment removed (Score:5, Insightful)

    by account_deleted ( 4530225 ) on Tuesday February 07, 2006 @10:37PM (#14666507)
    Comment removed based on user account deletion

    • Re:Missing the point (Score:5, Funny)

      by CaptainCarrot ( 84625 ) on Tuesday February 07, 2006 @11:26PM (#14666815)
      So I suppose more than just the point is being missed here...
    • People (at least the ones I know) do not clean their bathroom for health reasons. They do it because it's it's visually discusting. Now matter how healthy this new substance is, it will NOT get rid of the yellow stains on and around the toilet.

      But, if the yellow stains were as germfree and clean as a plate that has yellow residue from the fried eggs you just ate, which one would you consider disgusting?

    • Re:Missing the point (Score:3, Informative)

      by NoData ( 9132 )
      No, if this is as powerful an oxidizer as they say, those stains won't form in the first place. The same way oxidizing cleaners break up stains, this stuff would be like having a constant coating of bleach on your bathroom surfaces. Furthermore, due to the "superhydrophilicity" of this titanium dioxide coating (as the article mentions), water will not form droplets (tension cannot be maintained), and thus you have a constant sheeting effect, allowing the surface to be very washable. There's a reason t

  • My self cleaning bathroom (Score:4, Interesting)

    by Andrew Tanenbaum ( 896883 ) on Tuesday February 07, 2006 @10:38PM (#14666514)
    While planning my house, I was inspired by seeing a truck stop employee using a hose to clean the shop's bathroom. When I designed the house, I allowed the bathroom to be almost completely sealed, and had the walls poured in with concrete. The floor had a drain, and the roof had a high pressure rotating soap/water cycle sprinkler system. I'll follow up with some pictures in a minute.
    • Just curious, how do you handle drying the walls and floors of the bathroom? It must have an amazing ventilation system to stop huge amounts of humidity...

      • Re:My self cleaning bathroom (Score:4, Interesting)

        by pz ( 113803 ) on Tuesday February 07, 2006 @11:06PM (#14666704) Journal
        Many of the bathrooms in the Mediterranean countries are like this. Often, they lack a well-defined shower area, have no shower curtain, sporting just a wall mounted hand-held telephone style shower head, and a central drain. (It's up to the user to make sure they don't spray the toilet paper and render it less than optimally useful!) But everything dries quite nicely, thank you. It all depends on the local humidity and temperature.
        • This is true in Finland also. There is typically a washroom in the house that has a washing machine (dryers are not often used), a sauna in a smaller subroom, and a shower area that has no door or any other seperating thing. There is often a drain in the main section of the washroom.

          There is usually another totally seperate smaller room with a toilet and sink. This caused problems for me as an exchange student -- I would wake up groggy in the morning, head into the washroom to take a shower, take of all

      • Just curious, how do you handle drying the walls and floors of the bathroom? It must have an amazing ventilation system to stop huge amounts of humidity...

        Depending on where he lives, that might not be an issue. Where I live, in the arid mountain west, humidity simply isn't a problem. If something is wet, just wait a little while and it will be dry. It's fairly common for people to have high-volume humidifiers in their homes to add a little moisture to the dry air.

    • Yeah, but do you have one of these [condommachines.com]?

    • Re:My self cleaning bathroom (Score:5, Funny)

      by evilviper ( 135110 ) on Tuesday February 07, 2006 @11:34PM (#14666853) Journal
      While planning my house, I was inspired by seeing a truck stop employee using a hose to clean the shop's bathroom.

      Note to self: NEVER accept an invitation to go to this guy's house...

  • Not a Biologist But... (Score:5, Interesting)

    by Comatose51 ( 687974 ) on Tuesday February 07, 2006 @10:38PM (#14666515) Homepage
    How it works is that ultraviolet light below a specific wavelength causes electrons to excite and this gives the effects of oxidation. This oxidation disinfects better than commercial bleach.

    I'm not sure if I want to have that. I think "germs" and my cells aren't all that different in their ability to resist being killed. In fact, I think some germs can outlast my cells so intuitively, I don't think this idea is very safe. Maybe the right solution isn't to kill every thing but learn to live with bacterias, etc. Plus, it's not so much the micro-organisms that worry me but just rather bits of dust and hair that start to collect in some areas that bothers me and this idea doesn't really provide a solution to that.

    On the other hand, I've always wanted a titanium (not titanium oxide) clad bathroom that I can just torch or something to clean it the same way my oven does. When I first read the title, I thought someone figured out a smart and economical way of doing this.

    • This would presumably work by catalyzing the oxidation (i.e. removal of electrons from) of organic molecules at or very near the surface. In other words, it will kill cells and decolorize componds that are on the surface where there's plenty of light.

      This won't hurt your fingers for two reasons. First, the surface cells are already dead. Second, it probably won't even work when a large opaque object (your finger) is blocking the light.
      • There still are potential problems. There was recently a report that Teflon-related chemicals are turning up everywhere, including 95% of humans tested. What if this gets into the bloodstream? Imagine this stuff comes off, gets into our bloodstream, and then we go outside. Would the UV from the sun penetrate deep enough to activate this? If so, I know I wouldn't want a bunch of oxidation catalysts floating around inside me.
    • The difference is that you're a multi-celled organism, so most of your cells are shielded from harsh chemicals. For example, you could pour bleach on your foot and not suffer any serious harm. But pour even a little bleach into a beaker of suspended bacteria or yeast cells, and they will all die. I'm not sure this self-cleaning surface would be any more dangerous to a person than a surface sprayed with bleach.
    • I on the other hand, would prefer my bathroom to be coated in Iron Oxide and Aluminum. That'll teach those bastards to inhabit my dwelling, and it'll teach me the fundamentals of chemistry and fire safety. Win-win!

  • Old News (Score:2, Funny)

    by Jubetas ( 917500 )
    It's already been done [boreme.com] better.
  • "The titanium dioxide contains 'superhydrophilicity' which makes it so liquid droplets do not form on the surface. It makes the liquid run off and washes as it drips off."

    Riiiight, so now those little droplets of piss will form puddles.

    The best way is prevention; blacklights. If the only lighting in your bathroom is blacklights everyone will see every tiny mismatch in the surface of your bathroom, and no will walk in again. Of course you know where the real light switch is and can see how it looks in "re

  • Nanoparticles (Score:5, Funny)

    by techno-vampire ( 666512 ) on Tuesday February 07, 2006 @10:45PM (#14666567) Homepage
    My bathroom is already coated with nanoparticles; they're called "molecules."

    Nano-nano!

  • UV Radiation in my Bathroom? (Score:4, Funny)

    by scotty1024 ( 584849 ) on Tuesday February 07, 2006 @10:47PM (#14666581)
    How much UV radiation do I get in my bathroom to activate this with?

    Are they expecting me to hang UV Elvis Felt Paintings and install UV lamps?

    I predict the bathrooms needing this the worst will be the ones getting the least UV radiation.

  • Resistance? (Score:4, Funny)

    by SWroclawski ( 95770 ) <serge@@@wroclawski...org> on Tuesday February 07, 2006 @10:48PM (#14666587) Homepage
    I for one welcome our new oxide-resistant super-germ overlords.
  • The main problem with a product like this is that it won't help those who need it most... mainly broke college students who don't clean up after themselves, because they won't be able to afford it.
    I have never been in a dirty rich persons home (at least the bathroom).
  • It's perfect for MSN's iLoo. [nwsource.com].

  • As a janitor... (Score:5, Interesting)

    by froschmann ( 765104 ) on Tuesday February 07, 2006 @11:35PM (#14666860)
    As a janitor, I can tell you that this will not eliminate the need for cleaning staff. The most important thing we do is replace supplies. The next biggest thing we do is fix unusual problems before they get to be a serious problem (lady flushes sanitary product, someone shits all over sink, etc.). As far as sinks and counters go, we polish mirrors, and then get hair and soap off of sinks. The most important thing is to have the bathroom look good. This might help with getting black gunk and algae out of toilets or sanitizing fixtures, but the important things will still require janitors. People never seem to realize the amount of critical thinking required. You can't replace cleaning staff with untrained or stupid people or machines unless you want problems. We notice things that a machine wouldn't notice and clean or fix. Paying attention to small things can really save your ass sometimes. For instance, if the tone drops on the vacuum cleaner, you have a slipping belt. If you ignore it, you get melted rubber all over the floor. An untrained person doesn't notice this, and has to pay to replace burned carpet. A machine has similar problems. You can't simply automate cleanup crews.

  • Stronger than bleach! (Score:3, Insightful)

    by SeaFox ( 739806 ) on Tuesday February 07, 2006 @11:36PM (#14666862)
    gives the particles an oxidizing quality stronger than any commercial bleach

    So I guess no more walking barefoot in the bathroom anymore, given that prolonged contact with skin is something you're not supposed to do with bleach, and this stuff is worse.
  • TFA has a caption that says "bathroom", but the photo is clearly a toilet rather than a bath tub.

    Self cleaning or not, I'm not sure that's a very sanitary mistake to make!
  • Sure, this kills bacteria but it's not going to remove pubes, skid marks in the bowl, soap splashes on the counter top, etc. Until they make rooms that you can seal up and run through a wash cycle there will be no such thing as true self-cleaning.
  • As far as /.ers are concerned, they should have invented something to clean the keyboard first. You'd expect we clean the bathroom before we even clean the keyboard?

  • Old news. These were around for a few billion years. They are called "rivers".
  • I always thought of designing a bathroom like one big toilet bowl: you just flush the whole room and there is a big drain in the middle.
  • What horror movie screenplay will be the first to feature the bathroom scene?

    Joe Blow is one of the first to move into a new super metroplex. Apartments, retail outlets, movie theatres, gymnasiums, self cleaning-bathrooms. You name it; it's all right next door.

    Joe heads over to the gym and works up an appetite, so he heads over to Taco Bell (such convenience), and then over to catch a movie.

    [Later that night]

    Taco Bell is not sitting well with Joe, and Joe heads for the self-cleaning bathroom to li

  • OK, let's all sing! (Score:5, Funny)

    by NewKimAll ( 923422 ) on Wednesday February 08, 2006 @12:23AM (#14667133)
    There are times throughout the day when I must 'hit the can'.
    A strange light inside the restroom, seems to make my skin turn tan.
    Now I'm feeling ill from restroom visit number four.
    If I do not get out of here, I'll faint upon the floor.

    Ooohhhhhh, SuperHydroPhiliciticexpialidocious.
    Just the very sound of it, makes me feel quite atrocious.
    The chemicals inside this stuff, just burns my lungs ferocious.
    SuperHydroPhiliciticexpialidocious.

    There's test results that say that female parts will grow precocious.
    SuperHydroPhiliciticexpialidocious.

    Skin cancer from the lights will make your final days atrocious.
    SuperHydroPhiliciticexpialidocious!!!!
    --
    Give me a C, a bouncy C.
  • Like a surface that disinfects itself with electrostatic charges that disrupt bacterial membranes. I think this is already in use in hospitals, and I know it's in use, even at my dentist's office.
  • ... are slashdotters that are self-cleaning.

  • hmm... (Score:2, Funny)

    by xjammiesx ( 949562 )
    So, now toilets are not needed anymore and I can shit on the floor? On a sidenote, what is my girlfriend going to do now that the bathroom cleans itself?
  • Comment removed based on user account deletion

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