Graduates’ toilet seat cleaner works like a mini car wash

1st of June 2012
Graduates’ toilet seat cleaner works like a mini car wash

A team of student researchers from the US have invented a new toilet seat cleaning system for public washrooms.

The system, which requires no chemicals, no rotating seat sleeves and no electric or battery supply, works like a mini carwash according to team leader Nick Bradford.

The 22-year old mechanical engineering graduate of Indiana's Purdue University was prompted to invent the system following his own unpleasant experiences of washrooms.

"Everyone has had that feeling - the public toilet either looks unsanitary or you don't know who used it the last time," he said. "It's gross."

The system devised by Bradford and his team uses water from the plumbing which is diverted into a cleaning mechanism that is enclosed in the toilet lid. The water flows under high pressure to three arms mounted on a rotating disc, and the force of the water rotates the disc to clean the toilet seat.

When the flush is complete and water stops flowing through the mechanism, the disc still has sufficient momentum to continue spinning. This allows tiny wipers mounted on the disc to push the water off the seat, says Bradford.

The team of students, who are hoping to market their invention, say the design eliminates the need for expensive motion sensors that deliver a plastic seat cover whenever a person enters the cubicle.

 

 

 

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