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Has anyone tried to make an SV startup-style company sell Japanese-type toilets in America? I think a lot of people would like them
by seibelj 8y ago
Has anyone tried to make an SV startup-style company sell Japanese-type toilets in America? I think a lot of people would like them
- com2kid 8y agoMost bathrooms aren't wired for electricity near the toilet. That aside, you can buy Toto toilets in the US. The fancy ones are north of 4k, but they are available. Cold water sprays are readily available, $60 and a 10 minute installation later.
- mikekchar 8y agoI just wanted to point out that the US prices are pretty comparable to the Japanese prices. And after having lived in Japan for nearly a decade, I'll pay the price in a heartbeat. The previous occupants of our apartment left one in our apartment and it's one of the cheaper models (about $3-400 IIRC). It's still awesome and worth every cent. You could probably even justify it based on the reduction in toilet paper if you want to, but I don't even think of it. It's gotten to the point where when I go back to visit the UK or Canada, the lack of cleaning options is just disgusting in my mind. Edit: weird wording
- com2kid 8y agoTotally agree, I have a cold water replacement seat type of model, I can't justify getting my bathroom rewired when a $60 device is pretty close almost there. :) My master bathroom toilet is right up against the closet my water heater is in, so the "cold" water is never that cold.
- halbritt 8y agoI have somewhat inexpensive mass-market Toto toilets in my house. I've added a washlet for $400. There's wiring nearby. The warm water is really nice. Until I die, I won't ever not have a washlet at home.
- Baeocystin 8y agoBioBidet has been selling them for years. A couple hundred $ gets you a heated seat, heated water, air dry, everything. They're actually increasing in popularity stateside rapidly.
- jesterjester 8y agoConsidering people keep toilets for 5-10 years per toilet on average and the cost of a toilet is much less than the cost of an electrical bidet... It is not a great idea.
- asaph 8y ago> people keep toilets for 5-10 years per toilet on average Do you have any data to back this up? I would have assumed it was far less often.
- sk5t 8y agoYah, who the heck is turning over their toilets twice a decade? Best guess here is 25 year average service life.
- jesterjester 8y agoThen that only proves my point further. Toilets in my family would get replaced every 15 years.
- Fins 8y agoAnd what connection could it possibly have to installation of a bidet seat?!
- koolba 8y ago5-10 years? Is that the life expectancy of the average modern toilet? From personal experience that seems off by a few decades.
- PhasmaFelis 8y agoI have never actually heard of anyone buying a new toilet. I'm sure it happens, but 5-10 years? My parents' house still has the same toilet it had when they moved in 30-odd years ago, and it works as well as it ever did. Also, I dunno about the electrical ones, but you can get a non-electric bidet for like $25 off Amazon. Maybe a bit more for one with hot and cold hook-ups and a temperature knob. You just run it with the nozzle aimed down until it warms up.
- ojbyrne 8y agoGood summary here: https://priceonomics.com/toilets/ https://priceonomics.com/toilets/
- seibelj 8y agoWow, solid link. Hopefully some clever entrepreneur will make it happen, someday
- jesterjester 8y agoDid you just ignore the comment where I told you it's not even remotely feasible yet? Nor will it be until a radical change to the toilet or bidet comes?
- seibelj 8y agoYou posted a couple sentence opinion and he/she posted a link with a lot of detail and mentioned an SV startup trying to solve it, which is what I asked. So thanks for your comment, I’m not saying it’s irrelevant, but the link was descriptive and more closely matched my question
- jesterjester 8y agoIt wasn't an opinion. If you are too blind to see the facts then that's your own fault. You asked a question, you got the answer and now you're so upset with it that you're trying to hide it? What's the point? Here are some figures for your fingers. A toilet lasts 10+ years easily. It costs around $200-$300 and extra to install. The installation is simple since most bathrooms have a toilet. A bidet attachment can be picked up for $300-$500 easy. The installation is usually more expensive than the seat itself. Most bathrooms don't put power outlets next to their toilets. People aren't not using bidets because of "funny feelings" or just being shy. It's because people are too lazy, a toilet does the same thing "in their eyes". Why add complexity when the toilet itself is dirt cheap and lasts much longer than the bidet? Maybe when they come in with bidets, not making money and not revolutionising anything, perhaps someone will come sell hangover cure drinks even though it takes 10 seconds to realise the market doesn't exist. Feel free to ignore these facts too. It's clear you're not looking for the right answer here, just something that will echo your own thoughts.
- TylerE 8y agoYou can but them here already. Just no one does
- akvadrako 8y agoWhere and can you also buy them in Europe? I looked when remodelling my bathroom and couldn't find anything.
- lysium 8y agoI saw an ad in the magazine “Schöner Wohnen“.
- TylerE 8y agohttps://www.amazon.com/MS920CEMFG https://www.amazon.com/MS920CEMFG Not sure if that link works but just go on amazon and search “Toto washlet”
- NeedMoreTea 8y agoThere were quite a few bathroom companies offering them when we did our bathroom (UK), they're available on eBay too from £40 junk to £1,000+
- GolDDranks 8y agoHere in Japan, most Westerners tend to hate Japanese-style toilets with passion...?
- chairmankaga 8y agoAre you talking about the squat toilets? Because the other smart toilets are very nice, even if you don't use the cleaning options, having a heated seat in the winter is amazing.
- GolDDranks 8y agoAh, yes. Squat toilets are usually called "Japanese style toilets" so that got me confused.
- choot 8y agoThey are also called Turkish or Roman toilets.
- anticensor 8y agoWeirdly, they are called Turkish toilet in Turkish, too.
- Tharkun 8y agoSquat toilets are the best. So much nicer to poop on than your bog-standard porcelain throne. Aside from the pooping benefits, they also keep you limber by forcing you into a deep squat on a regular basis.
- NeedMoreTea 8y agoMostly you only need to replace the lid+seat to get those. There's a few companies selling Japanese bidet seats in the UK and some that provide translated control panels. No reason they wouldn't succeed in the US too. Only the highest priced ones are the complete toilet.
- monadgonad 8y ago> There's a few companies selling Japanese bidet seats in the UK Do you have one? Are you able to make any recommendations? I'm considering getting one, but how are they powered? The idea of a power socket in my bathroom is slightly horrifying.
- NeedMoreTea 8y agoWe decided not to in the end. Power is easy. Only sockets allowed in bathrooms are low voltage shaver sockets with isolating transformer. For storage heaters, these seats, and heated towel rails in your bathroom you connect to a fixed, fused, double pole switch, spur outlet. Something like this: https://www.screwfix.com/p/mk-13a-dp-switched-fused-connection-unit-with-flex-outlet-white/13479 https://www.screwfix.com/p/mk-13a-dp-switched-fused-connecti...
- halbritt 8y agoI have a couple of Toto toilets in my house. They have washlets that fit most of their products. I have one. I don't mean to overstate this, but it is life-changing. I can't imagine going back to a time when I used only paper and considered that sufficient.
- bonestamp2 8y agoA friend of mine brought a toilet back from Japan with him when he moved back and I was always in envy. I'm looking at a Toto Neorest 700H right now, it's about $5000. Is that the kind of system you'd recommend or what are you using?
- ww520 8y agoA Toto s550e is under $1000 and pretty much has all the feature you ever need, minus auto flushing.
- halbritt 8y agoThis. I think I even have a cheaper version than that. Check Amazon for available washlets. The mass-market Toto toilets are ~$250. Make sure you get the elongated bowl version. I have two in my house, one elongated and one round. The washlet for the round bowl was hard to source and it makes things somewhat cramped for larger people. If I were doing it again, I'd replace the toilet with an elongated bowl version before adding a washlet.
- krrrh 8y agoI wanted to get one after visiting Japan, but I realized that it was something that would have to wait until I moved into a place with more than one bathroom, so I could leave a normal toilet in the one guests would use. I just didn’t want to have a conversation about it with every person who visited my home.
- wingerlang 8y agoThe 'tools' are optional though? Anyway, install a spray hose behind the toilet out of the way. I've used both the hose and the high-tech toilets and I'd pick the former any day.
- iancmceachern 8y agoI would think so, I've found Toto toilets to be common in the bay area, especially in the workplaces of startups and tech companies.
- lsc 8y ago> Has anyone tried to make an SV startup-style company sell Japanese-type toilets in America? I think a lot of people would like them I think google is indirectly in that business; It used to be that only my foreign friends would be likely to have a washlet, and then usually a less fancy one. But in the last decade, more and more of my American born techie friends have bought toto toilets or washlets, I assume after experiencing that luxury at google or one of the other tech companies that provide that sort of thing.