Automation has made many aspects of my life much easier. Automatic doors are wonderful, automatic water bottle stations are convenient and automatic transmissions are also high up on my list of the good automatic technologies in life. But one place automation does not make my life easier? Bathrooms.
Automatic flushing toilets are great when they work. The problem, however, is that they hardly ever do. The amount of times I have stood up after doing my business to find the toilet is not flushing outnumbers any other minor inconvenience in my life.
Even worse is when the toilet decides to flush while I am doing my business… sometimes more than once. A loud noise I am not expecting and occasionally a cold splash of water, is not something I look forward to during my private time in a not-so-private stall. Many times has the toilet flushed before I needed it to, and not flushed when I am ready for it to happen.
There is nothing that leaves me feeling more idiotic than trying to wave my hands, feet and any other part of myself at the sensor that will trigger the “automatic” flush to happen.
Some automatic toilets offer a convenient button to push, in the instance they do not do their single job, and for that I am grateful. However, many do not provide this luxury, and I am left wondering just how long I will stand in the stall before it finally flushes, or I give up and leave behind an un-flushed toilet.
Along with the toilets that have minds of their own come the soap dispensers and water faucets that may or may not work with any given use. I have watched someone use a sink before me and purposely used the same sink, knowing that it has just worked, only to find that no matter how much motion I cause near the sensors, no soap or water is provided to me.
Though I recognize that automation minimizes the spread of germs and can be more sanitary, I would much rather know for sure that I will be able to flush the toilet and wash my hands. People that don’t wash their hands before leaving the bathroom, but still open the door to leave ruin the germ argument, anyways.
Automation can be a great addition to everyday life, but only when it works properly. In my experience, bathroom automation hardly ever works, and I would appreciate having the option to do things manually.
