One time, I heard that fancy Japanese toilets sometimes have holes located around the rim. An internal electric fan sucks in the air near the rim (the fan is activated by a sensor that detects a user sitting on the seat) and runs the air past a filter.
That’s nice, and all, but a simpler and cheaper approach would get almost the same results. Embedded in the wall behind or to the side of each toilet would be an air intake vent. A duct would go up the wall, and somewhere along the duct would be an in-line exhaust blower. The reason it has to be an in-line blower, and not a fan located right next to the toilet, is that toilets can spray water for various reasons and we don’t want that water getting on a cheap AC fan motor.
Either a motion sensor or a switch wired to the light switch activates the fan when someone enters the bathroom or the stall where the toilet is.
The system would suck out the air containing the, uh, fecal gas, and exhaust it to the outside. It could pass through a heat exchanger like in an energy recovery ventilator to reclaim some of the heat/cold from the stinky air.
I think a system like this would go a LONG way to making public restrooms with multiple stalls more tolerable. It also means that in your private bathroom at home, you don’t have to sit in the stench of your own farts. It wouldn’t raise the cost by much, a few hundred bucks worth of parts and labor if this system were installed when the bathroom is built.
I frankly don’t see why this isn’t MANDATORY by building codes. That fart gas is toxic!
Cost and maintenance. It’s not really a health issue so nobody is going to require it. Air fresheners are much cheaper and easier to deal with and add a pleasant aroma to counter the unpleasant odor.
BTW, I have been in many windowless public bathrooms with exhaust fans on the walls that go on as soon as you turn on the light. I assume they are put in because you can’t open a window and air the place out. They sometimes have a freshener too… although it’s not always working.
Regulations here would require that any bathroom and toilet without an opening window, must have a ventilation fan.
One comes across these mostly in older hotels where the en suite has been added to bedrooms. They can be a pain, because when you use them at night, the fan starts automatically and keeps running noisily for ten or fifteen minutes after.
If there are no windows in the bathroom then there should be a exhaust fan. Normally turned on by turning on the lights of a one hole bathroom. A lot of times the fan is on the roof of a non residential building and the duct will run to the bathrooms.
There’s not a lot of businesses that make money on the quality if their bathrooms. I’m frankly amazed at how good they are now in their current state in most places.
Cost. Once you suck them out, you have to store, transport, dispose of them underground and inspect the containers regularly to ensure there are no leaks. Then there’s the security cost. You don’t want a terrorist getting their hands on them and using them in a dirty bomb.
Actually there were outhouses built with “fart fans”. And early toilets had vents directly in the bowl. The outhouses had a venturi built into the stack which drew air out and I’m assuming the toilets did also. The problem with that is that you need a constant breeze or the gas does not flow out. And if it isn’t flowing out, it’s flowing into the house which is why we have U-bends in drains.
Errr…really? Could you give a solid example of any business which has actually stated that this is the case?
Edit: on further reflection, I suppose you might be able to argue that the gas stations and McDonald’s which put “Clean Restrooms” on their billboards might qualify, though what they’re doing is trying to get travelers to stop at their place (and, yes, buy gas or food, as well) as opposed to the place on the other side of the exit ramp.
Japan is approximately 30 years in the future from the rest of the world. Upon leaving japan they neurolyze peope to wipe away the memories of the really advanced things, like AI toilets and android hookers.
What I’d like in public restrooms is some courtesy music, maybe blasting Wagner.
Exactly, as opposed to the traditional “restrooms are for customers only” mentality, where the bathroom is begrudgingly offered, poorly maintained, and the clerk must come outside to open it with the key.
Astute business owners realized that people would travel to find a clean bathroom, and so started offering them to the public, despite higher water or sewer bills.
I wouldn’t be surprised to learn that something like this is common, in homes of the rich & famous.
I think there’s a simpler implementation, too. Just add a tube that runs through the trap into the sewage pipe, with a small fan and one-way valve. Someone sits, fan turns on, stinky air goes into the sewage pipe. Of course, it would be a plug-in toilet. Since you have to plug it in, you might as well add a seat warmer too.
That’s simpler for installation, though maybe not for design and manufacturing of the toilet. Trickiest part would be where would the fan draw the air from (inlet to fan from bowl).
BTW: The main purpose of a ventilation fan in a residential full bathroom (i.e. one with a sink, toilet and shower) is not to expel toilet related odors but to circulate out the hot humid air with cooler dry air during & after showering. If you don’t over time the paint & drywall will deteriorate much faster (mold, warping, peeling etc.).
