Dual-Flush the Day Away...

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Some office mornings just don't start well. Going directly from parking lot to conference room can be a little frazzling. But having a disembodied, and very cranky, voice yell at a room full of people across two states via speakerphone?

Well, it's not pretty. At one point I considered offering to step out of the room to call Barack Obama on my cell phone to ask him to shift his presidential inauguration by a day to better align with this person's preferred schedule. However, I've been advised that "not everyone really understands when you're kidding."

When the day starts sour, you know it's going to take a bit of doing to undo the film brought on by that variety of "professionalism."

It took a field trip to another building for a lunch meeting, but I found it. Strangely, the best part of my day was an instructional sign above a new-fangled water-saving toilet. A sign over a toilet. And yes, I reallllllly wish I'd had a camera with me. And yes, I'm seriously considering driving back to said building for the sole purpose of photographing this sign.

It was that good.

Or my morning was that bad.

I'm paraphrasing, but the sign basically said this...

This is a water-saving toilet.
To eliminate liquid waste, press the green button.
To eliminate solid waste, press the silver button.
The automatic sensor will select how much water
to use based on how much time is spent in the stall.


And I learned that those automatic sensor thingies are called "flushometers." And this particular product is theSloan Valve Products ECOS Exposed Battery Operated Electronic Dual Flush Water Closet Flushometer

Why do I know that? Because Google is my friend and I just had to find the dang thing on the Web.

I wish network switch product pages were this fun to read:
  • If the user is present for less than one minute and leaves the sensing zone or chooses the small override button, a reduced flush initiates (1.1 gpf/4.2 Lpf) eliminating liquid and paper waste, saving 1/2 gallon of water.
  • If the user is present for greater than one minute and leaves the zone or chooses the large override button, the full flush initiates (1.6 gpf/6.0 Lpf) eliminating solid waste and paper.
  • Reduces water volume by up to 30% when a reduced flush occurs.
    • "Leaves the zone." Love that.
  • User friendly three (3) second Flush Delay.
  • Courtesy Flush™ Override Button.
    • Trademarking the term "Courtesy Flush"? Brilliance!
    • Flush Accuracy Controlled by CID™ Technology.
    And thank goodness for accurate flushes and more trademarked technology to ensure them.

    Comments

    zipcecetay said…
    Definitely LOL on this one! Which building was this?
    December 18, 2008
    F.S. said…
    Question is, did the toilet have an RJ-45 jack so you could monitor it over the network? Or maybe it was wireless? And what about when it needs a software upgrade?

    Seriously, something complicated like that in an environment as hostile as a public restroom seems like a formula for putting service technicians' kids through college.

    P.S. Hi Kim!
    December 18, 2008
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