Expect a sensory pod instead of a deep bubble bath and a smart loo that could mean no more toilet roll
Bathrooms, one of the newest spaces in the home, have come a long way in a relatively short time. In 1971, one in 10 UK households still used an outdoor toilet. And go back less than 30 years before that, to 1947, and fewer than half of all homes in Britain had a bathroom – 46%, to be precise.
One in three had a portable bath – often made of tin – and one in 10 had no bath at all. Households with no appliance for heating water for washing made up 15% of the population – who relied instead on boiling water in kettles or pans – and 7% had no piped water at all.
Contrast that with 2024, when the bathroom is a ubiquitous feature of the home and sits on the edge of a revolution that promises to make it one of the most radically changing domestic spaces over the next few decades.
Water Conservation
While we may hardly recognise the bathroom of 2074 or 2124, it could be a case of back to the future – because the bath in its current form may disappear as a feature in many homes. That’s because using less water, already a worldwide concern, will become much more of an urgent requirement in the decades to come. It’s not that we have less water – rain still falls, and will continue to do so – but the planet now has many more people to support, and vastly more water is needed for growing plant foods than in the past. Also, water is a resource that isn’t being fairly shared: we might all now have an inside loo in the UK, but globally, six in 10 are still without one – and levelling up will be a big ambition in the years ahead. Added to which, using less water is connected with using less energy – heating water is one of the big burners of the fossil fuels that we need to reduce our dependence on.
When it comes to the domestic bathroom, there’s immense scope for using less water – and younger generations will make that central, says Jorge Hernandez, head of design at the Bathroom Brands Group: ‘Younger people are open to change and water-saving devices will become increasingly commonplace.’
A ‘green vision’ for the bathroom of the future, designed by German manufacturer Hansgrohe, boasts that it functions ‘almost without water’ at all: it uses 90% less water and 90% less energy and, as a result, releases 90% less CO2 into the atmosphere. ‘In the future, you’ll be able to have a shower using 10 litres of water, one tenth of the current average,’ says Steffen Erath, Hansgrohe’s head of sustainability.
The shower of the future will feature a light that warns as consumption reaches 10 liters; but showers will be quicker because a change in the pH level of water in the pipes could reduce the need for soap and shampoo — it's a natural cleanser. The futuristic Hansgrohe bathroom also has a wash station with three spray types: a mist for hand and face washing, and heated and non-heated sprays activated by sensors — so that water only flows when skin is underneath.
Water-saving will also come into its own in the loo of the future, which will be to separate urine from faeces: since flushing will be controlled by sensor, less water will be used for most toilet visits. And what kind of water will we be flushing the loo with? Well, definitely not the fresh water we currently use, says Steffen - that makes no sense at all. Future bathrooms will have an internal recycling system, where water you've used for a shower then flushes the loo. And in the far future, bathrooms could even have a sealed purification system, so all the water needed is stored in a tank, recycled after use and reused for years. ‘In 30 or 40 years, you might have a bathroom in which all the water is recycled,’ says Jorge.
No need for Loo Paper
Saving water is only one element of the toilet revolution, because the loo of the future also promises to be your domestic GP, and you won't need to wait for an appointment. It will be able to analyze your bodily waste to provide important and - crucially - early information about issues such as blood in your poo (which can be a sign of colon cancer} and sugar in your urine (which can indicate diabetes), as well as more everyday health advice along the lines of, ‘You're a bit dehydrated,’ or ‘You need to eat more fiber.’ And then there's comfort. The Japanese company TOTO has been on a mission since the 197Os to reimagine the experience of going to the loo. I recently tried out its top-of-the-range Neorest WX1: no hands needed (other than for the control panel on the wall alongside) for a call of nature that involved a heated seat, targeted jets of warm water to clean my nether regions (you decide which bits you want the jets to wash) and an air dryer to finish off. The loo, which cleans and deodorizes itself, also has a memory function so the preferences of various family members can be stored: you sit down and the loo does the rest. If they become popular, then toilet paper could one day be a thing of the past, which would have a very positive impact on the environment. As Kazuki Osugi, general manager at TOTO UK, says: ‘This is about a more comfortable way to go to the toilet. It's not just about being high-tech; it's about your bum being cleaned with warm water and dried.’ So far, more than 60m TOTO toilets have been sold worldwide. ‘We believe, going forward, it will become more common; it's been in Japan for 45 years now and more than 80% of people there have one. They're like smartphones - people don't realise how much they need one until they try it.’
Relaxation Hub
We've tended to think of the bathroom as a place connected with bodily cleanliness, but in fact that's only a small part of what it's about. And being clearer about the variety of human needs the bathroom caters for will be right up there in shaping its future. A 2021 survey of 2,000 UK adults found four in 10 said the bathroom was a place to escape for some peace and quiet; others said they ate breakfast there, sipped tea on the loo, even took calls while they were in there. Not to mention the inspiration element: one study revealed that 40% of people find they come up with their best thoughts in the bath or shower, or on the loo (by comparison, just J2% find they get their best thinking done at works. Hansgrohe uncovered a similar story: ‘We found 40 reasons why people go to the bathroom, and only one of them is to get clean,’ says Steffen Erath. ‘Of course there's a need for physical hygiene, but more and more, the bathroom is going to be about mental hygiene: because it's the best retreat in the home. People go there to recharge, to get some me-time.’ Combine the relaxation element of the bathroom with the need to conserve water and it's clear the bath itself needs a rethink — because if we detach relaxation from cleanliness, it's much more sustainable to take a short shower to pet clean and to linger instead in a meditation booth, a sensory pod or a massage chair. which every bathroom of the future will have. You'll lie back in an armchair-cum-dome, naked or wearing a robe, and select the sounds, lights and fragrances that meet your mental needs in the moment. And the shift towards these experiences will acknowledge the fact that me-time is a human need, not something we should feel guilty about or dress up as something else (‘getting clean’}.
Smart Mirrors
AI will be another big game-changer: there's so much potential that it's difficult to be specific, but elements such as lighting, mirrors (anti-mist, of course), sounds and sink and loo height may be personalized - so an app on your smartphone will ‘tell’ the bathroom as you enter it how you like it to be. This personalization could well extend to beauty.
Smart mirrors will be able to analyze our skin's condition instantly and recommend which face regime or cream is needed. High-tech mirrors will also provide previews of our looks — if you're not sure what color lipstick to use or whether you want to wave your hair, the mirror will be able to show you how it will look before you make your choice. Some futurists even predict the bathroom mirror will become a two-way device that you'll be able to activate for in-the- moment advice from a beautician, a hairdresser or a doctor. In tomorrow's bathroom, it won't be just the water that's on tap. In fact, it will be less about the water and more about a whole panoply of gadgets to meet your needs, as well as instant advice from experts.
Source: Good Homes
Comments