Toto helps standardise shower toilet controls

Japanese sanitaryware manufacturer Toto has joined a consortium of companies, which includes Panasonic and Toshiba, aiming to unify the icons used on Japanese shower toilets.

The decision was made after complaints from tourists that they found it difficult to understand the controls.

The manufacturers plan to implement eight new pictogram designs on models released from this year onwards. They aim to make the system an international standard.

One of the leading producers of shower toilets, Toto launched its Washlet in 1980. In 2015, it sold more than 40 million, with over three-quarters (77.5%) of Japanese households owning a Washlet, according to data from Japan’s Cabinet Office.

The company’s latest Washlet technology includes electrolysed water with antibacterial properties to spray the ceramic bowl with a fine mist. It also has a self-cleaning surface.

Toto has been supplying the European market since 2009 and now has a Concept showroom in London.

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