Imagine yourself walking into a bathroom. What do you see beyond just a toilet, a shower, and a faucet? If you’re thinking about a bathroom from 30 years ago, there probably isn’t much else.
But the modern bathroom is equipped with more devices and technologies to make the experience more comfortable and functional.
How did we get here? And how can you upgrade your bathroom?
Smart Bidets (and More)
Smart bidets and similar attachments are designed to give you the fullest, most comfortable bidet experience – and tons of other luxury features. The bidet itself is not really a new technology, though it’s relatively new to most people in the United States.
In case you aren’t familiar, bidets are designed to clean your underside with a jet of water, rather than forcing you to rely on dry, irritating toilet paper. It’s more hygienic, it’s more comfortable, and it’s better for your health in many different ways.
Smart bidets take things a step further by providing you with features like temperature controls, pressure controls, and automatic adjustments based on your personal preferences. Combine that with a heated toilet seat and you might have the ultimate bathroom going experience.
Bluetooth Speakers
Certain bathroom experiences can be boring and time-consuming. Others are primed for relaxation and stress relief. Either way, you’ll be glad you have Bluetooth speakers in place. These speakers can connect wirelessly to almost any modern device, giving you immediate access to your favorite playlists, your favorite podcasts, and even audio from whatever streaming media you want to play. Getting ready for work or winding down after a tough day will never be the same.
Smart Scales
With the typical scale, you can easily discern your current weight. But with a smart scale, you’ll get access to much more information. You can track how your weight has changed, evaluate different elements of your health, and in some cases, even calculate your body fat percentage. It’s a dynamic new way to take control of your personal health and monitor your body for expected or unexpected changes.
Touchless Faucets and Soap Dispensers
Touchless fixtures have been popular in public bathrooms for more than a decade, in part because they’re generally more hygienic. But recently, they’ve become incredibly popular for residential bathrooms as well. Touchless technology has become much more reliable and consistent, meaning you’re less likely to frantically wave your hands in front of a faucet that simply doesn’t respond. Between saving small increments of time, improving hygiene, and demonstrating minimal aesthetics, these fixtures could dramatically improve your bathroom.
Smart Mirrors
Do you want to take things a step further? Consider getting a smart mirror through your bathroom. While you’re brushing your teeth, shaving, or putting on makeup, you can get updates on the weather, the news, traffic, and just about anything else you can imagine. It’s a way of condensing your routine and providing you with more convenient streams of information.
Towel Warmers
Though it’s a small and niche luxury, drying off with a warm towel is leagues better than drying off with a cold one. Towel warmers rely on rudimentary technology internally, but they’ve only recently become popular among average homeowners.
Advanced Lighting
Simple, relatively inexpensive strip lights can give you total control over the atmosphere of your bathroom. Using your smartphone or tablet, you can adjust the color, the brightness, and even flashing or breathing patterns to your liking.
Energy Efficiency (All Around)
Throughout the entire bathroom, we have new options to improve efficiency. Modern toilets use less water, modern lights use less electricity, and with a couple of simple upgrades, you can enjoy powerful pressure from your shower without wasting water in the process.
Self-Cleaning Toilets
Don’t you hate cleaning the toilet? Most people do. That’s why self-cleaning toilets have started to become popular. There are some pros and cons to these fixtures, as they tend to be more expensive, harder to maintain, and not perfectly reliable. But if you can cut down on toilet cleaning even slightly, they might be worth the investment.
The Future of High-Tech Bathrooms
This wave of technology is only the beginning. In the future, we may see toilets with built-in modules that can monitor your health through urinalysis – or showers capable of providing you with a fully immersive entertainment experience.
As long as people are searching for greater bathroom luxuries, there will always be a steady stream of gadgets to appease them.
Even if you consider yourself a luddite, chances are, there are at least a few technologies on this list that potentially appeal to you. Nearly all of us like the idea of upgrading the typical bathroom experience, and thanks to these accessible luxuries, it’s easier than ever to do it.