Kitchen/Bath Industry Show Product Preview: Hansgrohe Croma showerheads

Showering and bathing use lots of water. Indeed, Americans consume more than 1.2 trillion gallons a year to get clean, estimates the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

So in this Age of Green, Hansgrohe has introduced adjustable spray showerheads to its lineup. The manufacturer claims the Croma C 100 (shown) and Croma E 100 showerheads give the full, drenching coverage of standard high-end models yet use nearly 30 percent less water than the government-mandated maximum of 2.5 gallons per minute. (Note that there isn’t a WaterSense label for showerheads, indicating that a product uses much less water than a conventional model, but the EPA is aiming to have one for qualified products in spring 2009.)

Both Croma showerheads offer normal, massage, and intense turbo spray settings. The Croma C 100 offers a traditional style is available in those finishes and polished nickel and oil-rubbed bronze. The Croma E 100 has a contemporary look and comes in chrome, brushed nickel, and polished brass. They’re available at bath and kitchen showrooms nationwide and cost $60 to $94.—Kimberly Janeway

Essential information: Before you shop, learn about the different types of showerheads and the factors that affect performance. And watch our video from the Kitchen/Bath Industry Show on the latest trends in the bathroom.

Turn your bathroom into at-home retreat

Given the current depressed housing market, Americans are more likely to stay in their current homes than to move. But they’ll continue to pump money into their condos, town homes, and houses: U.S. consumers are expected to spend in excess of $170 billion on remodeling projects in 2008, according to Harvard’s Joint Center for Housing Studies.

The bathroom remains one of the most commonly fixed-up rooms. One trend in recent years has seen bathrooms converted into getaway spaces as consumers bling out their baths with whirlpool tubs, steam and multihead showers, high-style sinks, faucets, counters, and flooring, and other fixtures and surfaces once found only in high-end hotels and resorts. And, of course, the bathroom has become a multimedia center just like the kitchen, as manufacturers add music and video to their bathroom gear.

At last week's 2008 Kitchen/Bath Industry Show, we saw of the latest bathroom offerings, including the Hansgrohe Pharo Showerpanel SkyLine,  the Brondell Swash Ecoseat toilet seat, and the SonicSplash audio option from Lasco. Learn about these and other products in our video (right), featuring Bob Markovich, Home editor of Consumer Reports.—Steven H. Saltzman

Essential information: Use our expert advice when you’re shopping for a new toilet and refer to our Ratings (available to subscribers) to find the right model for your home. Also learn how to remodel a bathroom for less and avoid common project mistakes.

Kitchen/Bath Industry Show Product Preview: Caroma Sydney Smart 305 toilet

The 1.28-gallon-per-flush Sydney Smart 305 round-front toilet can save the average U.S. household up to 5,242 gallons per year compared with a standard low-flow toilet, claims manufacturer Caroma.

The toilet, which carries the EPA’s WaterSense label, has dual flush buttons, located on top of the tank, in lieu of the typical lever. You push one button to eliminate liquids and paper, the other to flush solids. Despite its miserly water consumption, the toilet is designed to be clog-proof according to the manufacturer, thanks to a trapway that is nearly twice as wide as the industry average.

The Sydney Smart, $349 in white (also available in biscuit), is backed by a two-year warranty and is sold at bath showrooms and plumbing-supply dealers.—Kimberly Janeway

Essential information: Use our expert advice when you’re shopping for a new toilet and refer to our Ratings (available to subscribers) to find the right model for your home.

International Builders'€™ Show Product Preview: Gem-Loc Premiere Edge

Laminate countertops have gotten better looking in recent years, thanks to the use of vibrant colors and patterns that mimic pricier materials. But their edge treatments have generally lacked innovation. The new Gem-Loc Premiere Edge, made by Loti Corporation, is a unique hybrid alternative to the standard-issue laminate edging with square or beveled edges.

The manufacturer claims Gem-Loc is the first edge material to combine a laminate face with solid-surface edging with rounded corners. The result is a near seamless molding designed to minimize the unattractive black line of square laminate edge treatments. By softening the transition, the edge treatment becomes a design element, rather than an eyesore, says the manufacturer. What’s more, says Loti, Gem-Loc can be color-matched to a countertop from just about any laminate maker.

Maybe most important, Gem-Loc is designed to be more durable and easier to install and than beveled laminate. That’s because the edging is applied slightly higher than the countertop and then filed flush, eliminating the precision required on beveled jobs.

This edge treatment retails for about $6 per square foot. Across an entire kitchen, Gem-Loc should run only $100 more than beveled edges, according to a company spokesperson.—Daniel DiClerico

Essential information: Visit our kitchen-planning guide for expert advice on countertops and many others elements of kitchen remodeling.

International Builders'€™ Show Product Preview: American Standard FloWise Toilet

The latest low-flow toilets use even less water: California now requires that a residential toilet use 1.28 gallons per flush (gpf), 20 percent less than the 1.6-gpf standard in effect elsewhere nationwide.

The American Standard FloWise (shown) is among the first commodes to meet the new California standard without requiring a second, water-saving mode. It also carries the EPA's WaterSense label for high-efficiency toilets—€”akin to an Energy Star qualification—€”and is eligible for rebates in drought-prone areas.

This gravity-fed toilet is green without being wimpy, claims American Standard, thanks to a funnel-shaped, piston-action flush valve that helps accelerate incoming water; the valve is similar to the one on the company'€™s Champion models, a line of gravity toilet that did well in our last toilet report.

The FloWise retails for $395 in white and is backed by a 10-year limited warranty. We'll see how these American Standard models and other lower-flow toilets fare in our next toilet test.—€”Bob Markovich

International Builders' Show Product Preview: Kohler Express Vanities

A vanity will add style and storage to your bathroom, but getting that bulky piece home from the store, schlepping it to its location, and assembling the piece can prove challenging.

The Kohler Express installation system, available on the Alberry, Chalkstripe, Clermont, and Westmore vanities, addresses those inconveniences. This patented setup (shown partially open) uses a patented hinge design that allows you to stow the vanity relatively flat in your car, lift it more easily through a doorway, and essentially snap it into shape. Even better, there'€™s no charge for delivery and installation.

Vanities with the express system costs $450 to $700; countertop and sink are sold and installed separately. The vanities are available at Kohler showrooms and at major retailers nationwide, including Home Depot and Lowe'€™s.—€”Daniel DiClerico

Essential information: Our report on bathroom makeovers includes information on countertop materials and a primer on how to avoid common remodeling blunders.

Can Super Bowl bathroom breaks cripple sewer systems?

Super Bowl XLII will take place on Sunday, February 3, in Glendale, Arizona, with the undefeated New England Patriots taking on the New York Giants. If you’re one of the millions of Americans who’ll enjoy some refreshing beverages while watching the intense on-field action on Fox, a halftime toilet break is a distinct possibility.

What would happen if every household in your town or city were to flush a toilet at about the same moment right after the end of the second quarter? That’s the issue behind the “halftime flush,” an oft-repeated yarn that surfaces annually around the NFL championship game. This urban legend suggests that all that flushing could cripple municipal water and sewer systems.

Commonly cited proof of this tall toilet tale is the event that took place during Super Bowl XVIII on January 22, 1984. As the showdown between the Los Angeles Raiders and the Washington Redskins progressed in Tampa, Florida, a 16-inch water main ruptured in Salt Lake City. LeRoy W. Hooton Jr., the recently retired director of the Department of Public Utilities for the Utah capital, recollects that the burst pipe caused quite a mess. (The Raiders flushed the Redskins, thumping Washington 38-9.)

The subsequent media attention turned into a flood of its own, particularly after a public-utilities field supervisor told a reporter that the “Super Bowl flush” was to blame. In reality, says Hooton, the aging Salt Lake City water system had been experiencing about 300 waterline breaks a year, meaning the 1984 incident was not an unusual occurrence.

“I was in the water works profession for over 49 years and I don’t think the Super Bowl had anything to do with the break,” says Hooton. “As I recall, there was neither an increase or decrease in pressure measured in the water-distribution system before the break. However, once the ‘Super Bowl flush’ statement was published, it caught on and continues to surface every year at this time.”

We think it’s time to flush this myth—before halftime.

Essential information: If your Super Bowl gathering highlights the inadequacies of the facilities at your home, read our expert advice on choosing the right type of toilet. For overall design help with a bathroom remodel, “Bathroom Makeovers: Relaxing Retreats for Less” will guide you through the process.

Universal design can make a safer bathroom

An estimated 34 million Americans care for a parent, relative, or family friend over the age of 50, according to a recent survey conducted by National Alliance for Caregiving, a research and policy organization, and Evercare, a provider of health plans for frail elderly, disabled, and chronically ill Americans. That number is expected to grow as more baby boomers move into retirement.

If your parents will be moving in to your home, you might want or need to accommodate them by remodeling a bathroom following universal-design guidelines. (See our Bed & Bath page for more information on bathrooms.)

Before you start your project, read the advice here from Mary Jo Peterson, a universal-design expert in Brookfield, Connecticut, on how you can make the bathroom work for everyone in your family:

DOOR
Simple solutions. Switch a doorknob to a lever and remove or countersink the doorsill between rooms. Also, since a wheelchair typically requires a doorway 34 to 36 inches wide, install an open-out door or fold-flat hinges—they might provide a wide enough access.

Upgraded option. Use twin 18-inch pocket doors, which slide into the wall on each side.

FAUCET
Simple solutions. Avoid rounded, smooth faucet controls, which can be difficult to grip. Look for antiscald features.

Upgraded options. Faucets with wide levers or a spout with a single-handle control look good and are easiest to use.

SHOWER STALL
Simple solutions. Use a curtain for stand-alone showers. Angle the floor to direct water toward the drain. Put controls near the entryway so they’re reachable from outside. Use textured tiles, grab bars, and a seat.

Upgraded option. A built-in seating platform adds security and a spalike feel. Read "Go for the flow" for  information on showerheads.

SINK
Simple solutions. If the bathroom has two sinks, consider adding one that’s taller to reduce bending. To allow adequate knee space beneath, a sink should be at least 29 inches high by 30 inches wide.

Upgraded options. Four-legged consoles, including recessed or countertop bowls, are a trendy alternative to vanities. A wide console can accommodate a wheelchair, as can a wall-mounted sink and a sink counter that leaves space below itself.

SUPPORT GRIPS
Simple solution. Use grab bars in the toilet and bath areas. Anchor them in 3/4-inch-thick plywood behind the drywall.

Upgraded options. Some companies offer grab bars in a range of colors. These bars are made of nonslip nylon, a better choice than metal.

TOILET
Simple solutions. Install a taller, comfort-height toilet; it’s a plus for anyone with a bad back or weak leg muscles. And an elongated bowl is more versatile than a round one. Remember, a wheelchair requires a space at least 30 inches wide by 48 inches deep in front of the toilet.

Upgraded options. A wall-mounted toilet can be installed at any height. An open-ended toilet-paper holder is simpler to use than a spring-loaded holder. Learn more about toilets in "Comfortable and efficient."

TUB
Simple solutions. Build a tub into a “deck” someone can sit on before getting into the water. Put controls and faucets on the sides of the tub, and install a hand-held showerhead on the wall or deck.

Upgraded options. Ease entry to the tub by installing grab bars and an undermount tub.

More safety information: Smooth, glazed ceramic tiles can be slippery in the wet bathroom environment. To prevent slips and falls, be sure the floor, shower area, and tub have slip-resistant finishes. Also consider adding a rubber bath mat or stick-on strips. To prevent burns from hot water, install antiscald valves in the shower or tub.

New toilet seats “bare” watching

Who knew that an ad for a toilet seat could cause such kerfuffle in, of all places, New York City? Bathroom-fixture maker Toto will promote its Washlet toilet seats on new billboards in Times Square starting July 10.

The Clean Is Happy ad campaign is sparking discussion in New York City because of the exposed derrieres that appear in it. (How ironic is it that the controversial bare-bottomed billboards will appear in Times Square, Manhattan’s onetime district of debauchery and sleaze?)

The Washlet line includes the C100, E200, S300, and S400 models. The list price of a white seat ranges from $727 for the C100 to $1,890 for the S400 (shown).

What do you get for all that money? Picture a supersophisticated toilet seat that adds the functions of a bidet, plus a whole lot more. The top-of-the-line S400 provides, among other items of note, cleaning/rinsing with warm water, heated-air drying and a heated seat, massage, an air purifier, and an automatic-opening and –closing lid, according to the Toto site. We haven’t yet tested the Washlet seats. In our 2005 report on toilets, the one-piece, gravity-fed Toto Carlyle MS874114SG, $500, was a Quick Pick.

Toto’s not the only company offering multitasking toilet seats. As we reported in “Thrones of the bathroom” as part of our 2007 International Builders’ Show coverage, Kohler’s C3 seats are also trying to take ordinary commodes to new heights.—Steven H. Saltzman

Essential information: If you’re redoing your bathroom, read our advice for choosing a toilet. For more information on bathroom remodeling, read “Bathroom makeovers: Relaxing retreats for less” and “Toilets: Comfortable and efficient,” both available to subscribers.

Not your average shower

Kramer: "You went to the coffee shop without me? I told ya, I just wanted to hop in the shower."
Jerry: "That was an hour ago. What were you doing in there?"
Kramer: "Showering. How long does it take you?"
Jerry: "Ten minutes."
Kramer [seeing Elaine come into Jerry's apartment]: "Ten minutes? That's kooky talk. Hey Elaine, how long do you spend in the shower?"
Elaine: "Ten minutes."
Kramer: "Let me smell you."
Elaine: "All right. Whiff away."
Kramer [after delicately sniffing Elaine]: "Uh . . . that's not bad at all."
—From Seinfeld episode “The Apology,” which originally aired on December 11, 1997. (Script excerpt from www.seinfeldscripts.com).

Kramer, Jerry’s gangly, loony neighbor, would probably love the new DTV II from Kohler (shown). The guy who couldn’t get in and out of the shower in less than an hour could luxuriate in the splendor of the DTV II, “an easy-to use, custom, digital hydrotherapy system” that includes built-in sound, steam, lights, and the pleasant-sounding WaterTile Ambient Rain Showering Panel.

When I reviewed the Kohler press release—a slick four-color pamphlet with a CD—I started to wonder why someone would need this in-home spa. How long does the average American shower, after all?

It turns out, according to Cyndi Schoenbrun, a senior research analyst in our InfoCenter, that American adults shower on average for only 8 minutes at a time. Get wet, lather up, rinse, sing or hum a few bars of your favorite song, ponder life or the daily to-do list, and head out to start (or end) the day.

To be honest, I wouldn’t mind having such a stunning, apparently life-changing bathroom setup in my home. My own steam shower is quite nice, mind you, but it doesn’t come close to the DTV II. Then again, when the alarm goes off at 5:55 a.m. Monday through Friday—signaling a routine that includes my own getting ready for work and making breakfast and lunch for our three kids—the last thing I have time for is, in Kohler’s words, a “showering experience.”

I guess that’s what weekends are for.—Steven H. Saltzman

Essential information: If you’re planning a bathroom remodel, read “Bathroom makeovers: Relaxing retreats for less” (available to subscribers). Also check out “Is your remodel worth the investment?” Perhaps you’d be better off spending your remodeling dollars somewhere else besides the bathroom.

Thrones of the bathroom

The Kohler C3 Series toilet seats can take ordinary commodes to new heights. See how these innovative bathroom fixtures work in this video report from Bob Markovich, editor of the Consumer Reports Home and Yard franchise, who’s on location at the International Builders’ Show in Orlando.

Kohler unveils lower-flow toilet

While the federal consumption standard for residential-use toilets remains at 1.6 gallons per flush (gpf), the EPA’s new WaterSense specification calls for less than 1.3 gpf. What’s more, California—where, it seems, many environmental efforts are born—might make the WaterSense voluntary specification mandatory for toilets.

In a move to address these developments, Kohler has released the Archer Comfort Height two-piece toilet ($308 to $400). What’s interesting about this 1.6-gpf fixture is that with a simple adjustment of a rod on the flush valve, its flow rate drops to 1.28 gpf.

Kohler eliminated the traditional flapper on the gravity-fed toilet and replaced it with a tower whose casing lifts to let water enter the drain from all directions, thereby decreasing consumption to 1.28 gpf.—Ed Perratore

Essential information: Standard toilets have also undergone a makeover as low-flush technology and styling have improved. Our installtion tips will help the job go smoothly, whether you’re hiring a pro or doing the job yourself. If you’re remodeling your entire bathroom, read our information on toilets,  whirlpool tubs, bathroom design, and bathroom sinks.

Product preview: Bath fans without the buzz

You step out of a nice, hot shower. Do you live with the steam or turn on the noisy bath fan? The Panasonic WhisperGreen fan could be a viable third option if you want a fog-free bathroom without the racket. Enclosed motors and a galvanized housing allow the WhisperGreen to emit a mere 0.3 sones at its highest speed, says Panasonic. That’s quieter than a refrigerator when the compressor isn’t running. Fan speeds range from 30 to 80 cubic feet per minute—suitable for bathrooms up to 80 square feet. Some models have a motion detector that switches the fan to high when someone enters the room and keeps it running for up to 60 minutes. The new fans can be installed in any room that may require venting. They are sold at plumbing- and electrical-supply stores. Price: $130, $140 with motion detector.
Web site: www.panasonic.com/ventfans

Essential information: Considering a bath remodel? Check our test-based advice on countertops, showerheads, sinks, toilets, and whirlpool tubs. You’ll also find tips to avoid common design mistakes and make a bathroom accessible for all users.

Product preview: This seat does the dirty work

Kohler’s C3 series toilet seats turn using the “loo” into an interactive adventure. Along with a heated seat, you get a helping hand in the form of two separate water nozzles that squirt warm water (from the regular supply line) at your back or front end—you tell it which—before blowing warm air for drying. You can even adjust the water temperature; decide whether you want the spray to be gentle, oscillating, or pulsating; and aim the spray where it will do the most good. The C3 also features a deodorizer and a glowing blue nightlight. As you might expect, all this extra help doesn’t come cheap: The C3-100, with its seat-mounted touchpad, costs $750, while the remote-control C3-200 (insert your own squirt-the-dog or soak-your-spouse joke here) runs $1,300. Both require a ground-fault circuit interrupter outlet and come in white or biscuit.  They’re available at plumbing showrooms or by special order at home centers.
Web site: us.kohler.com

Essential information: Standard toilets have also undergone a makeover as low-flush technology and styling have improved. Our installtion tips will help the job go smoothly, whether you’re hiring a pro or doing the job yourself. If you’re remodeling your entire bathroom, read our information on toilets,  whirlpool tubs, bathroom design, and bathroom sinks.