Leading topics at ISH 2021

Hygiene and cleanliness in the bathroom have always been an important topic. There is no doubt that, contrary to traditional notions, the bathroom is already one of the cleanest spaces due to the nature of many surfaces. In the midst of a pandemic it has once again become the focus of builders, architects and project planners to reduce contact points. Thus, ISH digital 2021 will focus on the leading theme under the heading "Hygiene Wave in the Bathroom". The solutions at this year's ISH digital 2021 show that functionality, sophisticated bathroom design and hygienic product properties are not mutually exclusive.

Photo: Dornbracht; Touchfree

This is how sensor-controlled fittings are finding their way from the public washroom and into the private home

In the public space, the topic of hygiene is currently even more relevant. In many areas, new hygiene concepts must be developed, existing installations questioned and retrofitted to meet the new hygiene requirements.

The focus of current hygiene requirements is on touch-free operation of washbasin taps, WC flushes and soap dispensers. Today, WC actuation plates are equipped with sensor technology, which allows flushing to be triggered completely contact-free with a hand movement in the sensor area. Electronic operation also makes smart functions possible that also ensure more hygiene in the drinking water system, such as automatic stagnation flushing to prevent germ formation due to stagnant water during inactive periods.

Another special side effect of sensor technology is that product care becomes more sustainable. Clearer contours in the tap design and antibacterial and limescale retardant surfaces make cleaning easier and more efficient. The touch-free operation also means that the taps do not get dirty so easily. This results in more hygiene with less detergent use.

With increasing demands for hygiene, smart solutions are moving into the bathroom, bringing with them many comfort functions.  Many manufacturer’s innovations for smart home solutions are expected at ISH digital 2021.

Photo: Duravit; SensoWash®

The electronic valve control makes integration into the Internet of Things (IoT) possible and thus enables the units to communicate with each other. This allows hygiene functions such as the simultaneous automatic stagnation flushing of several tapping points. This ensures a sufficient flow rate of 2 m/s to shift impurities in the drinking water system when inactive.

Many manufacturers link these options with comfort functions, such as Bluetooth control of the shower cubicle in combination with a stagnation flush or automatic filling of the bathtub via an app. Here, again, safety functions make such integration meaningful, for example by programming a maximum filling quantity for the bathtub in order to avoid overflowing or to limit its use to a certain group of users. In addition to private use, examples of applications for this are limited public areas such as spas or care institutions.

Smart Home solutions for the intelligent bathroom not only offer comfort functions, they are also an important component for even more hygiene in public and private sanitary areas.