Everyone knows that if it’s yellow, you should let it mellow. (But if it’s brown, please flush it down.)
Cheeky children’s rhymes about toilet etiquette may be a thing of the past, though, thanks to new research by Penn State.
“Our team has developed a robust bio-inspired liquid-, sludge-, and bacteria-repellent coating that can essentially make a toilet self-cleaning,” according to engineering professor Tak-Sing Wong.
In the Wong Laboratory for Nature-Inspired Engineering, scientists created a technique to “dramatically” reduce the amount of water needed to flush a conventional toilet—about 6 liters.
Co-developed by Jing Wang, a doctoral graduate from Wong’s lab, the liquid-entrenched smooth surface (LESS) coating is a two-step spray that can be applied to a ceramic toilet bowl.
“When it dries, the first spray grows molecules that look like little hairs, with a diameter of about 1 million times thinner than a human’s,” Wang explained.
(No, it won’t feel like you’re pooping into Robin Williams’ chest.)
The undetectable pelt creates a smooth layer, upon which a second spray infuses lubricant around those nanoscopic “hairs” to establish a Slip ‘N Slide-like membrane.
“When we put that coating on a toilet in the lab and dump synthetic fecal matter on it, [the face feces] just completely slides down and nothing sticks to [the toilet],” according to Wang.
A couple of spritzes and you’ve essentially got a self-cleaning commode that requires a fraction of the water to dispose of waste.
The coating, which takes less than five minutes to cook, could last up to 500 flushes in a conventional toilet before reapplication is needed. Researchers also found that it effectively repels bacteria—particularly ones that spread infectious diseases and unpleasant odors.
“Poop sticking to the toilet is not only unpleasant to users, but it also presents serious health concerns,” Wong said.
Now that they’ve conquered the Penn State bathrooms, the team is taking their two-spray technique global with the launch of startup spotLESS Materials.
“Our goal is to bring impactful technology to the market so everyone can benefit,” Wong said. “To maximize the impact of our coating technology, we need to get it out of the lab.”
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