The upside of this is that you do have cleaner-looking public toilets. But there are downsides, and after two years in SG I am starting to really loathe these insta-flush contraptions! (If you're eating right now, maybe you should stop reading.)
The main issue is that in nearly all cases the auto-detectors don't work properly. And 90% of the time this means they are way too sensitive. So you bolt the toilet door: they flush. You sit down: they flush. You breathe in: they flush. You breath out: they flush. It goes on.
There are two particularly unpleasant user aspects to this:
1. If you are sitting down (and breathing) you will get the entire contents of the toilet thrown up onto your innocent posterior. Perhaps multiple times. Now this is NOT hygienic. Some toilets will flush with so much H20 that it soaks your clothes too! And God help any tourist here who has 'jelly belly' (I don't need to go into detail). That is surely a serious health-hazard?
2. If you're lucky, in most outlets, you will get around 10 seconds to 'finish your business' before the toilet soaks your backside. This is kinda stressful. If they are trying to get you to you leave the cubicle ASAP, they could at last allow you a decent 30 seconds before drenching you.
The irony of all this is that when you HAVE actually finished, and get up the leave the cubicle, the toilet won't flush! And you then spend ages waving your hand in front of the detector to get it to do so. I guess it just flushes when the next unsuspecting user turns around to bolt the door, or starts breathing?
Two of SG's worst offenders:
1. The Icon village at Tanjong Pagar. These overzealous toilets are clothes-soakers. Grim! I had to throw my outfit into an extra-hot wash that night at home. But I still had to work for an afternoon wearing it first! And you'll get just 4 seconds before these latrines immerse you.
2. Paragon mall on Orchard Road. These look lovely and posh. But you'll only get 7 seconds before they soak you. (Yes, I have got so exasperated with this whole scenario I started counting for this bog blog!)
What is the solution to this? Obviously the technology needs reworking. But perhaps as users we need to carry Post-it notes and see if covering the sensor allows us to sit in peace, with non-sewage-drenched backsides and clothing?? Or simply stop using public toilets?
The Eco Issue
How many litres of fresh water are wasted in this endless, pointless flush-nothing scenario? Apart from the water over-expenditure during normal use, some people do use toilet cubicles for other legal activities like changing clothes. In the absence of changing-rooms, I used to use a toilet cubicle to change into my Gi for an after-work martial arts class. I put the toilet seat down. I never sat on the toilet, even with the seat down. And during my standing, quick-change, the toilet managed to flush itself 17 times. SEVENTEEN! That's around 102 litres of water for an average appliance! And to think all of our club used these cubicles for quick-changing, four times a week.... In a properly working (or even traditional, old fashioned) system, these cubicles would not have been flushed once.
And in Singapore, a country famed for not even having its own fresh water sources, the use of this 'crap' technology seems ludicrously wasteful. (It would be anywhere).
A real case of superficial appeal over functionality or hygiene. :(
Photo courtesy Freeexistence.org
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