Doing away with the need of pressing a button or pulling a handle to flush, there’s a reason why automatic toilet flushers are gaining traction.
In an age where personal hygiene, cleanliness, and keeping germ free are more important than ever, any modern product that promotes good hygiene is a worthwhile investment.
This article will showcase precisely what an automatic toiler flusher is and how they work.
Whether you are thinking about installing one in your home, or business, get ready to have every question that you’ve ever wondered about automatic toiler flushers answered.
Table of Contents
What Is An Automatic Toilet Flusher?
Automatic toilet flushers put an end to questionable hygiene practices through the power of infrared sensor technology.
Using the emission and reception of active infrared beams, this smart technology picks up a presence of movement through a pre-programmed field of detection.
Whether that be a person or object, once the sensor has detected movement, it is ready to get to work.
There are various models of automatic toilet flushers that each work slightly differently from the next.
However, in general, once movement has been detected, the flusher will wait patiently until a toiler user leaves before flushing the water automatically.
Other models will require a person to wave their hand across the sensor so that it can get down and do its dirty work.
There are now even high-tech water-saving models available that are time-programmed to do a half or full flush depending on a person’s time spent doing their business.
What Are The Important Parts Of An Automatic Toiler Flusher?
Learning about each of the four important parts that make up an automatic toiler flusher will help you to understand exactly how they work, from the inside out.
The infrared sensor, valve, power source, and connector cables are the four essential parts in question, so let’s dive right in.
Infrared Sensor
The part that defines an automatic toilet flusher the most is its infrared sensor.
Although the same could be said about each of these four parts, without an infrared sensor, there is no such thing as an automatic toilet flusher.
The sensor is tasked with the all-important job of detecting movement and then proceeding to inform the toilet flusher’s valve when to open and close.
The key thing here is that the sensor instructs the valve to start and stop its flow when the presence of a person or object has been detected.
There are always two infrared LEDs inside an auto toilet flusher, one that emits, and one that receives infrared beams.
Whether it is engineered directly onto the metal faceplate or inside the flush valve, the sensor will still work the same.
In most auto toilet flushers, generally, the sensor will be positioned onto the metal faceplate for ease.
Valve
As we just hinted at, the valve and sensor are collaborators who work together to open and close the toilet flusher’s water flow.
Think of the valve as the switch, that, when it receives a signal from the sensor, will open and close the water flow.\
The type of action sent from the sensor will determine whether the valve will enlist a pushing or pulling action, essentially allowing the water to flow and telling it when to stop.
Power Source
As its namesake suggests, the power source is the part that gives an auto toilet flusher its electricity.
The power source can either be powered via DC batteries, an AC power supply, or a combination of both.
If it is DC battery powered, an auto flusher will generally require between two and six AA batteries.
The exact number is dependent on its size. If it is powered via an AC power supply, then this will connect the sensor and control box.
Connector Cables
Connector cables crucially connect the three previously mentioned parts together.
The key element to an auto toilet flusher’s connector cables is that they must be waterproof.
Sure, nobody intends to get toilet (see also ‘How Does A Toilet Work?‘) water all over a flusher.
However, as we all know, accidents happen, and you don’t want to find out what a non-waterproof connector cable feels like when drenched in water (it hurts).
When you consider the inherent humidity that is associated with a bathroom, sometimes, it doesn’t even take a splashy accident to get a nasty little zap from a connector cable not wrapped in a high-grade waterproof casing.
Luckily, the safety requirements for such cables are very stringent and most connectors are fitted with an ip67 waterproof grade cable for maximum protection.
How Do Automatic Toilet Flushers Work?
Now that you are clued onto the various parts of an automatic toilet flusher, it’s time to describe exactly how they come together to flush your toilet.
When you consider the power source and connector cable’s jobs are more supporting roles, how an automatic toilet flusher works really comes down to the relationship between the sensor and the valve.
Fitted with infrared LEDs and detectors, an auto toilet flusher’s sensor works in a very similar way to your TV’s remote control.
The sensor lies dormant until a time when its infrared light hits an object or person and is reflected back toward the sensor.
Once the sensor detects its own infrared light being sent back, it will then signal to the valve to open and flushing will commence.
The system is controlled by a built-in microchip which can be tweaked depending on the duration and level of flush you desire.
Why Should You Install An Automatic Toilet Flusher?
Gone are the days when automatic toilet flushers were only seen in public toilets.
These days, more and more modern homes are being fitted with auto toilet flushers than ever before.
Besides the convenience of never having to press flush again, this modern toiler feature has a few more advantages over a manual press toilet flush.
- Better Hygiene: Of course, there’s no comparison between the grime of a public toilet flush and your home toilet, but that’s not to say that home toilets don’t have their own associated grime and germs.
When you consider that the toilet handle is the most obvious spot for germs to fester, then it is for good reason that auto toilet flushers are being fitted purely on the base of better hygiene alone.
- Forgetful Flushing: Any parent who has toilet trained their kids can attest to flushing being one of the big “room for improvement” parts. Auto toilet flushers eliminate any and all unwanted smelly surprises by doing away with the need to press a flush.
- Elderly People: Elderly people and anyone with limited mobility will greatly appreciate an auto toilet flush. Although bending over and reaching for the toilet flush handle/ button may seem like an easy task for most, it is this kind of task that can be a massive challenge for people with limited mobility.
- Toilet Trained Cats: For any cat owner who has or is planning to toilet train their cats, an auto toilet flusher is a must. Even the most highly trained cats often struggle with a toilet’s handle. An auto toilet flush will allow them to do their business and then hop off the toilet without the need to start playing around with the handle and potentially falling in as a result (yes, it does happen).
Conclusion
So there you have it. You are now all the wiser on what automatic toilet flushers are and how they work.
As you can see, the benefits of an auto toiler flusher speak for themselves.
If you can see any one of these associated benefits being of use to you and your family, then you really should consider one for your home toilet.
