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A Bathroom That Cleans Itself
FiReaNGeL writes "Researchers at the University of New South Wales are developing new coatings they hope will be used for self-cleaning surfaces in hospitals and the home. It's made of a special nanoparticle coating that absorbs ultraviolet light below a certain wavelength and gives the particles an oxidizing quality stronger than any commercial bleach. Say goodbye to tedious bathroom cleaning!"
I'm not sure if I want to have that. I think "germs" and my cells aren't all that different in their ability to resist being killed. In fact, I think some germs can outlast my cells so intuitively, I don't think this idea is very safe. Maybe the right solution isn't to kill every thing but learn to live with bacterias, etc. Plus, it's not so much the micro-organisms that worry me but just rather bits of dust and hair that start to collect in some areas that bothers me and this idea doesn't really provide a solution to that.
On the other hand, I've always wanted a titanium (not titanium oxide) clad bathroom that I can just torch or something to clean it the same way my oven does. When I first read the title, I thought someone figured out a smart and economical way of doing this.
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It will be stuck to the tiles and sinks. It will have an effect similar to oxidizing the biological stuff (germs, viruses, fungi) that contact it. The harmess gunk that remains will easily wash off.
Prediction for end of Universe #42: Fencepost error in Quantum_bogosort.cpp
As a janitor, I can tell you that this will not eliminate the need for cleaning staff. The most important thing we do is replace supplies. The next biggest thing we do is fix unusual problems before they get to be a serious problem (lady flushes sanitary product, someone shits all over sink, etc.). As far as sinks and counters go, we polish mirrors, and then get hair and soap off of sinks. The most important thing is to have the bathroom look good. This might help with getting black gunk and algae out of toilets or sanitizing fixtures, but the important things will still require janitors. People never seem to realize the amount of critical thinking required. You can't replace cleaning staff with untrained or stupid people or machines unless you want problems. We notice things that a machine wouldn't notice and clean or fix. Paying attention to small things can really save your ass sometimes. For instance, if the tone drops on the vacuum cleaner, you have a slipping belt. If you ignore it, you get melted rubber all over the floor. An untrained person doesn't notice this, and has to pay to replace burned carpet. A machine has similar problems. You can't simply automate cleanup crews.
Better yet, a keyboard made out of it, so that we don't have to put up with lame-ass stories about how there are so many bacteria on our keyboards compared to a toilet seat.
Karma: It's all a bunch of tree-huggin' hippy crap!