New invention aims to make cleaning toilets “considerably less disgusting”

An inventor in the UK is hoping to raise millions for charity with his new invention which aims to make cleaning toilets "considerably less disgusting" than using a toilet brush.

Inventor Kam Mistry is hoping to make cleaning toilets a little less crappy (ahem) if he reaches his Kickstarter funding target of £50,000 for 'the Shiffter', a new invention which aims to make cleaning toilets ‘considerably less disgusting’ than using a toilet brush. The idea is a simple one - instead of using a toilet brush to clean the loo, you use a jet of water. Kam, who has been working on the project in the evenings and weekends around his day job, says his product isn’t rocket science, but has the potential to become commonplace in hundreds of millions of homes across the globe,

"Let’s face it, does anyone enjoy using a toilet brush? Does anyone like picking up a used one? Instead of using a toilet brush and bleach to clean a toilet you just pick up the Shiffter, which is filled with water and sits next to the toilet, and use it to jet wash the bowl clean. The feedback from everyone who has seen it has been great as they can immediately see how it will make a currently unpleasant chore much easier and cleaner. It’s also more friendly to the environment as you end up using less bleach, toilet cleaner and water."

Obviously talking about cleaning poo from a toilet bowl is something that people generally avoid discussing, and this is something Kam has thought about, but he sees it as an opportunity rather than a hindrance. In a world where video is easy to use for demonstrating how something works, it isn’t so easy for the Shiffter, as no-one wants to watch a movie of something so...erm...personal. To get around this, a short animation has been created to show what the product does and then, using chocolate spread, the Shiffter’s effectiveness is shown in a brief video. Well, we may never eat chocolate spread again. Although Kam has taken a light-hearted approach to his invention, he is hoping to raise serious amounts of money for charities with the patent pending product,

"For obvious reasons, cleaning toilets isn’t something we talk about on a daily basis, and the same goes for illnesses related to digestive and intestinal disorders such as colitis, Crohn’s disease, irritable bowel syndrome and bowel cancer - to name but a few. Millions of people’s daily lives are blighted by such conditions but we don’t talk about them, so I’m hoping that giving 20% of profits from the product to related good causes will change people’s perspective and understanding about gut-related illnesses. It's about providing an opportunity to be more open about these issues which can be extremely demoralising."

Kam is already in discussions with two charities about their potential involvement,

"With over a billion households in the world, the market is huge, and don’t forget that many homes have more than one toilet. On top of that there are toilets in hotel rooms and businesses too. The potential is enormous, especially if the patent application is successful."

Whilst Kam intends to initially give 20% of profits to good causes, he wants that figure to rise as sales improve over time, so the potential to raise a significant amount of money for charity is very real, if he can reach his funding target to go into production. The inventor's Kickstarter project is currently live and ends on Tuesday 2 May. If the funding target on the crowdfunding website is reached, the Shiffter will go into production in the summer and be available to buy shortly afterwards. A UK patent is pending, with foreign applications due to be filed in the next few weeks. Could this be the start of some kind of movement? Cough. Join the conversation on Twitter @HerFamilydotie