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As I paged through my stack of stuff from KBIS, I figured I needed to start in with a bang – a big one.

The Ferrari of Toilets

And then, there it was – TOTO’s NEOREST 750H. While casually called the “Ferrari of Toilets”, the company says – “It offers unrivaled comfort and the most complete bowl cleansing system available.”

“How?” you ask. Well … and really trying to avoid totally geeking out on this one, let’s call it a combination of factors.

First, NEOREST 750H’s bowl is glazed with TOTO’s HYDROTECT. This is a proprietary coating of titanium dioxide and zirconium. When combined with sunlight, HYDROTECT triggers a photocatalytic process in which organic substances break down.

To achieve this, TOTO integrated a UV light in the seat lid, aka – Actilight Cleansing Technology. This light activates when the lid closes. Once the UV light hits the HYDROTECT’s titanium dioxide coating, photocatalysis occurs, accelerating the decomposition of organic substances in the bowl.

That, and the toilet has a perfectly constructed (hyperbolic) shape.

This advanced cleansing system starts, though, with TOTO’s eWater+ Technology. Using the incoming water supply, a pre-mist wets the bowl’s surface minimizing waste’s adherence by some 80% over a dry bowl. After each flush, eWater+ mists the bowl with electrolysed water. The mist has a slightly acidic pH value, keeping the bowl fresh and clean longer.

That, and this super-luxe toilet simply has a sweet flush.

A cut-away of this toilet, in the booth, helped depict each of these features, and perhaps is one reason why the NEOCAST 750H took home the Silver in the Bath category at the Best of KBIS.

That and Oh! It’s got a motion-activated lid. This feature is offered independently on the Washlet B200, but certainly completes the package on the 750H.

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The Prius of Toilets

If the NEOREST is the Ferrari, then the ULTRAMAX II 1G has got to be the Prius. TOTO’s 1 gallon toilets were prominently featured in the booth. This new release took center stage. A graphic look at the “History of Flush Performance” helped highlight the evolution towards a one-gallon flush. To put that squarely – it’s said that a toilet with a 1.0 gallon flush saves 35% on water over a comparable 1.6 gpf.

But what about that “flush performance”? … Pressure-Assist? Well, Nope.

TOTO’s gravity-fed Double Cyclone ultra high-efficiency flushing system features two water jets, positioned on each side of the bowl’s interior to deliver powerful swirls of water.

People-Focused Innovation

As a BlogTour Vegas sponsor, the TOTO USA team hosted an intimate and totally delightful lunch. Director of Brand, Melissa Hill says, (the American division of) the company is currently going through a “transformation.” They are reaching for a new level of transparency and “disclosure in manufacturing.”

Common knowledge or not – two production plants centered in Atlanta are reclaiming much of the waste formed in production. This is important, because as the world’s largest manufacturer of bathroom fixtures, those two plants alone produce some 2,100 bath products a day.

As we learned, it is more than just toilets. The company says, it’s “TOTO Everywhere.” Punctuated in their booth, three separate “Lifestyle Vignettes” highlighted the company’s approach to, what they call, “Total Design.”

w/ TOTO’s Renee Lynn, Marketing Communications & Social Content Coordinator

These philosophies were guiding factors in a forthcoming redesign of TOTOUSA.com. (Here also on Amazon — TOTO.)Coming in March, the company says – it will offer a new user-focused experience. Yes, we got a preview.

TOTO Everywhere || AERO Shower Systems

Also in TOTO‘s booth, front and center – AERO Shower Systems. An entrant, too, in the Best of KBIS, the AERO Rain Shower offers a luxuriant, yet water saving, showering experience. Its innovative AeroJet+ air-injection technology increases each droplet’s volume by drawing air in through the showerhead & pumping it into the water droplets, in turn, enlarging them for better coverage.

via Chasen West for Modenus

To further enhance the showering experience, at intervals, AeroJet+ generates invigorating short bursts of pulsating water. AERO handshowers offer two different flow rates – 2.0 gpm or 2.5 gpm and they even feature a cascading flow. These systems are further expandable by adding wall-mounted Gyrostream body sprays.

via Chasen West for Modenus

To ensure that bathers experience uninterrupted showering pleasure—without the fear of drastic water temperature changes or scalding—the AERO Shower Systems incorporate TOTO’s Shape Memory Alloy (SMA) valves. Unlike other showers, the AERO Shower System features complete water cessation when turned off. These SMA valves allow for no residual water loss, through drips and/or leaking. They also help by preventing staining and scaling.

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BlogTour Vegas

TOTOUSA was a sponsor of BlogTour Vegas, of which I was a part. Find them on Amazon, here.

BlogTour, with previous international tours to London and Cologne. Domestically in New York, New Orleans and LA, has quickly become a digital and social media phenomenon that reaches an audience of over one million followers and readers. Bloggers apply to be part of each new tour. Participants have both a solid design business and social media savvy.

Design and remodeling enthusiasts can follow BlogTour Vegas on Twitter using hashtag #BlogTourVegas and view all the latest posts on Modenus.com. Information about the entire “select” group of bloggers can be found here.

BlogTour Las Vegas was sponsored by: KBIS, Blanco, Poggenpohl, Sub-Zero, Cosentino, Mr Steam, Top Knobs, Wood-Mode, Formica Group, Walker Zanger and TOTO USA. See all of Building Moxie‘s coverage of BlogTour Vegas. Thanks. ~jb