National Survey Exposes Kiwi Bathroom Habits

MEDIA RELEASE FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

National Survey Exposes Kiwi Bathroom Habits

Auckland, 18 September 2007 – Caroma, leaders and pioneers in innovative toilet suite design and performance in New Zealand for the last 50 years, today published the results of New Zealand’s first survey designed to test the Nation’s knowledge of their toilet.

People throughout the North and South Island completed Caroma’s questionnaire via online research company Buzz Channel. The survey results certainly produced some interesting and unexpected findings concerning New Zealand’s awareness of how much water their toilet uses, their attitude towards water conservation, and some unusual bathroom habits.

Scott Simpson, General Manager of Caroma said “The survey raised some eyebrows as it showed 77% of males clean the toilets in their household. A fact some would find surprising.”

Another revealing fact is that just as many women as men read when they take a trip to the bathroom. Magazines were the favourite choice of reading material with books and newspapers coming an equal second. Even junk mail made the list of preferred bathroom reading material.

Crucially, the Caroma survey results suggest it is probable single flush toilets are still being used because people are unaware of the amount of water they waste. Eighty percent of those surveyed underestimated the amount of water a single flush toilet uses.

Every year toilets account for 25% of all water usage in the home, this is equal to the amount of water used in the rest of the bathroom put together*. Cutting back on shower time and turning the tap off when brushing your teeth are a good start, but the loo is where to turn for maximum water conservation.

Once the respondents were told the difference between single and dual flushes in terms of their water usage, 93% felt a law or regulation should be introduced to ensure or encourage the use of dual flush toilets in all New Zealand buildings.

Simpson was encouraged by the fact that 85% of those surveyed thought it was important to try and reduce the level of water being used in the home.

“It is heartening to see so many Kiwis care about their environment and realise water conservation in the home is important. Once people realise how much water can be saved by switching from a single flush to a dual flush suite like Smartflush the water savings will be massive, and certainly significant for water conservation in New Zealand.”

“Water conservation is important to Caroma and is the cornerstone of our design innovation. We were the first in the world to pioneer the dual flush system which has been adopted by many countries today, and our recent Smartflush range is a system that takes this one step further.” said Simpson.

Smartflush sets the benchmark for innovative toilet suite design and water conservation without sacrificing performance. By using only 4.5 litres for a full flush it is saving the average Kiwi home thousands of litres of water a year.

ENDS

* These statistics have been taken from a recent survey conducted by EcoMatters Environment Trust on behalf of Waitakere City Council.

--

300 Kiwis were surveyed across the North and South Island via online research company Buzz Channel.

--

Survey results sumary (PDF)

--

About Caroma
Caroma has been at the forefront of product innovation in reduced-flush, water-efficient sanitaryware for over 50 years. It is the leading designer, manufacturer, importer and distributor of domestic and commercial sanitaryware and bathroom products in New Zealand and Australia.

Caroma is a wholly owned subsidiary of GWA International Limited with diverse interests including Sebel Furniture, Dux Water Heaters, Dorf Tapware, Clark Sinks and Gainsborough Hardware.

Caroma's history of design and product leadership has been achieved by a total commitment to research and development in all areas of quality, aesthetics and technical excellence. Through constant innovation, Caroma continually provides the most comprehensive range of reliable, high quality, smart and stylish bathroom products in New Zealand and Australia. The Caroma range offers a total bathroom solution which includes toilet suites, basins, tapware, bathware and commercial and care products.

Please also see our website www.caroma.co.nz

© Scoop Media