 |
||||
Look Ma, No Hands Are hands-free faucets finally ready for the mainstream home?  Hands-free trash receptacle Image courtesy Image courtesy iTouchless Housewares Automatic faucets are everywhere: airports, restaurants and office buildings – everywhere, it seems, except our homes. In today’s germophobic world, where antibacterial soaps are commonplace, the hands-free faucet would seem tailor-made for use at home. But hefty price tags – $300 to $900 – have kept most homeowners turning on their water spigots the old-fashioned way. Now, a new hands-free design is making a bid for home use, at prices that finallly may give “hands-free” some legs in the mass market. Garbage cans – where step-open models have long been popular – are now available in automatic models that open with the same infrared feature that operates commercial toilets and faucets. Move your hand toward the lid and up it pops, allowing you to dispose of trash without fumbling. Michael Shek, COO for iTouchless Housewares & Products, which launched a line of hands-free trash bins for retail distribution in May, says he has seen direct sales for the techno-cans increase 300 percent in the last three years. Joe Rubino, a microbiologist in Montville, N.J., says he’d choose a touchless model over a traditional trashcan, as the potential for containing bacteria is higher. “There’s a lot of utility for something like this,” he says. “The less things you can touch the better. It makes cleaning up easier and disposing of trash easier. “From a public health standpoint, the chance of coming into bacteria is a lot less.” |
||||
|
||||
