Rou

I personally have a hate-hate relationship with the IR sensor filled bathroom here at work. First it was an problem with the john, which seemed to take spastic delight at randomly flushing. For a while most of us would leave slightly extra mositened because the fucking things would flush at the twitch of a muscle. You couldn't even drop your drawers without it freaking out and flushing irratically.

Next it was the soap dispenser.

Much like the movie Jaws you had NO fucking clue when it would hock up a gobbet of soap at you. For a while it would spurt soap into the sink as you merely approached. Then once you held your hand under it, it would freeze, like a guy with a psychosomatic impotence. Finally when you gave up in disgust and started to walk away it would spew more soap in pearlescent blobs back into the basin.

A few times I went back and tried to wash these gobs down the drain and were promptly rewarded with more gobs when I walked away.

Now I just glare in hostility at the dispenser and wait till, like a cowboy at high noon, one of us decides to flinch first....

I don't see what's so great about IR sensors on toilets. I know how to flush; I've been doing it for a while, and I can handle the job on my own. The sensors are too unreliable to be useful. I find I have to hit the button most of the time, defeating the entire purpose of having the sensor.

The sensors on sinks such too. I like to control how hot the water is, how fast it's coming out, and how long it's flowing. And while there's nothing wrong with automatic soap dispensers in theory, u235 pointed out the practical problems.

Do we really need this kind of "convenience"? Do we need more ways to waste electricity? Do we need more things in our lives where all the work is done for us, and we don't have to push levers or turn knobs? It's just unnecessary.

In public restrooms, I totally support the IR sensor for flushing. So long as it works properly (the ones here are good most of the time), it lets me avoid touching the damn thing.

No, it's not difficult, but it is filthy. Not normally a huge cleanliness freak, I still prefer to avoid touching it. I've commented before on my coworkers habits, and even by my fairly loose standards, they're nasty.

I'd guess the same logic follows for all of the IR devices in public restrooms. People in a tizzy about germs and such. Best guess.

I've always heard that the most germ ridden part of the public bathroom was the door handle.

Could be true. Our doors have a auto-opener too. But I think that's meant for handicapped access more than anything else.

Most public restrooms do need IR devices because, although we are prefectly able to flush, many slobs don't. I doubt there are that many people from the outbacks in thrid world countries frequenting public restrooms to use ignorance to explain the lack of flushing.

However, the sensors are frequently poorly adjusted. A friend at work had a daughter that refused to use public restrooms for about 3 years because she was scared when one flushed while she was using it - a mere month or two after being potty trained.