Wednesday, 7 May 2014

8, May 2014

Avoid swallowing ‘bacteria’ from pool water in summer

Love to take that evening dip in the neighbourhood swimming pool in this frying summer? Go take one but beware of swallowing pool water as this may be abound with bacteria and parasites. And do not go by the smell of chlorine as it does not mean that it is devoid of bacteria and dirt.  
‘That smell is actually chloramines, a substance that results from a mix of chlorine and bacteria, urine and sweat. A really healthy and clean pool would not have an odour at all,’ Christopher Ohl, a professor of infectious diseases at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center in North Carolina, was quoted as saying. The bacteria in the pool make things worse for kids.  
‘Warm, shallow water and kids in swim diapers can create a perfect breeding ground for water-borne infections, even though the water is chlorinated,’ she warned. Kids who have recently had any gastrointestinal illness should be kept away from water. Harmful germs such as E coli bacteria and parasites cryptosporidium and giardia spread when there is not enough chlorine in the pool or the pH levels are too low. People may get infections such as diarrhoea, stomach cramps, weight loss, nausea, vomiting and dehydration.  
08.05.2014



Coming soon — the touchless toilet which will keep you germ-free

The perfect restroom addition to anyone worried about germs, the latest Kohler toilet flushes with a simple wave of the hand. Available as a complete toilet or as a do-it-yourself kit for enhancing your existing flush system, it does away with the light beam sensors that are becoming commonplace in public conveniences in favor of something rather more refined and high-tech: electromagnetic sensing.
Conventional automated conveniences flush when a light beam is broken. That’s great in theory, but in practice it means that a slight movement while seated is enough to trigger the flush. With Kohler’s system, holding a hand directly above the sensor interrupts a projected electromagnetic field instead, and that interference is what activates the flush. The whole thing is powered by 4 AA-sized batteries that should last for up to a year. Kohler says that it was motivated to develop the technology in response to its customers’ growing concerns about hygiene in the home, and particularly in the bathroom.
‘Homeowners are of course worried about the hygiene and health of their family members, and the toilet trip lever is an obvious area of hygienic concern,’ said Brian Hedlund, marketing manager of Kohler toilets and bidets. ‘In a recent study of 800 U.S. consumers, we found that 51 percent of people surveyed are paranoid about germs in the bathroom. When looking at that same sample group but focusing on moms with children, that number jumps up to 65 percent.’
Kohler hasn’t confirmed pricing for the toilet with the technology integrated, but the touchless flush kit for adapting an existing system will cost $99 when it goes on sale later this year. And, apart from changing the batteries when they run out of juice, the system requires no other maintenance.
08.05.2014






That man is success who has lived well, laughed often and loved much

Robert Louis Stevenson


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