Whether she’s a culinary pro or a kitchen novice, we think any mom would love the addition of a brand new faucet to the kitchen. American Standard kitchen faucets give a worry-free lifetime of performance and beauty. Ceramic disc valves keep faucets drip-free and running smoothly. A lifetime finish that resists tarnishing and scratches mean the faucet will continue to look great for years of wear. All American Standard faucets are worry-free, drip-free and built to last – the perfect trifecta to make any mom smile!

How to Enter:

1- To enter to win one of our kitchen faucets,  leave a comment with your favorite kitchen faucet choice from the selection below and make sure to insert the faucet name in your comment.
2- Also, tell us how your mom would use this kitchen faucet (perhaps to whip up a favorite recipe?).
Professor Toilet and his team will choose their favorite entry on Friday May 18, 2012 as the winner,  so hurry and enter before May 17, 5PM ET.

For the Mom that (practically) lives in the kitchen: The Pekoe Semi-Professional Kitchen Faucet

Does your mom host her own imaginary Food Network show straight out of her kitchen? The Pekoe Semi-Professional Kitchen Faucet was designed with the “Michelin Star” home chef in mind with its sleek and modern silhouette. The long pull-down spray makes rinsing vegetables and washing large pots a cinch which, of course, means more time to master that Beurre manié.

For the Home Head Chef: The Quince Semi-Professional Faucet

The Quince Semi-Professional Kitchen Faucet keeps pace with the mom that slices and dices like a pro; the smooth lever handle and toggle spray making rinsing and washing a breeze while the memory positioning feature keeps the user from having to adjust the temperature each use.

For the casual cook: The Quince High Arc Faucet with Pull-Out Spray

For the mom that likes things simple and sweet, the Quince delivers with a casual look that’s inspired by nature. Don’t let the minimalistic appearance deceive you though: this kitchen faucet is packed with features that bring convenience to the home cook including a pull out spout with two spray functions.

Together, we can make a world of difference. See what Water Saving Rebates you qualify for and calculate your water savings with our interactive water savings calculator to estimate how much green you can save by going green.

Join us in Pledging for a Greener World, You Could Win a Toilet, Faucet or a Showerhead!

Take the challenge with us and Pledge for a Greener World at American Standard’s Facebook, Twitter and right here on the Professor Toilet Blog – you could win one of the Cadet Décor Toilet, Williamsburg Faucet or FloWise® Showerhead! Each time you pledge by tagging yourself on our pledge photo or share with your friends through Facebook, you increase your chance to win one of these water-efficient products so share and post your tips away!

In the NYC area? Join us for a live demonstration of the a Cadet Toilet‘s amazing flushing capabilities on 43rd Street and Broadway as we flush down golf balls and more at Earth Day New York in Times Square on April 20th. Take your picture with Professor Toilet,  join us for some fun games and win some giveaways at the day-long event. Who knows? Maybe you will end up the star of our next video!

To enter for our Toilet, Faucet or Shower head drawing, pledge with your top water saving tip as a comment until April 27 5pm EST. To increase your chance to win, pledge via Facebook for additional entries! Only three entries will be picked randomly. First picked name will receive the toilet, second picked name will receive the faucet and last picked name will receive the shower head.

If your bathroom has plenty of space for storage elsewhere, a pedestal sink is a great way to make a powerful design statement. Whether the pedestal is modern with clean lines, or more traditional and elegantly detailed, make sure you choose a sink that is the right height for you. The Professor also recommends choosing a pedestal sink (or vanity) that is at least 27″ tall if the bathroom will be used primarily by adults.

Undermount sinks are a sleek look, and so very easy to keep clean. Sweep the counter and done. Marvelous. The Professor finds the Porcher Marquee collection to be particularly stylish, as the base of the sinks feature distinctive, jewel-inspired faceting.

Stainless steel in the bathroom? Great contemporary feel. Try the American Standard Prevoir Collection of stainless steel bathroom sinks, which use stainless steel in a new and unexpected way.

Above counter basins, or vessel sinks are available in every material from stone to ceramics to transparent glass. Consider these sinks for your show-off powder room. Vessel sinks can be found in bold, modern shapes as well as classic wash basin designs that match beautifully with more traditional bathrooms.

Above all be bold, be beautiful, and best wishes from Professor Toilet for a beautiful new bath.

The American Institute of Architects reported that through the end of 2011, homeowners continued to view the integration of water saving faucets, toilets, and showerheads as important components of their bathrooms. Water saving toilets and showerheads in particular used to get a bad rap for providing poor performance, but thanks to recent technological advances, saving water doesn’t have to feel like a sacrifice. American Standard’s H2Option, featuring powerful siphonic dual flushing action, and turbine technology-powered FloWise collection of showerheads are two notable examples of high performance, low flow products.

The transitional style is predicted to be the most popular look for bathroom fixtures according to the National Kitchen and Bath Association’s 2012 Style Report. This style, which walks the line between traditional and contemporary to create a modern yet classic look, is beautifully expressed by the elegant, sculptural Pyke collection of bath faucets by JADO.

Aging in place is also a top priority for many Americans, and incorporating universal design features into the home – especially in the bathroom – is a growing trend. And with luxury options like whirlpool, air bath, and combo massage features now available, installing a walk-in bath can feel like an indulgence rather than just preparing for old age.

White continues to be the most popular bathroom color scheme, and it’s a look the Professor finds especially attractive when complemented by wood furnishings with dark finishes like the espresso-colored hues available in the Porcher Solutions collection of modular bath furnishings.

Whether you’re just swapping in a new faucet or getting bold with colors and fixtures: go forth and remodel!

American Standard recently made toilet history with a new line of high efficiency commercial toilet flushing systems that conserve nearly one-third the amount of water used by a standard toilet. This new line is the first to offer this degree of water savings in a “single flush” flushometer toilet system.

The high-efficiency toilet (HET) system combines FloWise water-saving technology and innovative hands-free Selectronic controls – ideally suited to the American Standard Madera or Afwall commercial toilets – to efficiently clear the bowl using just 1.1 gallons per flush (gpf), a savings of 31 percent over a standard 1.6 gpf toilet. Compared to a standard 1.28 gpf HET, these new systems yield an additional 11 percent water savings.

Engineered to deliver a powerful flush, these 1.1 gpf flushometer toilet systems have been third-party certified to flush 800 grams of solid waste in the Maximum Performance (MaP) test, an independent report of toilet bulk removal performance, while also attaining the maximum drain line carry.

For more information on this announcement, view the complete press release for the 1.1 gpf High Efficiency Flushometer Toilet Systems.

Professor Toilet wants to know which bathroom suite make you want to lounge in the bath for hours. He’s also giving you a chance to win a set of two JADO robe hooks (your choice of  Stoic or Hatteras Collection, see product details below) for a fresh update!

For your chance to win, tell us which suite you’d love to see in your home and why it inspires you by commenting on this blog post. Professor Toilet will choose his favorite comment on 3/15/2012 as the winner. Hurry and get those comments  in.

Featured Items, from Left to Right:

97010-11 – Porcher Solutions™ Wall-Mounted Dual Flush Toilet
60525-10 – Porcher Solutions™ 5-1/2′ Slim Premium Air Bath
847/814/100 – JADO Stoic Deck Mount Tub Filler with Hand Shower with Cy Handles
80880-01 - Porcher Solutions™ Mirror
847/033/100 – JADO Stoic Widespread Lavatory Faucet with Cy Handles
80800-01 – Porcher Solutions™ 24″ Wall Hung Cabinet
26060-03 – Porcher Solutions™ 24″ Countertop Lavatory with 8″ Centers

Featured Items, from Left to Right:

82930-01 – Calla II Mirror
82920-01 – Calla II 24″ Cabinet
20378-00 – Calla II Lavatory
842/803/100 – JADO Hatteras Low Spout Widespread Lavatory Set with Cross Handles
90290-01 – Calla II Elongated Toilet
60070-00 – Calla Soaking Bath
842/804/100 - JADO Hatteras Low Spout Roman Tub Set with Handshower and Cross Handles

Featured Items, from Left to Right:

97920-28 – Archive Elongated High Efficiency 1 Piece Toilet
84920-01 – Archive 24″ Vanity
84960-01 – Stone Top for Archive 24″ Vanity
84930-01 – Archive Mirror
842/003/100 – JADO Hatteras Low Spout Widespread Lavatory Set with Cross Handles
62745-40 – Archive Freestanding Soaking Bath

And the Winner Gets One of These…

Taking such an overwhelmingly odorific journey may not sound like the most appealing idea, but McHale had an interesting goal.

“My main motivation for organizing the tour was to get some insight on the question of whether or not our system of water-based toilets and sewers is really sustainable. That is, can humans continue doing this for the next thousand years without significant impact to the environment? I did not expect an answer in one visit, but thought it was a good way to start learning.”

The process begins when sewage first enters the plant, and solids like grit, sludge, grease, and scum are all gradually removed through a multi-step process of filtration and sedimentation. As McHale explained to the Professor, one of the most striking aspects of the plant was how “natural” the process is. Essentially, all the plant does is control the flow of the sewage to allow sufficient time for natural processes like sedimentation and biological metabolism to take place in a reliable manner.

The plant provides a controlled residence time and provides oxygen to help the microbes do their work removing contaminants from the waste water, but it is all essentially a natural process. The bacteria that do the work were not even specially selected: they utilize the native bacteria that flowed in with the sewage. All the plant needs to do is control their population and keep them fed. At the end of the line, the water is then treated with chlorine before it is released into the Delaware River to protect the river water for wildlife and for swimmers.

The plant McHale visited handles an unbelievable 120 million gallons of wastewater flow in a typical day. It is one of the three facilities serving Philadelphia and its suburbs, and serves the most populated part of the city. Therefore the Professor was not surprised to learn that the system can be unreliable. Philadelphia, like most of the older cities, has a combined sewer system, which means that household sewage, runoff from rainstorms, and industrial wastewater are all combined and handled by one sewer system.

The average rain storm sends enough water into the sewer system that it can overflow, releasing untreated sewage into the local waterways. McHale reported that it had rained about an inch on the day of his visit, and that the affects on the plant were evident. The water leaving the plant wasn’t as clean as it should be: flow rates were too high and residence times inside the plant too short.

One interesting potential solution to this problem is that individual households could help by releasing cleaner water into the system. Household plumbing systems could pre-treat wastewater, for example. Toilets could be designed to ease the burden on water treatment plants by separating liquids, which require less treatment, from solids that require more time in the plant. Incorporating anaerobic digestion on a household or community level is another interesting possibility. Anaerobic digestion produces methane gas, which could then be used to produce electricity or household heating while also relieving the burden on local sewage treatment plants.

Dealing with such immense quantities of wastewater is a complicated problem to tackle, but the Professor is heartened to see such great minds working on solutions.

The 60 to 75 percent who say that toilet paper should be over.

And the 25 to 40 percent who believe, who truly believe, that toilet paper should be under, a.k.a. The Underclass.

Tearing at the very two-ply of our nation, the toilet paper under vs. over debate even has its own Wikipedia entry, “Toilet paper orientation,” which fills more than 23 typed pages with more than 9,000 words, 129 notes and 119 references.

Toilet Paper Under Over: An Historical Perspective

There was a time in our history when people weren’t torn asunder by over/under. Toilet paper didn’t exist. So that was easy.

The founding fathers’ original intent was clearly for us to be a toilet-paper-over nation.

The first mention of toilet paper on broadcast television is said to be about the toilet paper under over issue. It’s credited to All in the Family’s Archie Bunker yelling at Meathead for…can you guess? Under, of course.

Another member of the underclass was Ann Landers, who came out and declared her toilet paper orientation to be under. She later said it generated more letters than anything else in the 31 years of her column.

It’s polarizing.

American Standard put the squeeze to the issue twice: first in 1993, with an advertisement and survey conducted at that year’s Kitchen & Bath Industry Show. “Over” won. Our 2008 Bathroom Habits survey reaffirmed the overwhelming preference for “over” with 75 percent of respondents clearly standing up to the Underclass.

Soothing a Nation’s Rift with Quilted Softness

But being America, the Professor is proud to say that for every polarizing issue, there’s always something we can find that unites us. In the case of toilet paper, we can all agree on incredible resentment for the jerks who leave an empty roll.

Good.

Better.

The WORST.