Smart bathrooms: from self-cleaning toilets to remote shower control, the best gadgets for a high-tech wash rooms

How “smart” is your shower? And do you have an “intelligent” loo? Digital technology is washing over London’s bathrooms, along with advanced engineering and design.

Bathroom gadgets are very popular, according to a new survey from online retailer Showerstoyou.co.uk. It found top demand — 83 per cent — was for a self-cleaning loo, preferably with built-in deodoriser and heated seat. People also want precise water temperature control, spray and timing, mood lighting and built-in sound.

Robin Levien of Southwark, a Royal Designer for Industry, tips the thermostatic bath tap. “You set your temperature, cutting frustration and time and saving energy and water — no more letting out what’s too hot, and then adding cold.” A level sensor can even turn off the tap.

Shower controls have evolved exponentially. Brands such as Hansgrohe have push-button water controls for temperature and spray patterns.

Its new ShowerHeaven has built-in lighting and four retractable “wings” for gently soothing sprays such as PowderRain which save water. It does push-button taps, too.

Levien also rates new Aquablade loos from Ideal Standard, where engineering delivers a flush to about 90 per cent of the surface.But top for toilet tech has to be Japanese brand Toto, which worldwide has sold 50 million of its “washlets”.

This loo cleans not only itself but you, with warm water from an aerated wand. You can also get dried off and there are models with UV light that will break down waste. Priced from £2,772 up to £11,700.

The company showroom is at 140-142 St John Street, EC1 (020 7831 7544). Other London stockists include CP Hart in SE1; Bathrooms International, SW1; West One Bathrooms and Hyde Park Kitchens and Bathrooms, both in W1.

French designer Philippe Starck puts his stamp on the shower loo with the SensoWash from Duravit, £505.20, described as “the space-saving modern bidet” by Martin Carroll, managing director of Duravit UK (36-42 Clerkenwell Road EC1).

West One, which has 10 showrooms in London and the South-East, offers intelligent lavatories from about £1,000.

In demand, too, are Crosswater digital showers from £599 with colour-coded controls, while the Sunshower even delivers vitamin D.

Also popular are TVs disguised as mist-free mirrors, with internet access linked to your phone. At the top end are spa baths.

The Battersea branch has one for a small bathroom with steam, a sensory shower head, and horizontal jets by Dornbracht. It costs about £50,000 including installation. And the Toto Flotation Tub, with marginally spooky Hydrohands massage, features a zero gravity position, supposedly for a meditative, weightless effect.

Smart phones and the internet have transformed bathrooms, says Yousef Mansuri, CP Hart’s head of retail design. “Now you can control the bathroom heating, fill the bath, listen to your favourite Spotify playlist and sync your lighting, even before you arrive home.”

Bluetooth technology is also rampant, with speakers built into mirrors and cabinets, saunas and steam generators so you can safely and wirelessly listen to music from your phone or tablet.

Ripples is known for friendly, personal service with hand-drawn interior designs. “People want to futureproof their bathrooms with advanced features now,” says senior designer Neil Curtis.

A light system controlled by Bluetooth has an LED illuminated mirror, a magnifying wall mirror for cosmetic lighting and floor-mounted lights that energise or soothe.

And don’t forget underfloor heating for all floor finishes, whether tiles, wood or vinyl. Customers who don’t trouble themselves about this almost always regret it eventually.

At Ripples, your heating can be part of a smart home hub, compatible with Amazon Alexa or Google Assistant (ripples bathrooms.com; 26 England’s Lane, NW3; also in Brighton, Chelmsford and Reigate).

Launched at ISH, the huge spring bathroom fair in Frankfurt, was the RainTunes shower for all five senses, with images, lighting, music, scents and spray patterns controlled from your phone, from an energising morning spritz to a post-exercise soak.

Available in Germany from October, it’s coming to UK specialists such as Ripples soon after that.