Of all the household jobs, cleaning the bathroom/cloakroom sinks is one which I don't much care for. In the future, we will have by-and-by replaced all our sinks with similar items that have been made with a matching hood - a hollow plastic or melamine construction fitting perfectly with the sink bowl, where the side meeting the bowl has millions of little water jets producing the right amount of lemon cream cleaner (or bleach, etc.) accompanied by tiny tufts of cilia to scrub the surface. Since taps or mixer faucets are not fitted as standard with sink bowls but generally occupy a fairly uniform amount of space whatever the design, a moderately adjustable section of the washer hood will perform the same action, but with an optionally different detergent source (if you've got chrome taps, for example). The cilia need to be longer here, to reach into the little grooves in the taps and where the tap is grouted to the sink. They also need to be abrasive for those tough-to-remove limescale buildups (in hard water areas) but should then be accompanied by a second group of cilia (on retraction of the first) to buff the taps to a high shine.

Water and power are necessary for the washing process. One option is to fit the hood, switch on the tap and the power (suitably earthed and isolated from moisture) and leave it to work for 5-10 minutes, then come and switch it off. Luxury versions of the hood can include those with an integral timer, with internal water wells and power to warm the water (so you don't need to leave the tap on), and with optical analysers to keep on going until that sink really shines. The top of the hood can be flat, covering the hollow inside water well and power/motor/timer compartments, but leaving you more space to stretch out your makeup/jewellery, and to confuse the boys of the house, who were sure there was a sink there before. "Cleaning? what? oh."

Finally, there is the issue of storage. This will vary according to how spatially-challenged your mortgage budget was at the time of house purchase, but if you have a problem with storage, the cover might be enclosed in a box (again matching the rest of the bathroom furniture) and the water-well filled with helium to store it on the ceiling. On bringing it down (gently) to begin your sink-cleaning duties, you would be treated to a mild but pleasing helium high. This is a serving suggestion only, of course.
-- badgers, Oct 05 2003

Pishwasher http://www.halfbakery.com/idea/Pishwasher
Same idea but for the toilet. No electricity needed (I think). [phoenix, Oct 05 2004, last modified Oct 17 2004]

Whatever you say, Lady Macbeth.
-- snarfyguy, Oct 05 2003


you talk too much!
-- python, Oct 05 2003


You have a sink in your cloakroom? Damn, I knew that mini-bar wasn't right...
-- phoenix, Oct 05 2003


I like the helium-storage idea, but find cleaning the bowl and fixtures of the sink isn't the disgusting part and takes five minutes every five days or so.
I share a sink with three other guys and also share the chore of keeping it clean. It is evicting the Wookie affixed to the underside of the drain that prompts violent reactions.
I'd settle for a drain plug with a serrated cone, like an oranje guicer, on its underside. Simply twist the drain while it is in the open position, and the alien entanglement is disintegrated and ready to wash down the drain, without ever reenacting the scene with Lando being strangled by Chewbacca.
-- it sobad, Oct 05 2003


[it sobad] - thank you; I didn't mean to offend boys who *do* know about cleaning. Last house I shared (other than family) it was the guys who did most of the cleaning and the girls who created the mess.
And 'cloakroom' is British for 'downstairs toilet', in case it sounded like it was a room for coats or something similarly odd.
I used to want an MGB but now I'm all for a Mustang...
-- badgers, Oct 08 2003



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