Cleaning things up
While making a difference
I started this project a few years ago. In 2024 I’m focused on moving it forward properly. As the title suggests, the shiffter is an alternative to the toilet brush, a household cleaning tool that has been around for a hundred years and is generally regarded as pretty gross.
You use the shiffter immediately after you’ve been to the loo, which means you can do away with the need for a brush. Watch the video to see how it works. (Note: I’ve recently upgraded the valve design to make it five times more powerful and quicker. New video coming soon.)
You might also be surprised by the huge impact it will have on the environment…
It’s eco-friendly
We live in a world in which new product development is primarily focused on apps and technology, so cleaning up toilet cleaning is a bit low-tech, however, it can make a big difference to the planet and poverty.
Aside from making toilet cleaning much less unpleasant, the shiffter has significant environmental benefits, saving billions of litres of water, tens of millions of litres of chemicals, and thousands of tonnes of plastic every year – and that’s just in the UK.
And profits will go to good causes
As a commercial proposition, it’s pretty valuable too. Think about it, there are nearly 30 million homes in the UK, many with more than one toilet. Then, there are offices and hotels too. Even a small chunk of that market, protected by a patent, will bring in significant sums that can be donated to good causes.
I aim to give away as much of the profits as I can to related good causes such as support for IBS and IBD, Crohn’s and colitis, and sanitation projects like those provided by Wateraid and other charities. We flush billions of litres of drinking quality water down the loo while two billion people across the world can’t even drink it. That just isn’t right.
The website already receives 1,000 visits a month, without any active publicity, from people searching for a product that doesn’t yet exist!
What’s the latest?
I’m currently working with product design consultancy Bang Creations to give the shiffter more of a ‘wow’ factor and to reduce the amount of plastic used by creating a version which doesn’t have a stand. I’ll then raise the investment to go into production.
With 97% of people who have provided feedback stating that they would buy one if it was available today, hopefully that won’t be too difficult.
You can find out more about the project on the shiffter website and see how it can make a positive impact on people’s lives and the environment while making one of life’s daunting chores much less unpleasant.
