[/floatl]Yomiuri: Warning issued over toilet seat fire risk
Manufacturers of electric toilet seats equipped with a warm water bidet are warning users of a potential fire risk following a series of accidents, which they said were caused by defects and, in some cases, improper usage. An industry group is issuing customers with flyers featuring illustrations on proper usage, while explaining past accidents. Electric toilet seats with bidets began to be widely produced in 1980. According to a survey conducted by the Cabinet Office, 68.3 percent of households across the country had at least one such product as of March. The number of fire-related accidents has risen in tandem with the product's popularity. In Tokyo, a toilet seat produced by INAX -- one of the nation's major toilet seat manufacturers -- caught fire last October. The accident reportedly was caused by a short circuit due to a power surge in a circuit board installed in the unit. The product is not equipped with a device to prevent excess current. In Kumamoto Prefecture last September, another model produced by INAX caught fire. The accident was believed to have been caused when urine or toilet cleaning fluid came into contact with an exposed electrical cable...more...
Photo courtesy of Taro who made it for his FG Thread "Flaming Shitters" on exactly the same subject two years ago.
