Using the toilet in the night is at times troublesome especially if you are too sleepy or dealing with a hangover. Having a light becomes essential for your survival in those late-night bathroom quests. However, the more concerning question is what made Matt think “I will dedicate my life to have light-emitting toilets (LETs) all around the world”. Jokes apart, ever since Matt Alexander and Michael Kannely appeared on Shark Tank in March 2016, Illumibowl’s sales have sky rocketed. Perhaps their dream to get all toilets lightified will soon become a reality. Who would have thought? Well, we at niftyreads share a similar passion for all things that are photonic in nature and personally love motion-activated toilet lights.
First, let’s discuss the major problems with using the toilet at night:
via MEME
Well besides the fact that Illumibowl 1.0 does not blind you or wakes your partner, the Illumibowl 2.0 also claims to kill toilet bacteria. It’s amazing how a simple idea of merging a motion sensor, RGB LEDs and toilet makes such a successful product. Well as Steve Jobs said, “Simple can be harder than complex: You have to work hard to get your thinking clean to make it simple.” So we’ll also make it simple for you. Let’s compare Illumibowl vs Illumibowl 2.0. Note: As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases.
Illumibowl
- Lifetime Guarantee
- One size fits all (toilet in this case)
- Motion sensor
- 6 different colors
- Set one color or continuously changing colors
- Water-resistant
- Suction cups for support
Illumibowl 2.0
- All features of illumibowl
- Tunable brightness by 3-stage dimmer
- Smooth transition between colors
- 8 different colors
- Battery life upgraded to 4-6 months
- More sensitive motion sensor
- Better circuit + material
- More stable never-fall arm (instead of suction cups)
- Same price
- Kills bacteria (in detail below)
To be honest, the thing that attracted us is the fact that UV LEDs have the capability to deliver a germicidal effect. However, upon researching the topic, we found that the Illumibowl 2.0 does not really use an ultraviolet LED but rather a non-UV diode with a focussed light to kill the bacteria. Nonetheless, it gets the job done.
Where to buy Illumibowl 2.0?
As mentioned above, you can now directly buy it from here.
What are some Illumibowl problems?
Criticism received over the last 4 years:
- LEDs stop working
- Illumibowl is not splash resistant
- Batteries drain faster than stated
- LEDs start flashing
- LEDs start to dim over time
Is there a better alternative?
Absolutely. Enter “LumiLux Toilet Lights“. We gave Illumibowl it’s due credit as the founders popularized motion-activated toilet night lights but that does not mean they are the best in the market today. Let’s see what Lumilux has to offer us:
- 16 different colors
- Motion detection + Light detection
- 5-stage dimmer
- Lifetime warranty
- Better battery life
- Better material
- Highest rated in 2020
Verdict:
- Is toilet night light extremely useful? Maybe not.
- Is it a cool gadget to own? Heck Yeah!
