Test reports and experience with our hygiene champ
By the Hagemann family from Garbsen.
- Julia (31) and Maik (35)
- Son Carlo (1)
Test report 6: The Hygiene Champion – The must-have for every bathroom!
Julia Hagemann
It's incredible how fast time flies. The Hygiene Champion has now been installed for quite a while and I must say it is fully integrated. In the meantime it seems to me as though we have always had this WC. It fits perfectly into our bathroom. I quickly got used to the very low amount of effort required to clean it and the time I save as a result and no longer want to do without it.
The campaign has been fun for the whole family
Especially at the beginning everyone was really keen to use the WC to see how it works and how the water beads off. This interest within the family is now subsiding somewhat, but the WC still looks like it did on the first day. I never thought that it would actually remain so clean in the long term, even at the difficult places. That’s really great and I can only recommend this WC. Even though it is not that cheap, the Hygiene Champion is the must-have for every bathroom.
Thank you for letting us be part of this campaign and for your kind support. If ever product testers are needed again, we would gladly take part again. Until then, we are enjoying using our Hygiene Champion.
Test report 5: A drum roll for our new WC – the Hygiene Champion!
Julia Hagemann
It’s more or less true to say that I‘ve been steering each of our visitors into our guest WC over the past few weeks. The responses to having to participate in our test and about the WC have differed greatly. Comments varied from "Honestly, why are you doing that?" to "Cool, that would also be something for us!".
The opinions of my mother and sister
I had, of course, already been lecturing at length especially to my family on the benefits of the WC: “No flushing rim, dirt-repellent and antibacterial surface, …” ,so you could say that they were very well informed in advance.
My sister had therefore been expecting a high-tech WC, similar to those that are installed at motorway service stations. One that cleans itself with a little arm after each use and then dries itself or one that has little cleaner fish swimming in the bowl. In view of that, she still considers it to be a normal WC, but one that looks very good.
My mother, on the other hand, is enthusiastic. Visually, the WC fits in great in our bathroom, it is modern and looks very high quality. She also finds it great that less cleaning is needed and that there is no flushing rim. She is a housewife and knows what she’s talking about.
No more “cleaning attacks” in the bathroom
Cleaning is the key point especially from a female perspective. Obviously, a lot of our friends would be happy if they did not constantly have to scrub. Many of them have “cleaning attacks” in the bathroom if visitors drop by unannounced. The fact that the Hygiene Champion is easy to keep clean is definitely a big plus. The Villeroy&Boch brand is rated very highly by everyone when it comes to quality products in the bathroom. Such quality does of course come at a price, which represents a small obstacle especially to young people. The WC looks absolutely great and is received well by everyone.
Test report 4: Playing hide-and-seek behind the WC or unexpected visitors – no problem!
Julia Hagemann
All in all the hygiene champ makes a great impression. The WC still looks clean even though it has not been cleaned for a longer period. As the surface is anti-bacterial, you don't have to have a bad conscience if it hasn't been cleaned for a few days. Our little Carlo likes playing hide-and-seek and the guest WC is one of his favourite hiding places. He squeezes himself right into the corner between the WC and the wall. Luckily the WC is equipped with the great surface so there is no need to worry.
Since we've had the new DirectFlush WC and joyfully shown it to all our guests, Carlo is also paying it more attention. He often carries his toys into the bathroom and plays there. Strange, but if it makes him happy - anyway, it's anti-bacterial. And he always wants to go to the WC with all the guests. As we always show the non-existent flushing rim in action, Carlo always wants to actuate the flush. So, if he isn't nappy-free quickly after all this enthusiasm for our WC, then I really don't know!
All in all I'm very impressed with the WC. If unexpected visitors come, I don't have to dash into the bathroom to check the WC. On the contrary - we proudly show it to them. I don't have to clean it beforehand. The hygiene champ is practically always clean, which I can hardly believe myself. My family recently had a nasty stomach bug … even after that the WC still looked good.
And the WC is great even when it is cleaned. I hardly need any cleaning agents - that makes the green side of me happy. After all, I am always advising people to pay attention to their ecobalance. Everyone that visits us wants to test the WC first of all....ok, no problem … as I don't have to do much cleaning! I can already see it coming - our main bathroom will also need such a hygiene champ!
Test report 3: The ultimate cleaning test - old versus new!
Julia Hagemann
In order to properly evaluate the hygiene champion's quality, I cleaned our old toilet first. After about a week, as expected, the toilet still looked OK but it was beginning to look a bit chancy. When I took the pictures to document everything, I noticed how filthy our old toilet was under the flush rim, disgusting! I knew black film forms underneath the rim but that it was so bad, awful. And this still happened despite the special brush for the flush rim. Cleaning is a standard ritual: soak, scrub, rinse and then disinfect at the end. The weak points of the old toilet include the hinges on the toilet seat. The cleaning agents have worn them down over the years and despite cleaning they still look filthy. Our flush rim is also worn down. The scrubbing with the brush has taken off the paint and the edge still looks dirty. After about 6 minutes I finished cleaning our old toilet. I think the amount of time is fine but I am used to it. Looking under the flush rim was still shocking for me. No matter how hard I cleaned, it remained filthy. It is better, but still far from clean. I am disappointed.
After the flop of the old toilet, time to clean the new hygiene champ. At first glance the toilet still looks clean. Only the seat has a bit of splashing. I clearly am saving on cleaning agents. I do not need as much because I do not need to do anything beneath the rim. Disinfection is also a thing of the past as the surface is anti-bacterial. I also do not need to put plastic cleansers on the toilet seat. And then it starts! I clean the hygiene champion. The process is the same as for the old toilet, but I can remove the seat thanks to the quick release function. I do not have much to scrub. After only 2 minutes and 25 seconds, I am completely finished. The toilet looks great and with far fewer cleaning agents and less than half the time. And this even though the hygiene champion is installed in our guest toilet, which gets a lot more use. I am amazed!
Test report 2: Convinced by DirectFlush, Quick Release and CeramicPlus
Julia Hagemann
We have already been using the Villeroy&Boch Hygiene Champion for a couple of days and have been able to take a closer look at its features. The dirt-repellent CeramicPlus surface delivers what it promises. The DirectFlush WC is still completely clean after ten days of use. After flushing, the water still beads off perfectly from the surface.
The Quick Release feature has also completely won me over. Unfortunately this is not possible with our old WC. Removing the WC seat is child’s play and attaching it again is also really easy. This makes cleaning the WC so much easier. The fact that WC cleaner vapours can damage the material of WC seats – as explained by our installer – is no longer a problem thanks to the Hygiene Champion. I can simply remove it for cleaning.
The DirectFlush WC technology has also pleasantly surprised me. There are no deposits to be seen anywhere. I did expect more water to be splashed upwards when flushing than before. But the opposite is true. So far not a single water stain or spray spot are visible on the WC seat. That’s really great if you don’t have much time to clean, but still want everything to be always clean.
Test report 1: Quick to install and ultra comfortable
Julia Hagemann
Villeroy & Boch’s Customer Service arrived on time as expected to install the Hygiene Champion – the new Subway 2.0. The installer got to work immediately. In no time at all he had removed our old WC and taken it outside, which was much appreciated. Our old WC was sealed with silicone which made me worry at first because I was not sure if the old silicone seam or any residues would be visible later. Fortunately, this is not the case. The Hygiene Champion is fitted exactly over it. Everything was finished in 45 minutes. The installation was extremely quick and he cleaned up afterwards. The installer was really great!
The new WC has a wonderful rounded shape and fits in perfectly with the design of our bathroom. The seat is slightly higher than our old WC. The installer explained to me that this allows for a particularly comfortable sitting position. Overall, the WC and seat have a very high quality feel. They are somehow thicker compared to our old WC and also smoother and shinier – very stylish. The whole family was really excited about the new WC and my mother immediately wanted to know what the new WC is like and whether everything does in fact bead off. And yes, it does. The water runs off the surface wonderfully. The fact that the Villeroy & Boch logo is only discreetly visible on the WC and cover is another thing that pleases me.
The WC seat was a pleasant surprise! Our old WC also had Soft Closing, which is great but nothing new to me. But the shape is something else … I was not aware that a WC seat can be so comfortable, or rather that our old seat was so uncomfortable. The slightly raised sitting position really does make sense. Our installer also revealed a few tips and tricks to me. For example, that the whole cover can be removed and fitted again in one simple operation. This makes cleaning much easier.
To be honest, I was concerned that a WC with an open flushing rim might cause more water splashes than a conventional WC. But the opposite is true. We have flushed many times and have not noticed any splashes – amazing! I'm curious to see how things will develop. The water in our area has a high iron content and the WCs soon get edges and deposits. If the new WC really does stay clean longer, I would be very happy.
