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Gloucestershire Business News

'My invention could be in billions of homes and businesses across the world'

A Gloucestershire man is hoping to raise millions of pounds for charity thanks to a new toilet-cleaning invention.

Kam Mistry, principal marketing officer at Stroud Town Council, is aiming to reach a Kickstarter  funding target of £50,000 for the Shiffter, a new invention which aims to make cleaning toilets much easier.

The idea is a simple one - instead of using a toilet brush to clean the loo, you use a jet of water.

Kam (pictured), who has been working on the project in the evenings and weekends around his day job, said: "This product isn't rocket science, however it has the potential to become commonplace in hundreds of millions of homes across the globe.

"Let's face it, does anyone enjoy using a toilet brush? Does anyone like picking up a used one?

"Instead of using a toilet brush and bleach to clean a toilet you just pick up the Shiffter, which is filled with water and sits next to the toilet, and use it to jet wash the bowl clean.

"The feedback from everyone who has seen it has been great as they can immediately see how it will make a currently unpleasant chore much easier and cleaner.

"It's also more friendly to the environment as you end up using less bleach, toilet cleaner and water.

"With over a billion households in the world, the market is huge, and don't forget that many homes have more than one toilet.

"On top of that there are toilets in hotel rooms and businesses too. The potential is enormous, especially if the patent application is successful."

The Kickstarter project is currently live and ends on Tuesday, 2 May.

If the funding target of £50,000 on the crowdfunding website is reached, the Shiffter will go into production in the spring and be available to buy shortly afterwards.

Whilst Kam intends to initially give 20 per cent of profits to good causes, he wants that figure to rise as sales improve over time, meaning that potentially the invention could raise millions of pounds.

Kam is already in discussions with charities, including Crohn's and Colitis UK, about their potential involvement.

"For obvious reasons, cleaning toilets isn't something we talk about on a daily basis, and the same goes for illnesses related to digestive and intestinal disorders such as colitis, Crohn's disease, irritable bowel syndrome and bowel cancer - to name but a few," he said.

"Millions of people's daily lives are blighted by such conditions but we don't talk about them, so I'm hoping that giving 20 per cent of profits from the product to related good causes will change people's perspective and understanding about gut-related illnesses.

"It's about providing an opportunity to be more open about these issues which can be extremely demoralising."

Phil Staunton, managing director of D2M, the product design company based in Cheltenham, which designed the Shiffter, said: "It is a quirky new product with an interesting brand which provides a simple solution to an age-old problem. The design is very elegant and is styled nicely to suit any style of bathroom."

Vicki Strachan, partner and patent attorney at Wynne-Jones IP, added: "A good product needs to solve a problem, have a market and be affordable, and the Shiffter ticks those boxes.

"Additionally, everything it does is easily explained in just a few seconds and this makes it even more easy to market.

"Whilst it's a relatively simple idea, its functional design features, name and branding - including the commitment to raising money for good causes - are all factors that increase the Shiffter's potential for success."

A UK patent is pending (Patent Application No. 1613313.4) with foreign applications due to be filed in the next few weeks.

What do you think? Email mark@moosemarketingandpr.co.uk 

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