There is a member of the SFist staff who is so crazily germ-phobic that he has not made physical contact with a toilet seat in 18 years. It is therefore entirely appropriate that he was among the SFisters dispatched to meet with the froods at Brondell who have a master plan to keep your hindquarters hygienic with a device called The Swash.

Scott Pinizzotto and his friend Dave Samuel started Brondell in 2003, after Scott returned from Japan (where he designed TVs) to the U.S. In Japan, spray-cleaned bottoms are not uncommon, and Scott and Dave developed an appreciation for high-tech toilets. In fact, Dave even brought a whole shipment of bidets back with him from Japan, installing bulky power converters in his home to power them -- apparantly, once you've been squirted, you'll never go back. Compared to parts of Asia, Scott says, bathroom-related cultural habits in the U.S. are "archaic." He's a young, friendly guy, not at all the unctuous, plaid-suited uncle you might expect to find showing off gizmos and toilets -- in fact, Brondell HQ feels just like any other fresh, ambitious, bright-eyed young tech company. Except that they're planning a revolution for your ass.