By Jan Wang, Food Editor, Notional Pest
 

MONTREAL  At the juried 2001 Montreal Home and Garden Show a new bathroom deodorizer has judges and the public literally gasping for breath and searching for superlatives. 

"It's what our bathrooms desperately need," says The Globe and Mail's chief bathroom editor, Jan Wong. 

In Bathe with Jan (Globe's Special Bathroom Edition) Jan gushed, "I've tried hundreds of de-smellers, but this one takes the cake. All my bath guests agree. You could do anything in a bath or shower with this device on duty!" 

Ted Bunty, the inventor, who has well over a thousand patents dealing with human waste to his credit. said, "My wife's always after me to light a candle after I go, but you can never find a match." After weeks of study, and trying then rejecting hundreds of ideas, the final design suddenly crystallized in Mr. Bunty's mind. "It came to me like a bolt of lightning!" he explained.

The odour eliminator has some unusual people-friendly, hi-tech features. With an eye to modern design trends, the unit has a baked-on, sterile-white teflon finish that matches most decors. "It would not be out place in any powder room in the trendier parts of most Canadian towns and cities," said Ms Wong. 

The main unit mounts on the wall just over the tissue dispenser. It comprises a long (six foot) stainless steel cylinder, much like a flame thrower, to which is attached a 50 lb tank of propane and a smaller tank of a 'secret' deodorizing chemical. When the ON button is pressed, a siren emits a ten-second warning. This allows others time to vacate the area or at least close their stall door. Then the main unite ignites and a 1,000 deg. Celsius flame blasts out so that the secret chemical can do its work. 

The new fixture will sell for around a thousand dollars, said Mr. Bunty. "That's just for the prototype — the price will come down when we go into mass production. I expect we'll sell a million units providing we get clearance from Trade Minister Tobin before next year's Christmas sales. First, we have a lot of paperwork to clear and safety regulations to meet. Also, I have to get certification from The National Association of Fire Chiefs, and, of course, Mr. Tobin." 

Mr. Bunty's Marketing Director, Avril Harriman, advised that the new deodorizer should be in quality stores like Home Depot and Canadian Tire by early December. 

Scott Upchuk and Jan Wang for Notional Pest

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