Toilet designs have greatly changed in recent years, predominantly to minimise the visual impact they have on the bathroom. For example, wall-hung systems with hidden cisterns are increasingly becoming the norm in domestic bathrooms. Although toilets provide a necessary functional role in the bathroom, if you had the option to hide your toilet from view, would you consider it?

That’s what the new Hidealoo can offer. Hidealoo’s steel mechanism allows a toilet pan to be swiveled round by 90 degrees, meaning it can be hidden inside a cabinet, cupboard, or wall space when not in use. The system can fit most conventional pans, and much like a conventional wall-hung toilet, allows for the cistern to be boxed away, out of sight of the user.

The product is the brainchild of Monty Ravenscroft, who has spent the last 25 years working on designs for moving elements in architecture. 

As the designer and owner of a space-saving home in London (previously featured on an episode of Channel 4’s Grand Designs), the concept of a ‘space-saving’ toilet made a lot of sense for him. Monty came to the idea when caring for his aging father. 

He explains: “When my Dad got ill, he was at home and we started getting bedpans and commodes and all these different things to make it easier for him to function, but not with any dignity. We thought, bloody hell, this is horrible. 

“At the same time I was also working on a TV show called Inside Out Homes, where I had to invent something in every episode. I thought to make a loo that moves. I made all these tests, and eventually came up with one that swivels in and out. 

“I had to do a lot of design/development with the piping. That was quite complicated, to make sure it could flex enough and was strong enough, and that all the fluids flowed through it correctly.”

Monty had the system installed in his home – boxed up in the corner of his father’s bedroom, with a macerator to extract the waste. 

“What it meant was that at night he had this box, and he could open it up and if he wanted to use it he could just skip to it, or we could lift him up onto it, and close it all away and it’s gone again.”

As well as protecting his father’s dignity, the prototype Hidealoo had the additional benefit of using space more efficiently, as the worktop above a closed Hidealoo provided a useful surface for storing some of his father’s possessions.

Monty soon realised the potential for the prototype to become a product that could be sold. Designing a product for an aging parent is a challenge, however designing a system capable of standing up to scrutiny on the market is another proposition entirely.

It’s clear from speaking to Monty that a lot of time and effort has gone into ensuring that the Hidealoo performs to the standards required – “there’s no money in it being sent back”, as he says.

The system has been tested to ensure it can support up to 400kg and has been successfully put 250,000 flexing cycles with fully flooded pan and pipes – the equivalent of the pan being used 10 times a day for 65 years.

The pipes have also been through relevant heat and ageing tests, while the system as a whole has been configured to meet all relevant toilet and pipe standards that currently exist. 

“There isn’t a test for a moving loo, funnily enough,” Monty says. “But they do have tests for a static loo and they have tests for pipes, so we’ve made sure we conform with all those tests. 

“So, if you just park it in an open position, it passes all the tests. And while it’s closed, although there’s not a test for it, it’s still connected, you can flush this thing in any position.”

He adds that the Hidealoo provides no barrier to servicing of the loo itself. No maintenance should ever be needed on the Hidealoo frame, but if maintenance ever were required, the product is serviceable.

The Hidealoos are being manufactured in a factory in Fareham in the UK, and already the product is being installed in homes across the world – even as far as Dubai. The product is currently attracting most interest as a solution for rooms that can’t easily/wouldn’t conventionally accommodate a toilet, such as attics and loft spaces.

Monty says the system works particularly well in attics and loft rooms because these rooms typically feature a tapered ceilings that create underused spaces. The Hidealoo and its boxing can sit under the shallower part of the ceiling, and then fold out into the space where the ceiling is higher, to be used comfortably.

He added: “The Hidealoo doesn’t necessarily save you space, but it’s able to use the space much more efficiently because of the way it opens and closes.”

Monty is keen for the product not to be pigeonholed into a niche, however, and thinks the Hidealoo could be used “everywhere”.

“Everyone I’ve asked: ‘do you want to see your pan?’, has said no. If we can make it the same price (which we can’t), they don’t seem to mind the inconvenience of opening the door. They see that one second process worth it for the gain of not having it in the way both visually and physically,” he explains.

Monty also says he could see it being used in commercial spaces – “compact hotels and student accommodation,” predominantly. Both scenarios typically involve limited space, so there is potential usefulness in a toilet folding out into a showering space in student accommodation, for example.

There has also been a push to look at their viability in disaster relief housing, such as shipping container homes, but Monty admits that is more of a “long burn” focus for the company.

The immediate focus for Monty and Hidealoo is getting the current version of the product out there and in the hands of plumbers, but the product development process is continuing apace. An automated version is going through testing currently, to ensure that it’s safe for children and vulnerable adults to use.