The long version for curious minds that simply must know…

I have 4 children, 3 of whom are boys.  

Many years ago, I was living in a charming little flat in London where my first two boys were born.  I found myself constantly cleaning the loo, because my little boys weren’t exactly straight shooters.  And due to the shape and size of a toilet, one’s face must be very close to it in order to reach behind it when cleaning.  I was in this unfortunate position one day, when I began wondering to myself what mistakes I had made in my life that led me to this point.  Why was my face by a toilet so often?  Were there really no solutions for this problem?  I had a college degree, was honest, ate my vegetables, and I lived in central London, and yet, my face was so near a toilet that I was gagging on a regular basis.  My available solutions at the time were to:

1. Pay a cleaning lady £20 an hour to clean it once or twice a week, immediately after which, my darling sons would inevitably negate all her work.  I couldn’t afford this option.

2. Spend multiple hours each month cleaning on my hands and knees, continuing to gag in repulsion, which I had no desire for or time to do.  I’d rather be back to changing diapers!  This was no upgrade. 

3. Train the young ones to sit down to pee, however they protested that this is “what girls do” and they informed me that they were men.  I bought all the tricks to train them to aim better and clean after themselves, to no benefit whatsoever.  I’d have better luck training a puppy to play piano.

The final option by default was to clean it less and try to be okay with the wallpaper and grout being permanently ruined. This led to feelings of embarrassment when guests visited and when home alone, I’d walk swiftly past the loo in denial that it smelled like a monkey exhibit.  

Fast forward 12 years later…

I’m now a single mom raising 4 children and kept thinking about this idea.  One night I made a tinfoil version of the Otter Topper and eventually some 3-D print prototypes, got some patents filed, yada yada yada, and now I’m bringing them to other tired parents, to help give them a break.  My mission is to help little kids keep their bathrooms cleaner so their adults don’t have to.  I want to save parents time, money, stress and embarrassment from having a toilet that little boys pee on like they’re writing their names in the snow.  No more apologizing as you run into the bathroom to quickly wipe it down before a guest goes in there.  No more rank stench coming from the stained baseboards.  No more trying to clean the impossible little joints behind the seat.  And NO MORE sitting on a wet seat or stepping on a wet floor.  No more joking that “that’s just what boys do” because it’s not funny.  It’s unhygienic and embarrassing.  We’re in the Technology Age for goodness sakes!  I don’t know why this hasn’t been solved before.  Adult size toilets aren’t made for the angles little boys need to be successful.  My Otter Topper bridges the gap.  I hope to provide more peace, confidence, and save money for parents of little ones; because raising little humans is the work of angels and the last thing they need to be worried about is cleaning the bathroom constantly.  When I think of these parents, who are doing their best to get by, I honestly get chills, because I’m one of them too and I know what it means to raise humans.  I cheer you on.  You’re doing great.  Keep going.  Keep raising good little men.  The world needs them.  And they need you.  xoxo