Toilet tech: BU, MIT graduates want to automate the toilet seat

The battle over the toilet seat being left up or down has been waged in many households over the years. A new startup says it's solved that problem.

Kevin Tang, who claims to have become something of a toilet expert, says some people just can’t remember to close the lid and seat in their bathrooms, helping prevent pets, personal belongings — or other people — from falling in. Outside the home, it turns out, there are times it is best when the seat is left up: Tang and his team of fellow student entrepreneurs learned that a raised seat at public venues keeps a toilet more sanitary — since a seat left lowered can become a mess when people don't bother to raise it before using the toilet.

After years of research and perfecting their toilet technology, Tang and his co-founders say they're now ready to roll out two products to keep bathroom users happy in both of these situations. Their startup, Cleana, is selling a self-raising toilet seat for commercial use and a self-lowering toilet seat for the home.

More on this story from Boston Business Journal