Business Innovators Radio - Linda Stanfield — From Plumbing Problem to Patented Product: The Happy Toilet Story

Episode Date: September 17, 2026

From Plumbing Problem to Patented Product: The Happy Toilet StoryGuest: Linda StanfieldHost: Dr. Tamara PatzerShow: Thought Leaders ShowRecorded: August 19, 2026Sometimes the best business ideas begin with an ordinary problem everyone else has learned to tolerate.For Linda Stanfield and her husband, Chris, that problem was the toilet.After more than four decades in the plumbing business, they repeatedly saw customers looking for an easier way to keep toilets clean.That frustration eventually led to Happy Toilet Cleaner.In this episode, Linda shares the invention story, the early prototypes, what decades in plumbing taught them about the problem, and how two experienced business owners unexpectedly became consumer-product inventors.In This EpisodeHow decades in plumbing led to Happy ToiletWhy traditional in-tank tablets created a problemUnderstanding toilet refill waterHow the Happy Toilet dispenser worksThe first bowl prototypeThe famous car coin-holder prototypeMoving from idea to patented productBecoming an inventor later in lifeBuilding a company with your spouseCustomer service as product researchImproving instructions and messaging through customer feedbackThe potential for hotels, health-care facilities and commercial settingsLinda and Chris’s long-term vision for toilet cleaningAbout Linda StanfieldLinda Stanfield is an inventor, entrepreneur and co-founder of Happy Toilet Cleaner with her husband, Chris Stanfield.Before developing Happy Toilet, the couple spent more than 40 years operating a plumbing company.Connect With LindaHappy Toilet CleanerLinkedIn: Linda StanfieldHappy Toilet social channelsQuestions This Episode AnswersWho invented Happy Toilet Cleaner?How does Happy Toilet work?Why shouldn’t some cleaners be placed directly in a toilet tank?What is refill water?How do you turn a household problem into an invention?How do inventors make early prototypes?How can customer complaints improve a product?What is it like to build a company with your spouse?Key TakeawayInnovation often begins by looking at an old problem differently.And as Linda likes to say:“It’s so flushing easy.”The Thought Leaders Showhttps://businessinnovatorsradio.com/the-thought-leaders-show/Source: https://businessinnovatorsradio.com/linda-stanfield-from-plumbing-problem-to-patented-product-the-happy-toilet-story

You are listening to The Thought Leaders Show with the world's cutting edge hottest innovators, influencers, and impact makers today. If you are looking for inspiration and motivation, listen in. Welcome to the Thought Leader Show. Now, here's your host. Hi, everyone. This is Dr. Tamara Patser, and I think we're going to have a pretty interesting conversation today with Linda Stanfield.

She's the co-founder of the Happy Toilet Cleaner with her husband Chris Stanfield. And they're located in Gilbert, Arizona. And I'm in hot Florida today. And I bet you it's hot there, but it probably doesn't feel as hot as it does here. We've been having heat advisories. It feels like 108.

And I believe it. So how are you doing, Linda? Very, very good. It is hot here in Gilbert, Arizona. And it definitely feels 108 here. It's a dry heat, not as moist as Florida, but it's hot. It's August. Yeah, it's August. And it's interesting because the dirtiest job in the house does not care what day, what month, or what hour it is. That's right. So you have a really kind of an interesting story and happy toilet cleaner is what you and your husband, I guess, invented. And you actually have a patent or a patent pending. Am I right?

We have two patents. Okay. So patent, that means that you have jumped through all the hoops. And I want the audience to understand what is. it really means to get a patent. And basically it means you created something that was useful, that it was original or unique, and you had to jump through a bunch of hoops that nobody else had already patented it.

And now you literally, what is it, you have it for 14 years or 20 years? I think it's 17. 17 now? Yeah. So here you are co-founder of this unique thing. And I want you to tell me the origin story about this because I think it all had to do with the fact that cleaning the toilet is the dirtiest job in the house.

So tell me a little bit more about that. You bet. Well, Chris and I have been married over 43 years, met in ninth grade. and we also grew and raised a plumbing company for over 40 years. So we have a lot to do with toilets and plumbing and things like that. Our customers always complained about toilets being dirty, and everybody wanted to use these toilet tablets in their tank. And there are millions of tablets out there sold,

but we never had the solution for our customers. we would say, please don't do that. You're going to ruin all the parts. That's why we're here today, repairing the toilet. However, we always knew that people still wanted to use it. They wanted something easier to do with cleaning the toilet. They didn't want to scrub it. The toilet brush was invented in 1932.

So we're still using old methods right now when we manually clean our toilet. However, after we sold our business, I still completely, complained to my husband also. We always tease a lot, but I brought in all these tablets and I said, Chris, my toilets, I can't keep up with them. I've got so many other things to do. I hate cleaning these. But I also learned through COVID how dirty everything is. And, you know, we all learned how to clean our hands for ABCs and everything. Well, the toilets, I learned even more about what was in the toilets and that they sneeze, even if the lid is down. And if you don't clean them properly, but once a week, and then if you're manually cleaning and you miss something, it's not good.

It's just, it doesn't stay in the bowl. So it's one thing to see it. It's another thing when you don't see it. It's sewage. And it's very, very dirty. So I wanted to clean it more often. So I brought all these tablets in and I said, you know what? I know you can fix the toilets and we'll just keep them clean. Well, he showed me that all of the tank water only goes down the drain when you flush. So all this cleaning was going straight down the drain. That's only meant for one purpose and to clear the bowl. So any cleaner in there can't go underneath the rim. It doesn't go through the porcelain. There's another area in there that's called the refill water. That is a separate area in the tank that a lot of people don't know. A lot of plumbers really don't realize it.

But Chris did. And he said, you know, Linda, take this bowl. I'm going to put it right here. Put the tablet in the bowl. Let the refill water take it in through the refill area, not the tank water. So when that happens is the water and the cleaner will go through the porcelain of inside the toilet. Lots of smells get built up in there. And, you know, germs and things. So now we've got cleaner going inside the porcelain, under the rim, through the jetways, and now it's sitting in the bowl to properly have the contact time. Cleaners need to have contact time to get rid of germs and viruses and things. And it's like using the flush to do the cleaning, and that's really what it is. What he invented was called the Happy Toililet Cleaner, and it's a dispenser.

It's like this. You put it in one time. It will last 10 years. And you put your tablet or our tablet in it. And it brings the cleaner through here into the right area and sits and cleans between every flush. It's changing people's lives. It's just wonderful. It's so interesting to me because I was my very first job.

I was a maid. and I had to clean the hotel toilets, and of course that is extremely disgusting, especially when you have construction workers and everything. But one of the things that I notice right now, and I'll go to it, really nice hotel, and I'm in the bathtub. And I'll look over and I see the scum and the dirt and the, filled up and I say, oh my goodness, they're not cleaning it. And you just answered the whole question on how they could eliminate that entire system of trying to scrub because you have this device that goes to the proper place.

So that is just amazing to me. So how long ago was this? And tell me kind of what's been. going on with happy toilet. Like where can you get it? And I know that you have worked with Kevin Harrington and he's like behind it. That's funny. Sorry about that. Sorry about that. That's okay. But tell me about the adventure that you've been on and how that's been working out. Well, it definitely has been interesting. We thought we were going to retire and we accidentally came into this company because everyone we knew, friends, neighbors, their friends. We had friends and friends ordering 50. And we're like,

we're not making this. So we changed our mind and we put in for a patent and we got a mold and we went through all the work. You know, we have experience in service and customer service and, you know, in the home service. e-commerce and a product is so different for us. So we've been learning and learning from the best. You know, Kevin Harrington understands how to scale. And this type of product is something that there are millions of toilets, millions, not even just residential, but there's also light commercial assisted care facilities, things like that. Every toilet nowadays really should have one with the cleanliness of where we're at. But really what we're trying to do is, you know, we've had to go through a couple different packages and learn how to do the packaging. We are on many e-commerce sites,

our own site of happytoilet.com. That's probably the best place because I love the customer service part. And when people have a question, we have two designs, which design will fit their toilet? they can just talk to me. You know, this fits 90%. And I do have a video on our website that shows why this fits what and this fits the Kohler canister. But it really is simple to install. And I really just want to help people.

I work 24-7 to help people with this. Once they install it, it's super easy. It's just super easy. So I've been learning a lot. I've been learning about shipping and about pass- and about, you know, how do I reach my customers? I used to be able to reach them very easily, but when you sell through Amazon, you can't reach your customers.

They have to find you. And so I get very sad when I see some things that people say, it didn't work, but then I can see that it really would have if they've been able to reach out to me. And that's sad because I really just want to help people have a clean toilet and not have that stress. It becomes a lot of stress when you have kids in the family, you have visitors, you have holidays coming up. The toilet is just something that's used a lot and it keeps getting dirtier.

And you just want to enjoy your time with your family and friends. Well, you're right. And it's interesting because, again, when I was a kid, that's what my Saturday job was. And it was because it was a think about a small room and we only had one bathroom. room, but that was my job. And I, to tell you, truth, I don't even remember ever seeing a toilet that was dirty. It was, it seemed fine. But then I moved to Florida and I cannot keep it clean.

And like what you were talking about, like I've resorted to the hummus stone to try to get it. And then I'm like, is it, maybe the toilets are just. made cheaper now. The porcelain's not the same. All of those things. And then the thing about the toilet running, and I imagine that's because, like you said, the cleaner ate it away. I noticed you said that your systems, you showed two different systems. And then you said that you can use the cleaning tablets that are on the market or yours. Is there something different about the happy toilet brand tablets that would make it preferable to use those over just any old cleaner? Sure. You know, and again, with our experience of 40 years of understanding water and the

chemistry of water and then the chemistry of how dirt and things like that can get together. And then we understand how toilets get clogged up with hard mineral water and things like that. We have one tablet right now, and Chris actually is working with manufacturers and himself. We're going to make three other tablets because everybody's water is different. Everybody's toilet need is different. If somebody's used the pumice stone or if they have a brand new toilet, they may need something different. Right now the weather in the country is making rings appear quicker and much worse. when the weather's colder, it doesn't happen as much.

So I really help people find the right tablet. When we went on this journey and started recommending tablets for the Happy Toilet Cleaner, we didn't realize 80% of them, they just really don't clean well. They don't last but a couple of days. People are getting the wrong ingredients for what they really need. And so what we came out with first was a good, super, duper cleaner. And we send one with every single unit. So everyone would have 30 days with each unit to try that. The reason we started with that is the majority of people that come to us have not been

able to clean under the rim or in the jetways and things that these brushes just don't reach. And we're not all taught how to clean really well. And when we're in a hurry, we don't do it either. So most people come to us with, you know, either it's smelling, it's stains, it's really hard buildup. So our tablet is really good for that. 80% of people love it. Now, some people say, oh, it smells too much. And one of the reasons is because when toilets are in a small area without a lot of airflow, when we clean it with regular cleaner, we get an odor and a smell.

But this is cleaning with every single flush. So some people just are not used to it. And then some people after a week or two say, you know what? I really like it because now I know it's being clean. But what we do is we help them with a couple of others that are on the market that will meet their needs. And again, we constantly are testing toilet tablets so that our customers will get the right one. That's really interesting. So I want to like go off of the technical stuff.

Tell me about, because I think your story of being an inventor couple is kind of interesting when you think about it. What did it feel like? Here you were 40 years of marriage. You said that you had known your husband since you were like, what, ninth grade? So what is ninth grade? 15, 14, 15 years old? So what? here and you know fast forward 40 some years but back in the day what did you think your life was going to look like

did you think oh yeah I'm going to marry my high school sweetheart and he's a plumber and we're going to do this what was your what did you think your life was going to be well that's a great question because he was a phenomenal quarterback in high school He got all kinds of awards, state awards. He got great college scholarships. I really thought, hey, we were going to be in the NFL. We were going to have some fun and travel. And, you know, I could be an NFL quarterback's wife.

I could be. You know, I just had to keep him healthy and happy. And maybe that would come true. However, the last game in our high school year, he got hurt real bad on the back of his head. And he had a red shirt. So he picked up his friend's father's business and started learning plumbing through high school. And he's just a natural. Really, he's a natural at that just like he was being a quarterback.

So he loves to solve problems. He listens to people. He really likes to work directly with customers. We used to do plumbing in the construction area. But his really sweet spot is to work with directly with. customers with what their unique problem is. And I laugh at them all the time. I said, after 40 years, my unique problem hadn't changed, but you just finally listened.

That is funny. So there you were probably, you probably, because I think back of the cheerleader, were you know, no, but your boyfriend was a quarterback. I bet you the cheerleaders were jealous of. of you because I remember back in the day in high school and of course the letterman's jackets and I bet you, you know, if he was the quarterback, he was like all that. He was all that. He was a lot of fun.

So then he, it was like an injury. So it's like, sorry, babe. Yeah. I'm going to go into this. But the, everybody talks about it. plumbers. They all say, hey, a plumber is a great profession. But what about, like now, obviously he's no longer a plumber, but he's now the inventor of this really cool thing that only, more than likely, a plumber would ever even know to think about it like this. So do you

remember where were you, like when you first saw the prototype? of this thing. Because it doesn't look like it's any big thing, really. I know. It's like a little cup, right? Exactly. So the first prototype was a Tupper Bowl. And the second one, he actually took a, he, I was at a doctor's office. He was sitting in the car. And in that little console area, there is a little thing that had, you know, held coins. And it really kind of looked like this. And it was a little bit narrower. And he pulled it out and said, this could be it. So he cut it a little bit.

And that was one of the prototypes. And I never got another coin holder back in my car, but that's okay. Isn't that interesting? So it was literally something in the car, in a coin holder, and he just saw it in a different way. I like that because I think that's what we have. things right in front of this all the time and we just don't see it in a different way. So how did that feel like what made you guys realize that you had to go get a patent? Did somebody suggest it or did you just go, oh, we need a patent? How did that come about?

Yes. So Chris hasn't worked in a while. He's got a really, really bad back. And, you know, his, sometimes his memories in and out because of football and plumbing and things like that. So we were talking to a contractor friend that we've had for a long, long time. And I told him, you've got to try this, Steve. This is wonderful. So Chris, you know, put together one for him and put him in there. He called us immediately and Chris wasn't available, but he called me and he said, Linda, you've got to protect this.

You really got to protect this because this is something. I said, but Steve, I said, my uncle had like 37 patents and so many more. And not everybody brings a patent to the market. You know, even if we get a patent, now we have to bring it to the market. And at our age, we're thinking about retiring. He said, no, you really got to do this. Somebody will help you do this. Somebody really wants this because, again, it's the number one pain point out there.

and nothing has gotten better in over 50 years. So we just started little by little. We got the patent and we started packaging. And I still have on one of our shelves that it was just a little clear see-through bag with just the unit in there and a hose and a tablet. And we just went step by step. And things just keep getting bigger and bigger every month. And the word just keeps going out.

And, you know, it was just really important for us. Just like when we started our plumbing service company, we were the first ones in the town that offered on-time services, a professional plumber. We wore, you know, shoe booties over our feet. We dressed nice. We weren't like every other plumber that people were used to. So we were already out of the box. But that also was part of me because I used to work in the insurance business with State Farm and customer service to me was really, really important. So when we work together, I did more of the operations and customer service, and he did the field.

And right now, you know, he has the mind and puts this together and I do everything else. So, you know, it works. We have fun working together and we can stay in our lanes and really focus on that North Star of making sure everybody has a better way to clean their toilet. So with your customer service background, And let me back up one little moment. When you talked about we were different than the plumber, everybody has the plumber low-pient joke, right? And so, of course, my mind immediately went and I chuckled

because I saw the guy bent over, you know, with this little exposure there. But customer service, I think that's a really important point to bring because, well, especially in, I know that the generation that we came out of, I guess we're baby boomers, right? But we were taught how to be polite, please and thank you, answer the phone appropriately, and actually answer the phone. You know, now everybody does the call screaming and they act like you're invading their space. if you just call. Right. Now you're supposed to go through this, I guess, a text protocol.

I'm going to call you. So customer service, if you were to tell me that the three most important customer service tricks or attitudes, what are they that makes for that exceptional level of customer service? Well, I think number one is to always listen to your customers and know what your customers need. You know, and listen to them, hear them. And everything that I learned from my customers, I try and make sure that I fix it. Maybe it's a problem. Maybe the messaging or the instructions are not as good as they should be.

I'm right on top of it. I'm going to fix it so the next customer has a better. better instructions. Then just listening. You know, I'm always answering the phone. People are surprised that there's a real person. It's the owner that I email back. I do FaceTime with them in their toilets, you know, helping them install.

Customer services respect, trust, and listening. And, you know, just doing what the customer really wants and needs. Not everybody is the same. And you just got to be appreciated. My customers are number one. You know, I call customer service or email customer service of different companies, and it's a horrible experience, horrible. I never ran my business like that, and I never will. I will never use AI.

I will never use anything like that. It will be real people. We need real people in our lives. I agree because that is one of the things. I mean, I do use AI for a lot of different things. but human communication obviously that is becoming the gift you know it's not a commodity you know a lot of people used to think that oh that doesn't matter and they put you into the the call of you know it's literally a H.E. double toothpick adventure when you're trying to get

through all you want to do is talk to a human which number is a human try to zero, nope. Or the elementary school, a good one is. So the first number they give you is for the resource officer. And I'm thinking, that's really

odd. Why wouldn't that be like the admin office or the receptionist first? And then go, and the resource officer, I think should actually be like the last one that you would be wanting to call. I thought that was the oddest order of information.

But customer service and then the product, when you worked with Kevin Harrington, what advice did he give you that really stood out to you as being really valuable? Can you think of anything? Yes, yes. Kevin is wonderful. He's such a sweet man. and he really cares about helping a company grow. He knew we were brand new at products,

and he's had lots of experience at products. And so, you know, one of the things that he taught us really quickly is you really need to have some experts on your team. You need to have somebody that understands the software you're working with, having a plan, understanding what is the customer niche, you know, making sure that you have your products available, where those customers are shopping, where those customers would be looking for something like this.

And so, you know, every one of his products are a little bit different, but he's really helped us with the messaging. He's helped us with the packaging. He's helped us with different questions, you know, is it time now to talk to Walmart and try and get on the shelves? Or when does that happen? And so knowing how to scale but not being too far ahead, because you certainly don't want to get into a position where you don't have enough product to be able to deliver.

And you also need to hear from customers. It takes a while to build that foundation and understand what all the customers need. He's taught us about bundles. A lot of people really do like buy two, get one free, that type of thing. I had never realized that before. And that was something very, very good for us to have. And he also really, he likes the feeling of the actual owners being included with the advertising, with the customer facing media and things like that.

That's very, very important to them. That's interesting because one of the videos I watched that your husband did, it looked like probably in somebody's bathroom. Right. I don't know. but it was actually like there was like pee in the toilet right and i'm watching this and i'm going oh how disgustingly gross right and then i watched it and then of course boom it it showed the process of that it cleaned it and did all that stuff and then it was like oh i get it but but it was a really it was

like a real life demonstration. It was not a manufactured demonstration. And I think that that line, that authenticity, that a lot of people, they try to, you know, make stuff up. I thought that was probably one of the best demonstrations that showed what your product really did and how fast it worked and everything. And to your point about the bundling, it's funny because when I go to the grocery store, we have a store called Publix. Right. Well, Publix is not an inexpensive store.

Their stuff is expensive. But if you are a buy one, get one shopper, it does bring it down to less than what you could buy it at another store. but you cannot buy anything else because it's overpriced. Right. So I think you're right. People look for the buy one, get one. And I also, if you're going to do a discount, like I, it's like if you say 10% off, 15%.

I'm like, that's nothing. I want 50% off or 75% off. because to me 10% is not enough to make it justifiable. And then like you said, the Amazon, they make it hard for you to provide that good customer service. But I heard what you said. You said you actually do look at the reviews and then you adjust and make your product better based on what your customers are telling you. And I think that's a really important point to pull out of what you've been talking about. And that customer service is right up there because you could have the best product in the world.

But if your customer service isn't very good, you're going to lose customers because there are issues. There's shipping issues. Maybe the box got crushed on the way there. or like you said, the smell of the tablet, they don't like it. But then if you explain to them, well, that's part of the, you know, whatever, the cleaning thing is, are your, what are your, what does this look like? How old is Happy Toilet now? It is three years old.

Oh, it's a baby. It's a baby. Yes, it is. And by the beginning of next year, we will have added tablets. So we'll have four different tablets that we know one of them will meet every customer's needs. They will really like it. Again, they can still use any tablet on the market, but we just can't find a lot of options on the market. These are tablets that people put in the back of their tank and they don't really realize that they are not cleaning because they don't even have a chance. to clean because they're in the tank. They really don't. Yeah, so they're in the wrong part of it. Yeah. So that, see, I bet you 99.9% of people don't even understand what you explained in the

beginning of this conversation that, you know, because I always, like, I put that blue stuff in. Uh-huh. And so you're thinking, oh, you know, and, oh, yeah. that's blue. So the psychological things. And the part about the cleaning, you said 1932. Yes.

And that was what the invention of the toilet footbrush. Yes. And so that means that we've been doing the same stuff since the depression, basically, probably since the invention of the indoor. Because my mom. grew up and she was born in 1925 and I think they were still using outhouses back then because she talked about being cold and going out to the outhouse. So I imagine, yeah, that's an interesting concept. So where are you guys headed? What are you expanding?

What is going since three years old? It's like a toddler, right? Yes. So where are you headed? Well, we, you know, we right now are making sure that this is a proof of concept, making sure that this works, making sure that customers are happy with it. And what we're ultimately planning to be is we are patented that a flushing system like Fluid Master or Corky could definitely put this right into their flushing system or Kohler and just make it right with it. Every brand new toilet could already have this in there and then just put a tablet in it and just make it really, really easy. And I can see the day when people say a toilet brush? What's a toilet brush? Kind of like the landline phone. What's that?

What's the dial-up phone? I don't know what that is. So, yeah. Wow, that's pretty cool. So basically going from the home owner or the home user, because you don't have to be a homeowner to use the... Right. So going from the average ordinary person to having your patented system basically built

into every manufactured toilet. What is the value of that to a toilet manufacturer to have that system built in? is it going to make their, what would that do for them? It would be a huge step forward because right now there are some toilets that have automatic cleaners where you can drop in, but they're like $5,000 toilets. And this here can be put in without not much change in what they're already using. and a, you know, a Lowe's or Home Depot Gerber type toilet could put this in, and every homeowner could afford to have it. And it would just be a huge step forward for homeowners to have this.

I really believe that the more Chris and I now are educating people, educating people on toilet cleanliness. And I really believe that sooner or later doctors will be asking about how clean is your toilet, because we catch viruses from toilets. We just don't talk about it. Doctors aren't talking about it. I asked my doctor last week when I was in there and they said, oh yeah, that is germs. You know, the sneeze that goes throughout,

you have a razor on the counter or you have a toothbrush on the counter and that gets on there and then you put it on your skin. Nobody ever knows where they catch these viruses, but I am sure that something has to do with the toilet. And so once we can get this word out and educate people on the cleanliness and how this can clean with every single flush, it's going to be amazing. The other part that this can help with is assisted care facilities or people that are taking care of people in the homes. This now can keep that toilet clean with just a flush. Somebody doesn't have to clean on top of that.

They have more time to clean, take care of their patient and take care of their patient. and take care of things. The hotel toilets can be cleaner. There's so many people going in and out. And that's something a lot of people will travel with their hand sanitizer, their wipes that they clean their own areas and stuff, but nobody's cleaning the toilet. They don't bring anything to clean the toilet with.

And so these types of things, I have a feeling they will be mandated at one time, and it will make sure that we are cleaning the toilets, properly. Wow. Yeah, I agree with you because like I said, I don't think that people are taught, number one, how to clean anything properly. And, you know, going back to when I, my very first job is the motel made, we used to have to sanitize it. We had to put a sanitation strip. And that was how you knew that it had been cleaned. And I don't see anything like that in where, in, any motel or hotel I've ever been in. Right. And I do know, again, soaking in the bathtub and I'll look there and I'll go, oh, that's disgusting because it's all brown and moldy and whatever else.

But yeah, you're absolutely right because if you think about, you know, a lot of bathrooms, there's all your toothbrushes and everything right there. And you're within what, three feet, if that far. And I don't think people think about that. And then after COVID, think about all of the germs and all of the space. And just there's just so much about health that is related to that. And then I can see what you're saying about that. I have a question.

How did you come up with the name, Happy Child. I was so happy, literally. I was so happy. I didn't have to look at a dirty toilet. Oh, my goodness, and I didn't have to worry about it. We have a carbon filter on our house. So we take out the chlorine from our city water. And that's fine.

But my toilets, that's the number one complaint we ever got from our customers when we put in a carbon filter. The toilets get dirtier, so much faster, literally daily. literally daily because there's no chlorine in there to help a little bit. And so I, you know, I called it happy because I was just jumping for joy. I was so happy. I literally, it's just been a pain of mine for over 20 years and a lot of my customers. And I just couldn't believe that something was working, something as simple as this. Well, isn't that, that is what I think is the most fascinating part of,

of your whole story is that it was as simple as, you know, you dealt with it all those years. And there you were, you know, having, oh, yeah, we're going to retire. Ha, ha, ha, ha. But I imagine that this is a lot more fun than whatever. Because think about it, you get to meet people, you get to educate people, you get to make videos, You get to talk to people like me and everything. So what if you're, what do you think is your next step? I think you already said it.

The next step is to go big, it sounds like, with going into the manufacturing, whatever, whoever manufactures toilets in the world. So I can see that happening because, again, the home market and the hotel market, the commercial market, it's like everywhere you look is your client base. You are one of those rare companies where they say, who is your ideal client? And you can say, well, everybody needs it. But then, of course, you have to go niche it down into the different market. But that is really interesting because most of the time when people go, well, everybody needs it, you know, everybody laughs and says, no, that's not true. But in this case, everybody wants to be healthy.

Right. You do in the United States anyway, most toilets are flushable. And I know in some countries, they still don't have all the technology. but I imagine, you know, eventually it will all catch up. But so the tablets, I wanted to ask you real quick on that, are you manufacturing the tablets? I mean, I imagine that's like, has to be specialized equipment or something. Right.

Yeah. So the ones that we have now, we have a manufactured and in a manufacturing place here in the United States. our new ones my husband's actually going to be doing because we've been working a year and a half with different manufacturers and we just can't come up with the right tablet that we want to stand behind that we know will do what we need it to do for people's toilets. We want them to be happy. We don't want them to buy a tablet and wonder and worry, is this going to work? And so my husband actually bought all the equipment to do the testing right now.

He's testing, trying to come up with some of the right. we should have two of them within a month, month and a half to be able to sample out. And then there'll be another one. One's going to be like the oxy. Some will have some iron help in it or rust help. So there's a lot of different needs out there. So that's literally he's making the recipe, I guess. Yes.

So the formulation. So it's not just about, oh, here's a tablet. It's actually coming up with the actual two parts of this. Does someone part of it? Exactly. Yeah. To come up with the perfect one for hard water or soft water or what. I get it.

Yeah. That's very interesting. Yeah. And because they sit in water, you know, they have to be a certain hardness. But you don't want to over chemical it. You don't want to overdose it. You only need so much when you're doing it with every flush. So, yeah, you know, he's very, very smart.

and so I know he's going to come up with the right solutions and it's going to be exciting, very, very exciting. Well, then it's funny because you'll have a, you'll corner the toilet cleaning market there. And I like your slogan. Tell everybody what your slogan is. It's so flush and easy. I love that because, you know, after I heard it's so flush and easy, I actually say that. to myself over and it has nothing to do with the toilets but it's just like it's just such a cute little saying that it gets what do they call it an earbug when it gets in your head and everything so so looking back at that ninth grader and her good looking looking quarterback and

And I imagine when the dream kind of fizzled that, and you realize that, what would you say to her now about it? I imagine she cried a little bit or was really upset. What would you tell her now about what would happen into the future? You know, I really wasn't all that upset. I was just glad that he was healthy. and that he could still walk and everything because, you know, the doctors did tell us what could happen if he continued to play.

It was very hard to see him in pain, meaning pain, but also very sad because that was his dream. And to this day, I'll still see him once in a while throw a football and he can do so good. He's just a talent. But, you know, he, I would tell myself to continue on the same thing. There's nothing that I would have done differently.

As soon as we got married, we went to California and managed a hotel together. So we learned how to work together right away. And we always had fun working together. We've raised a family, raised a couple of businesses, have a lot of fun 24-7. We travel with friends. Yeah, I would just tell myself, it's only going to get better, Linda, and Chris is going to be so much fun. Because he was very quiet back in those days. He was much quieter than he is now.

Well, that's cool. And again, you know, there aren't that many people who can say, number one, that they have been married to the same person for all those years and created such a phenomenal thing. So thank you, Linda. And is there anything you'd like to tell all the folks out there before I let you go? Yeah, I'd like everybody to know to look for our social media. We go live every Tuesday at 4 o'clock Pacific time. For about 45 minutes, we answer everyone's plumbing questions, toilet cleaning questions, anything at all. But they can always look us up. And, you know, the biggest thing that I always had when I was looking for another toilet bowl cleaner, when I was in that aisle, I knew what I tried last time and I was looking for something different because it didn't quite work as I was. wanted it and I find a lot of people are looking for something new. I would say I never had

anywhere to go to ask questions. I never had anybody to ask questions about my toilet bowl cleaning. And we are the people now. We are the people. People can come to us 24-7, ask any toilet bowl cleaning concerns or questions that they have will help them any way that we can. well that's really super so everybody remember if you've got a dirty little question that you need answered about cleaning your toilet or more about how this system works and about the tablets and about maybe your special needs for cleaning um linda obviously is here for you and i really enjoyed um talking about the dirtiest job in the house with you and the happy toilet situation and company. Well, thank you so much. Thank you so much. I really appreciate it also. It was very nice to get to

know you. Thank you. So everybody, remember, it's just so blushing easy. I love that. Everyone, this is Dr. Tamara Patser, and this is The Thought Leader Show. Thank you. Thank you, Linda. Thank you. You've been listening to the Thought Leaders Show. To get all past shows and to get all future shows, go to Thoughtleadershow.com.