Zone industry corp.
Jan 29, 2023
Upgrade bathroom décor in minutes by hiding the ugly shut-off valves that are next to the
bathroom toilet and sink.
Shorewood, Illinois, January 29, 2023—Michael J Schuster has seen his share of plumbing issues. With over 17 years of hands-on experience in his family plumbing repair business (established in 1906 in Joliet, IL). Schuster understands the frequent challenges homeowners face. Over the past 21 years he developed over 30 products and is named on over 100 issued and pending patents. Schuster’s past innovations consistently wins innovation awards from Retailers Choice, Popular Mechanics, Depot, Do-It-Best, and Chicago Innovation Award (multiple times).
As a plumber he took pride in his work, but was not impressed with many products or the lack of product innovation. Schuster said, “A common joke was that plumbers are open to innovation, as long as their great, great, great, great grandfather used the product.” Today is different because plumbers and DIY homeowners are looking for cost effective ways to make simple upgrades without adding time or sacrificing quality. Schuster believes, “Plumbing repair should be easy: using the fewest materials, components & steps.”
Knowing the work involved to making a bathroom look nice and clean, he always thought the toilet and pedestal sink shut-off valves were an eye-sore. They were often rusty, dirty and impossible to clean (with the occasional witness from previous paint jobs). As a plumber Schuster could shut off all the water to the house to replace the valve and escutcheon plate, but this was beyond the average homeowner’s skill. Schuster noticed how an ugly shut-off valve distracted from an otherwise clean and attractive bathroom. He spotted this situation in almost every home, restaurant, and hotel he visited.
Schuster said, “It's like owning a Jeep, and everywhere you look, you see a Jeep.”
He knew an easy solution did not exist and set out to develop the TapCap. Since valves and pipes differ in size, the angled valve can be close to the wall or up to 6” away, it was critical to work in the various configuration. Knowing the valves can exist in tight spaces, ease of installation was a driver in the design. An elegant smooth finish would be ideal to effortlessly wipe clean with a cloth and make the product aesthetically pleasing. Finally, Schuster knew the product must be functional to allow the valve to be quickly shut off in an emergency.
The TapCap is a decorative valve cover that updates the bathroom décor in minutes. TapCap telescopes to fit tight to the wall or up to 6” away and installs without shutting off the water or needing additional tools. TapCap includes an exclusive two finger diamond saw to adjust length (if necessary).
The TapCap slides over the pipe and scutcheon plate and tightly fits over the existing valve. The TapCap handle rotates freely for future valve use and connects magnetically for easy install. TapCap has an elegant finish that is easy to wipe clean and matches bathroom décor with white, gray, chrome, brushed -nickel and matte black finishes.
Schuster will demonstrate how easy the TapCap installs and use interactive displays to present his other never seen DIY products in the inventor area (One-N-Done booth HN5L). Contact Michael at Michael.Schuster@ZoneIndustryCorp.com. For more product information or to watch install video's,visit www.ZoneIndustryCorp.com or contact sales at Jerry.Cravens@ZoneIndustyCorp.com.