iTouchless 13 Gallon SensorCan review

A 13-gallon brushed stainless sensor can with an activated-carbon odor filter built into the lid, a lid lock, and an optional mains adapter. It is the can to buy if you want to find out whether you like touchless without spending premium money.

Two of its design decisions are better than the premium cans', and that is worth saying up front: it takes ordinary 13-gallon supermarket bags, and it puts the carbon filter in the lid as standard rather than selling it as an accessory. It ranks second in our touchless roundup.

#	Product	Best for	Price
01	iTouchless 13 Gallon SensorCan with AbsorbX Odor FilterThe touchless can that ships with a carbon filter in the lid and takes ordinary 13-gallon bags, at a fraction of the premium price.	Best touchless value	Check price on Amazon #ad How we make money

Note the 35.7" open height. That is the figure to check against a counter overhang or a wall cabinet before you buy, and it is the measurement most people forget. iTouchless publishing it at all puts them ahead of several competitors.

It takes standard bags

A 12-inch opening built around the standard 13-gallon tall kitchen bag means your running cost is supermarket-bag money rather than a proprietary liner subscription. The bag will still overhang the rim by a few inches, because that is how 13-gallon bags are cut, but you are not locked into one supplier.

The carbon filter is in the lid, and it is replaceable

Odor collects in the headspace under a closed lid, which is exactly where iTouchless puts the AbsorbX filter. Activated carbon removes odor molecules by adsorption rather than masking them with fragrance, and the refills are sold separately so the can does not become useless when the first one saturates. How carbon filters work and how long they last.

There is an AC adapter option

This is the most underrated feature on the can. Mains power means the infrared emitter never weakens, so the can never goes through the erratic phase at the end of a battery cycle — the missed opens and phantom triggers that make people think a sensor can is broken. If there is an outlet near where the can lives, buy the adapter. Why voltage matters.

The warranty is one year. That is short for a product with a motor, a board and a battery compartment, and it is the clearest gap against the competition — Brabantia guarantees a touch-top bin for ten. If the can fails in year two, you are buying another.

The sensor is a fixed timer, not adaptive. The lid will close while your hand is still over the opening if you pause. There is no setting for it. This is the category's main complaint and this can does not solve it — only the premium adaptive sensors do, and Ninestars at least offers a manual hold-open mode as a partial answer.

No published battery figure. iTouchless specifies four D cells but does not state expected life, so you cannot compare it against Ninestars' 10,000 cycles. Four D cells is a lot of stored energy, which suggests a decent figure, but we are not going to put a number on it that the manufacturer has not.

Brushed stainless shows fingerprints, particularly around the lid edge and the handle. If the can sits somewhere visible, the plastic-bodied version or a matte finish will look better for longer.

The Ninestars DZT-50-9 is the same tier with the category's only published battery figure and a manual hold-open mode, at the cost of the built-in filter. The Kohler K-20940 step can is the honest non-sensor alternative: hands-free, standard bags, a damped stay-open lid, and nothing electronic to fail.

Best battery life

Ninestars DZT-50-9 13.2 Gallon Motion Sensor Trash Can

The sensor can with the best published battery figure in the category: about 10,000 cycles on three C cells.

Check price on Amazon

#ad How we make money

Best value stainless

Kohler 13-Gallon Stainless Steel Step Trash Can (K-20940)

The premium-feeling stainless can that does not lock you into proprietary liners — it is built around the standard 13-gallon bag.

Check price on Amazon

#ad How we make money

If you specifically want the wider throat for bulky packaging, iTouchless makes an extra-wide version of this can, and there is a version on wheels if you carry bags any distance. Both appear in our touchless roundup.