Acceptance of waterless urinals and the number of installations were\u00a0growing well before the current California drought.\u00a0 That’s mostly due to improvements in the technologies, making them more pleasant to use and easier and far\u00a0less expensive to keep working properly.\u00a0 And today they’re pretty much a necessity in Southern California where water conservation is a top priority.<\/p>\n
We’re NOT talking porta-potty technology here!\u00a0 Designs have been continually improved and refined for some 1\/4 century, starting with companies right here in San Diego in the early 1990s.\u00a0 Just 5 years ago there was still some resistance to their use, but with proper maintenance they’re now widely accepted.<\/p>\n
Waterless urinals save water.\u00a0 No surprise there.\u00a0 But just how much may surprise you.<\/p>\n
As much as 20% of the world’s potable water is simply flushed down the drain.\u00a0 On average in the United States, a no-flush urinal in a commercial restroom saves some 20 to 45 thousand<\/em> gallons of water a year, per urinal<\/em>.\u00a0 For an office building with 120 men, upgrading from older urinals to waterless urinals would save 1\/4 million <\/em>gallons of water per year!\u00a0 That’s a huge water conservation impact.<\/p>\n Now in California we’re well below the national range of 1-2 gallons of water\u00a0per flush for all existing\u00a0urinals but we do, and will continue to, experience limited water supplies.\u00a0 Besides water bills, upgrading to this new technology will save you money on sewer charges and help protect you from high-use penalties.\u00a0 In many locations waterless urinals are a requirement in new construction and remodels.<\/p>\n Health experts have long known that urinals are more sanitary than toilets, with no “flushing turbulence” to create airborne bacteria.\u00a0 Urine itself is sterile, and a waterless\u00a0urinal should have far less moisture exposed to promote microbe growth.<\/p>\n You can also benefit from additional cost savings<\/em>, with no flush-valve repairs, no deodorizers, no overflows or water leaks, and reduced vandalism.\u00a0 For new construction, you’ll have lower water and sewer connection fees, and both new installations and upgrades may qualify for rebates.<\/p>\n Although getting all the aspects of a design just right is difficult, the principle of operation is\u00a0straightforward and pretty much like the U trap under sinks.<\/p>\n Urine flows by gravity into a trap with a sealing liquid, then down the regular drain line.\u00a0 That liquid is a specially formulated oil that forms a barrier that keeps sewer gases and odors from entering the restroom.\u00a0 It’s simple… oil is lighter than water so it floats on top as urine sinks and flows through.\u00a0 The trick is minimizing splashing and keeping fluid flows from disturbing that barrier layer.\u00a0 Some designs use a replaceable cartridge instead.<\/p>\n Proper design, installation,\u00a0and maintenance are critical in avoiding the perceived drawbacks of this new technology.\u00a0 The pros at ASAP Drain Guys & Plumbing will be happy to advise you concerning the best make and model for your particular needs and criteria.<\/p>\n All urinals require regular wipe-down and cleaning, and\u00a0waterless urinals have no hard water or rust build up issues to deal with.\u00a0 Properly maintained, they should have no odor or cleanliness issues.<\/p>\n It is necessary to replace the sealing liquid, usually about every 1,500 uses.\u00a0 That’s simply pouring down a bucket of hot water then pouring in a few ounces of liquid.\u00a0 All in all that takes about 1\/2 minute.\u00a0 The trap also collects sediments, and needs an very\u00a0inexpensive replacement 2 to 4 times per year.\u00a0 It takes well under 5 minutes.<\/p>\n Overall operating costs have been estimated at $1 per 1,000 uses.\u00a0 That’s a dramatic savings over standard urinals.<\/p>\n No-flush urinals are\u00a0now well accepted in a wide range of commercial, industrial, institutional, and military situations.\u00a0 These include airports, camps, colleges, hospitals, offices, parks, playgrounds, recreational facilities, rest stops, schools, and sports facilities among others.<\/p>\n Installing a new waterless urinal takes less time than standard units, typically 1\/2 hour or less.\u00a0 Simple retrofits generally take an hour or less, but lowering the drain rough-in to meet new requirements may add another hour or so.<\/p>\n So now you understand one of the best water conservation measures around.<\/p>\n Not all plumbers have the know-how and experience needed for the proper selection and installation of waterless urinals.\u00a0 Besides doing the job right, there are special codes, including specific ADA requirements. You can count on ASAP to guide you through the process of selection, installation, and maintenance.<\/p>\n Your options go beyond utilitarian basics.\u00a0\u00a0No-flush urinals are available in\u00a0light-weight high-performance composites as well as vitreous china, and in a surprising variety of colors and styles.\u00a0 They’ve made people at the New York Mets Citi Field Stadium happy, so may sure\u00a0please you and your building’s occupants.<\/p>\n \t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Acceptance of waterless urinals and the number of installations were\u00a0growing well before the current California drought.\u00a0 That’s mostly due to improvements in the technologies, making […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":11239,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[61],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-11238","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.asapdrainandplumbing.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11238","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.asapdrainandplumbing.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.asapdrainandplumbing.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.asapdrainandplumbing.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.asapdrainandplumbing.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11238"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.asapdrainandplumbing.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11238\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.asapdrainandplumbing.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/11239"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.asapdrainandplumbing.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11238"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.asapdrainandplumbing.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11238"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.asapdrainandplumbing.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11238"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Additional Benefits of Waterless Urinals<\/h3>\n
How Waterless Urinals Work<\/h4>\n
No Maintenance Problems!<\/h4>\n
Where They Work<\/h5>\n
Doing It Right<\/h5>\n