Spurred by sustainable initiatives such as the U.S. Green Building Council's Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) rating system, water conservation-related rebates and facilities simply interested in green cleaning, the demand for waterless urinals has increased over the years.

Adopters of this water-saving technology include high-profile facilities such as New York's Bank of America Tower, Los Angeles-based Staples Center and Nokia Theater, as well as the San Diego Zoo. Others jumping on board include fast food chains, government and institutional buildings, as well as school districts seeking to earn water conservation points that are required for a facility to achieve LEED certification.

Selling Points

Although selling restroom fixtures has not traditionally been top of mind for most jan/san distributors, they say they see no better time than now to start offering customers waterless urinals. In fact, Phillip Consolino, president of Atlanta-based SouthEast LINK says his company offers waterless urinals as part of the company's integrated green cleaning process for customers.

"It's an easy sell when you consider the many benefits, including saving 40,000 gallons per urinal per year of drinking-quality water and the energy it takes to deliver it," he says.

Besides the direct impact waterless urinals have on water savings, distributors also say many other benefits can be used as selling points. Labor costs for unclogging drains, snaking pipes, repairing fixtures and replacing batteries are virtually eliminated.

"Daily it saves time," says Keith Schneringer, marketing director for San Diego-based WAXIE Sanitary Supply. "Without water you're not battling lime scale or calcium buildup."

The hands-free technology prevents the spread of illness-producing microbes to the building population as well as the elimination of water vapor plumes and bacteria on surfaces and in the air.

Aesthetically they're very attractive and streamlined with no visible plumbing. They send a message to users that the facility values innovation and sustainability and without plumbing and fixtures to break or clog, there are fewer unscheduled service interruptions. Schools especially report less vandalism and related remediation by janitors.

"Schools find waterless urinals helpful because with no running water and no handles they're more difficult to tamper with," says Schneringer.

Showing customers the return on investment they can get from installing these units can also be a big selling point.

To help customers figure out the return on investment, calculate the number of urinals, users per day, user frequency per day, water volume saved per flush, number of days used per year, water and sewer savings per gallon and maintenance savings to new fixture cost. Also factor in the costs associated with installation, as well as cartridges, chemicals and rebates.

Distributors say the break-even point for most facilities who install waterless urinals is achieved within the first 12 to 24 months.

"The more they're flushing, the faster the return on investment," says Consolino.

To reap the many benefits of waterless urinals jan/san distributors and end users must understand how the technology works and know how imperative it is that these units be maintained according to each manufacturer's specific directions.

Proper Maintenance

Because waterless urinals employ gravity to deliver urine into the waste water system and are designed to hook into existing drainage pipefitting, it is essential that a unit be installed high enough for the pipes to activate gravity, yet low enough so men of various heights may use it without splash back. Drain lines must have enough slope and appropriate routing to prevent a damming effect that allows sediment and urine salts to build and create odor.

Manufacturers perform installations themselves but they also publish detailed instructions for in-house engineers, contractors, union plumbers or local handymen to tackle the job.

Every manufacturer also has its own system of traps, tools, sealants and sometimes a cleaning chemical, for maintaining these units. Daily maintenance consists of wiping down the unit, monitoring drainage to determine if a seal or cartridge may need to be changed and cleaning the floor around the unit.

Frequency of trap cartridge replacement varies by manufacturer and amount of use, but distributors recommend replacement after 7,000 to 10,000 uses. A trap may also need replacing when odor is apparent, the drain is slow, or sediment build-up or blue sealant is noticeable around the drain hole. Every facility will need to tweak their replacement as needed.

"In our own building we recently had to step up cartridge replacement from once a quarter to once every two months due to odor," says Renae Hesselink, vice president of sustainability for Nichols, Spring Lake, Mich.

Sealant within the cartridge prevents sewer gases from entering the building and can be oil or wax-based. It is typically blue in color so it's easy to spot if it starts to leak, notifying cleaning personnel that it's being compromised and that it's time to add more sealant or replace the trap. Some systems require sealant to be added periodically to traps while others recommend replacing it when installing a new trap cartridge.

Some traps are designed to be flushed periodically with hot water to drive urine salts out, improve drainage and increase the trap's longevity. Others are designed to never have their seals breached with large amounts of liquid, which will prematurely degrade or ruin the seal.

"Blasting pressure down the drain disturbs the barrier. If you do that, you'll need to recharge the barrier," says Consolino.

Cartridge replacement typically takes less than five minutes for novices and two to three minutes for more experienced individuals.

"You offer a cartridge tool to twist and lift," says Schneringer. "Then insert the new cartridge and twist. We sell the kit with cartridge, bag for the old cartridge, gloves for you to wear and new sealant. The sealant comes premeasured in a plastic packet and you just pour it into the trap. Filling with new sealant takes less than two minutes."

When changing traps, distributors recommend cleaning personnel wear personal protective gear, flush pipes with warm water while the cartridge is off, and then spray foam cleaner into the hole to temporarily maintain an odor barrier until the new cartridge is in place.

If a manufacturer's trap requires cleaning, it's imperative that the recommended cleaner be used, says Ryan Banks, vice president of sales and marketing for Las Vegas-based Brady Industries.

Some waterless urinals have to be cleaned with a specialized cleaner. If someone uses the wrong cleaner it could break the seal and create an odor problem.

As water shortages are projected to hit several areas in the United States, the demand for waterless urinals just may be an area that distributors can capitalize on. But with many misconceptions and hesitation from end users, distributors must help educate customers on how the units operate and how they should be maintained.

Lauren Summerstone is a freelance writer based in Madison, Wis.




POSTED ON: 10/23/2010