As the Country Reopens, Concerns Mount About Stagnant Water

Photo Credit: www.palmettoexterminators.net

Water stagnation occurs when water is not drawn through the plumbing system of a building for extended periods. A school is a perfect example. Many schools closed at the end of May and do not reopen until September or October. During that time, water stagnation can occur.

This problem is intensified right now because so many schools have been closed for months due to the pandemic. Further, some that have opened may close again as the pandemic spreads.

When water stagnation occurs, it can result in the following:

· Water stored in the "P-traps," located directly under floor drains and other drains may dry up. This causes sewer odors to be released into the facility. But even worse, these fumes may contain pathogens that can cause disease. This was demonstrated during the SARS epidemic in Hong Kong. It was found that many of the P-traps had evaporated in a large apartment complex. The pathogens that caused SARS were in the sewer waters below the building.  When this happened, these pathogens were released through drains, spreading the disease. Scientists believe the same could happen with the pathogens that cause COVID.

· Harmful microorganisms, including Legionella, can build up in the water. Once again, this can include microorganisms that can cause COVID. If this contaminated water is consumed or inhaled, it can prove extremely dangerous, especially for children and older adults.

To address these issues, building owners and managers are advised to do the following:

·       The CDC and other organizations recommend pouring water into drains.  However, this is only effective if performed on a set schedule, as often as once per week.  A more dependable option to keep the P-pipes from drying out, is to pour a small amount of Everprime directly into drains on top of the water in the P-trap.  This helps prevent the traps from drying out for months at a time.

·       The microorganism issue is a bit more complicated because unforeseen problems can present themselves. Therefore, it is recommended that if a building has not been used for an extended period, building engineers should be called on to run sinks, showers, and flush toilets and urinals (if flush urinals are installed) throughout the facility before it opens for public use.

In most cases, this will help remove any contaminated water from the pipes. However, to be sure, and especially if this is an older building, tests should be conducted to ensure the water is safe to drink and use. In some cases, the building's water system may need disinfection treatment.

Stagnant water should not be an issue if waterless urinals have been installed. However, if the facility has been closed for several months, check that the Blueseal is adequately filled in each trap cylinder located at the urinal base.

While Blueseal does not evaporate and will likely not be impacted by lack of use or building closures, it still should be checked.

Finally, check your hot water system. Hot water heaters should be set at 120 degrees (F). When flushing hot water taps, run the water until it reaches its highest temperature. This will help move the stagnant water in hot water taps and ensure that the hot water heaters are working correctly.

Saving Water and Believing Your Saving Water are Two Different Things

Photo by Andrea Davis on Unsplash

One of the most promising developments in reducing water consumption, is the development of "dual flush toilets." They are being installed in both commercial and residential settings.

Their promise is this:

By releasing a smaller amount of water for liquid waste and a larger amount for solid waste, overall, the toilet will use about 1.28 gallons of water per flush instead of 1.6, the current standard, and required minimum.

However, just published tests by water-saving organizations in the U.K. are painting a different picture. They say that between five percent and eight percent of these toilets are leaking water. This is the result of the dual flush mechanism installed in these toilets. 

In the U.K., it is estimated that nearly 90 million gallons of water
are lost each day due to this failure.  

In many ways, we could say this is a "drop in the bucket," since millions of gallons of water are wasted in most water systems worldwide. 

However, this number mounts up. According to the BBC, it is enough water to supply nearly three million people annually.

But there is something more to consider as well. In most cases, people have selected these toilets because they want to save water. That really is the only reason to select them. Imagine their surprise when they realize their facility (or homes) water consumption has gone up since installing these toilets.

And one more thing: how many of us check our water bills that carefully? Many people never even realize they are wasting water, and if they do, it could be years after these toilets have been installed.

As we mentioned, this information has been uncovered recently, in mid-2020. Now, water companies are asking bathroom manufacturers to "design this problem out of existence," reports the BBC. "Individual companies have gone into looking at the issue… but haven't cracked what the underlying issue is. [However,] there is a commercial and moral imperative [for them] to ensure their products reduce leakage wherever possible."

While the story focused on the U.K, what is happening there is likely happening with dual flush toilets in our country and around the world. So, what can building owners, managers, and homeowners do to see if their toilets and other fixtures are leaking water and make sure their water-saving fixtures are really saving water?  

Among them are the following:

The food color test. Lift the tank lid and pour a small amount of food coloring in the tank. If the coloring appears in the bowl – before flushing - it means there is a leak.

The shutoff test.  With the water turned off to the toilet, flush the toilet. The water should now be at the bottom of the tank. Mark the water level. Wait a few hours. If the water has dropped further, this typically indicates a leak.

The drop level test.  First, get a calculator. Second, have a "drink" handy. It might make this test a bit easier.

Then do this:

1. Turn off the water to the tank. 

2. Measure the length and the width of the tank in inches. 

3. Measure how much water is in the tank, starting from the tank's bottom to the top water level (this is depth 1).

4. Flush the toilet and measure the drop from the bottom of the thank to the current water level (this is depth 2).

5. Subtract depth 2 from depth 1. This provides the "drop measurement."

6. Multiply the length of the tank times the width of the tank times the "drop measurement." This gives you the volume of cubic inches of water used per flush.

7. Next to the final step. Divide the volume by 231. This will reveal the total number of gallons per flush.

8. Grab the drink, celebrate, or if you made a mistake, start over.

Example:

Step 2 – Length: 17.5

Step 3 – Width: 7

Step 4 – Full level: 6

Step 5 – Low level: 3.5

Step 6 – 6 minus 3.5 = 2.5

Step 7 – 17.5 x 7 x 2.5 = 306.25

Step 8 – 306.25 divided by 231 = 1.32

Everything You Always Wanted to Know about Drain Covers but Were Afraid to Ask

Photo by Jackson Douglas on Unsplash

Something that is all too often overlooked in new construction and building renovation is floor drains. They perform an incredibly important job. They help remove surface water away from the surrounding area. Doing so helps prevent flooding, damage to surrounding walls, furniture, and equipment, and promote safety.

However, not all storm drains are alike, starting with their covers.  They are technically called "drain covers," but for our purposes here, we will call them drain covers. We have all seen them. Now we are going to learn more about the things most of us have always wondered about.

For instance, the grate's purpose is to prevent debris from making its way down the drainpipe, potentially causing a clog. If the drain is, for example, installed in a public restroom floor or in the laundry room in a house, the openings in the grate may be wider. The assumption is that there will be limited amounts of debris entering the grate, and the wider the gaps, the faster water will be removed from the area.  

On the other hand, the drain covers installed over drains outside of a building may have smaller openings, even if the grate's size is larger. 

This way, water can flow down the drains, while at the same time, leaves, paper, and other debris that might be found outdoors are blocked from going down the drain.

I bet you did not know this, but these grate openings even have a name. They are called "free areas." They must be open wide enough – free – to allow proper drainage while not creating a safety problem by being too large or allowing too much debris to go down the drain.

So now that you know some basics about drain covers, here are more things you probably have wondered about:

Are there designer drain covers?

Yes, in indeedy there are. Manufacturers make basic looking drain covers as well as more stylish drain covers for different settings, such as in a home or a fancy restaurant. A wider assortment of drain covers are now available because manufacturers want them to add to a décor and not detract from it. Plus, they can be custom made.

Are there regulations about drain covers?

Yup. Floor drains and drain covers need to comply with local plumbing codes where applicable. The ASME, American Society of Mechanical Engineers, has also established guidelines and regulations regarding floor drains and coverings. For the most part, these guidelines are written into plumbing codes around the country.

How do we know what size grate to install?

The grate and floor drain size must meet the anticipated volume of water that will flow through the drain covers and down the drain without causing any backup of water on the floor. The ASME guidelines mentioned earlier can also serve as a guide as to what size grate/floor drain is needed in different settings and situations.

Because we walk on them, how do we know the grate is safe enough to walk on?

Good question. There are light, medium, heavy, and even extra heavy drain covers. A light-duty grate can withstand about 2,000 pounds on it. An extra heavy grate, 10,000 pounds.

Do drain covers need to be cleaned?

Typically, with regular floor cleaning, the top of the grate – the part we see – can be kept clean. However, scum and debris, including germs and bacteria, can build up on the underside of the grate. This has the potential of attracting insects, so every so often, drain covers should be removed, and the underside cleaned.

What if odors are coming from the drain cover?

Unless the underside is heavily coated with scum, odors do not come from the grate, but the drainpipe below. Invariably, this means the P-trap has gone dry. The water in the P-trap that blocks odors has evaporated, creating a direct line to the sewer. Pour a little water and a few ounces of EverPrime into the P-trap. That will eliminate the odor problem for months.

Famous Photos of Paris Becoming a Modern City

If you’re comfortable about traveling in the fall of 2020, now might be a good time to visit Washington, DC. Currently on view at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, are a collection of 19th century photos taken of Paris, as it evolves from a medieval city to become, what Napoleon III was after, the most modern city in the world.

The images were taken by a man who had already made his mark as one of the most famous photographers in the world, Charles Marville.

Only 5 feet 2 inches tall and holding a large-format 8-inch by 10-inch camera, he took pictures of Paris districts moments before they disappeared. He knew where entire neighborhoods were about to be torn down, so he took pictures of them as they currently looked, as they were being torn down, and then again, when all that was left was rubble.

He also captured pictures of something that was quite common in Paris and most European – and possibly American – cities in the 19th century: tossing bathroom waste into the streets. 

Paris at that time was, as someone delicately put it, "a giant hole of putrefaction."  There was no sewer system so the only way to remove bathroom waste, along with dish water and just about any other form of liquid waste, was to toss it out the window.

While this is not part of the showing at the National Gallery of Art, it might be worth noting that it is because of all this waste tossed into the streets that high heels were invented.  In those days, women’s dresses tended to touch the floor.  High heels helped women stand a few inches taller.  This way, their dresses did not quite touch the street. And just in case, by wearing high heels, it also made it a bit easier to lift the long dresses up.

But getting back to our story.  One of the other things that captivated photographer Marville, were the new pissoirs being installed all over Paris.  This was quite an invention and something Parisians soon became enormously proud of.

All the pissoirs had a fence around them, supported by poles.  There was no roof and there was one opening, on one side, to enter and exit.  The fence provided privacy, covering the user from the shoulder down to the knee.

Urine traveled down to the newly built sewer below.  Some used water to help flush down the urine, but most were waterless.  By the 1930s, there were about 1,200 pissoirs around Paris and during the war, they took on a new role.

Unbelievably, the French Resistance found them to be one of the best meeting spots in the city and a good place to pass on messages.  There was even a game invented called The Saboteur.  Set in Paris during World War II, pissoirs were used as hiding places.

Sadly, the pissoirs were removed in the 1960s. They had done their job for decades, but the decision was made that they had to go.  However, forms of pissoirs, but a bit more discrete, are still found in the city and even in the U.S.

Should you visit the National Gallery of Art, you will see not only the old Paris being torn down and the new Paris being built, but all the things that has made Paris one of the most beautiful cities in the world, including the charming old pissoirs.

Hey! Take our Water Conservation Test

Bet you know a lot about water conservation?  After all, if you’re reading our blog, then water-conservation and using water more efficiently is important to you.

But how about if we take a little test to see how swift you really are, when it comes to water.

Don’t worry.  This is an easy test, and I’m sure you will pass with flying colors (chuckle, chuckle).

So, let’s begin. 

The answers are below (no cheating).

1) We know that more than 70 percent of the earth’s surface is covered with water. But how much of that water is available for everyday use for people around the globe?

·        1 percent

·        10 percent

·        20 percent

·        25 percent

2) You’re trying to reduce water consumption but can’t decide whether to take a five-minute shower or a five-minute bath.  Which do you think uses less water?

·        The five-minute shower

·        The five-minute bath.

3) You’ve just finished dinner and are wondering, which uses more water

·        Washing the dinner dishes

·        Brushing your teeth

·        Fixing that leaky toilet in the guest bedroom

·        Taking a long shower.

4) Your spouse wants you to go around the house and fix all the household water leaks.  She says we can save money and water. But you think she is just trying to get you and the guys away from the game on TV this Sunday.  But then you ask yourself, how much money could we save if I fixed all the water leaks?

·        Eight percent off the monthly water bill

·        Ten percent

·        18 percent

·        Just one percent.

5) You are the manager of a large office building and recently had all the old toilets removed. Instead of installing new toilets with automatic sensors, you decide to install dual-flush toilets.  Dual-flush toilets cost less because there is no sensor and reportedly use about 20 percent less water.  A few months later, you are anxious to see how much water you are saving.  Here is what you find:

·        The dual-flush toilets have reduced water consumption by 20 percent.

·        There has only been a five percent reduction in water consumption.

·        Water consumption has gone up.

·        There has been no change.

6) The building manager we just mentioned has decided to remove all the old, flush urinals and install waterless urinals. She has narrowed her choice to three leading manufacturers.  The urinals look about the same and cost about the same, making her decision difficult. To help her make up her mind, you suggest one of the following:

·        Select the model that costs the least amount of money to install.

·        Select the newest brand. You tell her “new” often means “improved.”

·        Select the brand that costs the least to own.

·        Select the brand offering the best warranty.

Answers:

1.   Less than one percent

2.   A five-minute shower uses 10 to 25 gallons of water.  A bath, whether five minutes of 50 minutes, uses about 70 gallons of water.

3.   Leaky toilet. It is estimated that a leaking toilet can waste as much as 200 gallons of water every day.

4.   When all water leaks are eliminated in a home, it can reduce the monthly water bill by about eight percent.

5.   Recent studies indicate that dual-flush toilets waste large amounts of water due to how the dual-flush mechanism is designed.  Because of this, water consumption often goes up.

6.   While there are price ranges, no-water urinals can cost about the same and have about the same warranty.  However, only the Waterless brand is the least expensive to own. This is because its EcoTrap cylinder lasts longer than other brands and is also less costly.

Surprising Ways Hospitals Can Cut Operating Costs

Photo by Martha Dominguez de Gouveia on Unsplash

Unbelievably, with so many people that have been in the hospital, many hospitals in the country are just scraping by.

And even though health care costs have been going up and up, so have hospital operating expenses. And COVID has made things worse.  Hospitals make the bulk of their money on different surgical procedures.  All but the most serious have been put on hold due to the virus.

So, this means hospitals must cut costs to stay solvent, especially now.

Here are some surprising ways they can make this happen:

Forget overnight shipping. Some vendors automatically ship supplies to hospitals overnight.  However, unlike retailers that serve consumers, the costs to overnight hospital supplies are often added to the shipping costs.  Order supplies well in advance of running low.  Standard shipping, which may be free and take a few days, should suffice.

Buy when they cry. Again, related to supplies, too many hospital purchasing departments put ordering on automatic pilot: the hospital's computers automatically order supplies when they need to be replenished.  A much better option is to have the computer signal purchasers that it might be time to start shopping – and compare prices - for individual items. Take advantage of distributor or manufacturer discounts.  According to one hospital administrator, “we buy when they cry” – meaning when the vendor is hungry to make a sale.

Start a wellness program. Health insurance to cover hospital employees is going up just like everyone else's.  A hospital in Ashville, North Carolina, started a wellness program, coaching its staff on watching their weight, preventing diabetes and asthma, and ways to lift and carry to protect their back and ligaments.  The result: their health insurance costs went down 15 percent in a year. Why? "Our employees were better able to take care of themselves and their health,” said a spokesperson with the hospital.

Create a Kaizen team. A hospital in Royal Oak, Mich., started a "Kaizen" team.  Kaizen, in Japanese, means “continuous improvement.” Their job was to walk the entire hospital campus once per month, looking for plants and vegetation that could be swapped out for native plants that use less water. Doing so helped them "turn off the sprinklers¸ and that saved [us] 500,000 gallons of water every year, along with the costs of that water,” said Kay Winokur with the Kaizen team at the hospital. "Unless you go out and walk, you won't notice these things,"

Go waterless.  While there are no "averages," let's say a hospital has three men's rooms per floor, each with three urinals. The hospital is ten stories high.  That means there are 90 urinals in this hospital.  If each of those urinals is replaced with a waterless urinal, the hospital will save more than three million gallons of water annually - a massive water saving - which quickly translates into dollars-and-cents savings. The Michigan hospital mentioned earlier, replaced all inefficient urinals, sinks, and toilets.  The cost savings: $257,000 annually.

Turn off the coffee pots. While looking for water savings, the Kaizen team found that the hospital had 110 commercial-sized coffee pots, all with heated water and all running 24 hours per day.  That might have been helpful during the day, but by evening and over the weekend, half the hospital staff had gone home. "The Kaizen team suggested using timers on all coffee pots," said Winokur. "Now, coffeepots are shut down when employees leave for the day, and they restart an hour before employees arrive in the morning. This saved us $34,000 a year."

Winokur also advises hospital administrators to look around, looking for savings. "We wouldn't have gotten [these savings] if we didn't go and observe. Look at everything that is plugged in, draws energy, or uses water. There are always ways to save."

Water Terms and Terminology Part II

If you hear someone tell you the water to be delivered to your facility is currently in a “holding tank,” best call the health authorities as quickly as possible.  Water in a holding tank is invariably wastewater. Not only that, its wastewater being stored before it is delivered to a treatment center, so you do not want to be drinking it.

This gives you an idea of how important it is to know your terms and terminology regarding water. Some more terms you should be aware of – and their definitions – include the following:

Hydrologic cycle. Many things in nature follow a cycle.  They move from one form to another and then back again. In the case of the hydrologic cycle, it involves the movement of water from the earth, which evaporates from oceans and waterways, returning to the atmosphere.  From there, it eventually returns back to earth in the form of moisture, where it is absorbed by vegetation or turns into rainfall.

Induced charge.  In our earlier “terms and terminology” blog, we discussed aquifers.  Because so many are now running dry, there is an attempt to replenish them.  This is called an induced charge.

Inorganic substances. Sometimes we hear that water contains inorganic substances.  These are substances not derived from organic matter.  We should add that just because water may contain inorganic substances does not necessarily mean it is unsafe to drink.  Nor are substances that are organic, derived from nature, always safe to drink.  Safety, at this juncture, is not the issue. Instead, it’s whether these substances are inorganic or organic.

Lagoon.  When we hear the word “lagoon,” we often picture a lovely pond.  However, lagoon usually refers to wastewater, especially useful when treating manure from livestock. The lagoon helps breakdown bacteria in the waste.  By the way, a pond is just a body of water smaller than a lake. 

Leachate. Here’s one you probably have not heard before. Leachate refers to a liquid formed when water soaks into and through landfills.  In the process, it picks up and dissolves materials found in waste.  This means it helps break down waste.

Lust.  Don’t get carried away.  Lust has little to do with water and is not something you want to play around with.  A Leaking Underground Storage Tank – LUST – if often used to store gasoline, diesel fuel, heating oil, and liquid chemicals.  When there is LUST, it means the container is leaking.

Losing stream. You may have read this as losing “steam.”  While we all have days when we feel like we are losing steam, when it comes to losing “stream,” it means that streams of water are disappearing. They are flowing into an aquifer below the earth’s surface.

Percolate. When we see water percolating in a natural environment, it means the water is coming to the top of a mound or through rocks, for instance, but then seeping down that mound or the rocks through pores in the nearby surface.

pH. All liquids have a pH. This refers to the concentration of hydrogen ion in the liquid.  A pH scale runs from 0 to 14.  Values less than seven are acidic, and values greater than seven are alkaline. 

Waterless urinals. These urinals, as the name implies, use no-water.  As they are used, gravity moves urine down the urinal into the sewer below.  A trap or cylinder at the base of the urinal blocks sewer odors, helping to keep the urinal and the restroom odor-free, clean, and sanitary.

Water conservation/Water efficiency. These are two separate terms and do not mean the same thing.  Water conservation is short term scaling back on water consumption, for instance, during a drought.  Water efficiency, on the other hand, refers to long term water reduction. It typically involves installing restroom fixtures that use far less water or no water at all compared to traditional fixtures.

A Lasting Impact Around the Globe by Qatar's Latest Architectural Feat

Image: TalkSport.com

During the month of August, the average temperature in Qatar reaches 105 degrees. The sweltering sun scorches the pavement as the air turns sticky with humidity. It’s safe to say this desert climate can be brutal, which is what makes the logistics of designing buildings in Qatar so important. The third tournament venue for the 2022 FIFA World Cup happening in Qatar, during the much cooler months of November and December, has recently been completed. The Education City Stadium has been dubbed “Diamond in the Desert,” for the façade’s diamond-like triangular patterns that sparkle in the sun.

Located inside the Qatar Foundation University Campus, it will hold 40,000 soccer fans for the games. But the excitement over the stadium will continue once the soccer tournament ends. After the final goal of the FIFA World Cup, 20,000 seats will be donated to countries that lack sporting infrastructure and university students will have full access to the stadium.

To read more from Architectural Digest.com, click here.

Preventing Faulty Drainpipes in a Canadian Hospital from Spreading Disease

Right before the Royal Jubilee Hospital was officially opened in Canada in 2004, alarm bells started ringing.  It was discovered that there were more than 100 defective floor drains in the hospital. If the hospital had been fully opened, "it could have put patients and staff at risk for severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS)," according to a local news reporter, Malcolm Curtis.

Fortunately, the situation was discovered and rectified soon enough that no illness was linked to the floor drain problem.  What was happening, was that the drains on all floors in the hospital's diagnostic and treatment center, were inundated with what was called "smelly sewer gases escaping into the building," according to the reporter.

“The gases could contain viruses such as severe acute respiratory syndrome that can be transmitted through breathing, although hospital officials denied that patients were at risk."

As you probably know, the Hong Kong SARS epidemic was ending at about this same time. By then, nearly 800 people had died of the disease. When public health officials and others investigated the cause of the epidemic, they found it centered around one exceptionally large apartment complex, called the Amoy Apartments.  

Apparently, what was happening is that sewer odor fumes, containing the pathogens that caused SARS, were being released through some of the apartment sink and floor drains. This occurred because the P-traps in these apartments, which generally were filled with water, had dried up. This literally opened the door to the sewer - and its odors and pathogens - below the building.

The building soon became the epicenter of the disease.

Concerns are now mounting today that something similar could happen with coronavirus. The pathogens that cause coronavirus are also being found in wastewater. This means that if the water in P-traps has evaporated, coronavirus pathogens could also be inhaled, spreading the disease and possibly causing even more deaths. 

As for the Royal Jubilee Hospital, it appeared that the original drainpipes were not designed properly. To prevent sewer gasses from being released, the hospital staff was pouring water down the drains as often as once per day.  This was not practical.  As a result, hospital engineers began installing new drainpipes along with devices called “trap primer valves” under the more than 100 floor drains.

A trap primer valve is a plumbing device that adds a small amount of water to the P-trap on an ongoing basis. With these installed, hospital staff no longer needed to pour water down the drains daily.

While it was not reported how much it cost the hospital to install these, we can assume it was thousands of dollars.  As a result, we are wondering if far less costly steps could have been taken that would not only have stopped the odors for months but would also have helped ensure the hospital staff and patients would not inhale harmful pathogens.

One far less costly option would be to pour a small amount of water and a few ounces of EverPrime liquid primer in the drains about every three to six months.  EverPrime does not evaporate and can withstand extreme climate fluctuations, from very cold to extremely hot.

We are not sure when EverPrime was invented, so this may not have even been an option available to the hospital back in 2003.  But fortunately, we have it today. This means no building administrators should ever have to grapple with dangerous sewer odors being released in their facilities again.

Facility Managers of Schools beware of dry trap seals in building drains

Thousands of schools around the country are re-opening or plan to do so at some point this fall. Because most of these schools have been closed for months due to COVID-19, school administrators are doing everything possible to make sure schools are not only clean but healthy. However, one troubling area that may be overlooked is right under their feet: floor drains.

Under each floor drain is a trap seal. When it is working correctly, it is filled with water that blocks odors, bacteria, and pathogens – including those that might cause COVID – from being released into the air.

It is when they dry out that serious problems can occur, making the drain an open sewer line.

“Drains provide excellent conditions for these potentially deadly inhabitants to not only survive, but thrive,” says Klaus Reichardt, CEO, and founder of Waterless Co., Inc. “Some of these may even be multi-drug resistant organisms, that are also resistant to traditional cleaning solutions and disinfectants.”

This was one of the causes of the SARS epidemic in Hong Kong. According to a report in Infection Control Today, the World Health Organization found that the U-trap seals (a.k.a. P-trap seals) in the drain pipes at the city’s Amoy Garden apartments triggered the SARS outbreak because the water in the drains had evaporated. 

“These traps are designed to hold water at all times. The water acts as a barrier and prevents insects, foul smells, and, in this case, viruses and bacteria from backing up through the drains.” 1

To address this situation, Reichardt says many cleaning professionals and building engineers pour bleach down the drains.

“However, bleach may just pass through the drain and possibly corrode pipes, especially older pipes.” Instead, he suggests using a liquid “ever prime,” now widely available.  

“Administrators should pour some water and then a few ounces of ever prime liquids into every floor drain before school opening. It will last for months and block fumes and pathogens from being released.”

1 “SARS and Plumbing: The Role Sewage Plays in Spreading Disease,” Infection Control Today, May 13, 2003