Living with Aridification

A shrinking lake near Fresno, CA

This article was recently published in the July Issue of Smart Water Magazine

Having been involved with water-related issues for more than thirty years, one of the changes I have noticed when we discuss water are the terms we use. Years ago, when it came to reducing water consumption, the term most used was “water conservation.” That stayed true until about ten years ago. Then a new term was introduced, “water efficiency.”

So, we are clear, water conservation tends to focus on short-term reductions in water consumption, for instance, during a drought. 

On the other hand, water efficiency refers to long-term water reductions.

Typically, in the past, water efficiency meant installing products, devices, and technologies that use less or no water compared to traditional products. Waterless urinals are a perfect example. They eliminate the need for water, making them a long-term solution to reducing water consumption.

However, today an unfamiliar word is evolving. This one puts more emphasis on climate changes in different regions around the globe and the increasing serious impact they have on water.

That word is aridification.

The term seems to have different definitions based on how, who, and where it is used. But it means the following:

Aridification is the progression of an area that once experienced regular rainfall events with occasional droughts to one where rainfall events are fewer and further between, and the number of droughts increases and become longer. Eventually, the entire region becomes excessively and irreversibly drier and warmer than in the past. 

Aridification is different from a drought because drought is temporary. Aridification is here to stay. The result: everyone and everything that uses water is going to have less.

A perfect example of aridification is what is happening to the Colorado River in the U.S. This river, which runs from Colorado to the Gulf of Mexico, provides water for about forty million people. However, it has been subjected to warmer temperatures and received less snow and rainfall for two decades.

Today, it carries far less water than it did 20 years ago, with reductions averaging as much as 19 percent from 2000 to 2014. That is expected to decrease by another 20 percent by mid-century and 35 percent by the end of the century. If this holds true, the Colorado River may only carry a fraction of the amount of water it did twenty years ago – a permanent change that will impact the lives of millions of people. *  

Dealing with the Challenges of Aridification

As we mentioned aridification is a global issue. Many areas around the world are now or soon will be experiencing aridification. This means water utility companies and governments in these areas are going to have to grapple with this issue, one that may be one of the most serious – but fortunately solvable – in the 21st century.

Among the steps we will need to take are the following:

Realizing and accepting the fact that aridification is real and permanent.

Just recently, I was told of a visitor to Southern California who was surprised how much water is still being used for the outdoor irrigation of landscaping. Because Southern California is ground zero for aridification in the U.S., this tells us many citizens and businesses here are still not acknowledging the seriousness of the situation. Acknowledging the reality of aridification is the first step in addressing it.

Incorporating water efficient technologies into all new and existing building projects.

It was during the oil crisis of 1973 that many countries around the world, along with builders and designers, were forced to examine the energy use and efficiency of their buildings. What they realized is that these facilities were built to be very dependent on fossil fuels to heat them in the winter and cool them in the summer. After the oil crisis, buildings were constructed so that they used less energy and used it more efficiently.

Due to aridification, we must do the same with water. With every restroom fixture and water-using device installed in a facility, we must ensure that it is the most water efficient system available. This will encourage more manufacturers to improve the water efficiency of their products. This is still not at the top of the agenda for many facility managers, builders, and designers, but with aridification, it must be.

Expanding water recycling and reuse programs.

This is the practice of reclaiming water from a variety of sources, treating it, and reusing it for beneficial purposes. This could be for vegetation or human consumption. Some areas of the world have extensive recycling and reuse programs in place, but far too many have few or none. Making matters worse, it is often in these areas that aridification is most acute. To ensure water security around the globe and deal with the many challenges aridification poses, water reuse programs are necessary, and for those countries that already have them, they must be expanded.

Finally, desalination programs must be expanded.

One of the first countries to successfully use desalination technology, as far back as 1938, was Saudi Arabia. Historically, the concerns about desalination plants are that they are costly to build, operate, and often require enormous amounts of petroleum to operate, negatively impacting the environment and sustainability.  Today, those costs are coming down and green power alternatives are being used to power these plants. This is making desalination technology more viable around the world.

We started our discussion about how the terms used to discuss water-related issues have been changing. But one thing that has not changed in all these years is the fact that we should be able to address our water challenges, including those caused by aridification. Technology is on our side. We just must put it to use.

Klaus Reichardt is CEO and founder of Waterless Co, Inc, Vista, Calif. Reichardt founded the company in 1991 with the goal of establishing a new market segment in the plumbing fixture industry with water efficiency in mind. Reichardt is a frequent writer and presenter, discussing water conservation issues.  He can be reached at klaus@waterless.com.

*Udall, B. and Overpeck, J. (2017), The twenty-first century Colorado River hot drought and implications for the future, Water Resour. Res., 53, 2404– 2418, doi:10.1002/2016WR019638.

Water for Life Update: Dealing with Foul Odors as People Return to Work

Hello,

This is Robert Kravitz.

I'm a writer for the building industry, and this is another Water Is Life Update from Waterless Co., Inc.

Say, it was announced here in Chicago that many of the major employers have set Monday, September 12, 2022, as the day they expect – if not require – their employees to return to work.

Many of these buildings have been closed for two years. As they reopen, it's been reported that many now have a foul odor inside. According to building engineers, what's happening is that the unpleasant odors are coming from floor drains.

Here's what's happening. The water in the U-trap underneath the drain, which usually holds water to block sewer odors from entering the facility, has dried up.

Fortunately, this is an easy fix but an essential fix. Those foul odors are often dangerous gases that can be health risking to building users.

Here's all we need to do. Products available, referred to as "ever prime" or "ever primer," can be poured down these drains. A few ounces does the trick. It's a simple, $2.30 per drain solution.

Fast and easy, this will end the odors and ensure workers return to fresh, smelling, clean, healthy buildings.

Say, if Waterless Co. can help you in any way as people return to work, feel free to give us a call: 800 244 6364 toll-free.

  

China, Water, and World Economies

China Water Shortage

The following are key points in an article written by Klaus Reichardt and published by Smart Water earlier this year.

It should be no surprise that China is one of the countries most concerned about water scarcity and its economic impact, not only on the Chinese economy, but the world economy as well.

China accounts for about six percent of the world's total freshwater resources. Compare that to the U.S., which has 45 percent - the largest share - of the world's total freshwater resources of any country in the world.

China is listed as one of the thirteen most water-poor countries globally. With limited freshwater supplies, ongoing water pollution also aggravates their freshwater supplies. 

This means that the country is facing increased water scarcity in the coming years and potentially worse, a severe water crisis that might negatively impact the country's future economic growth.  In many ways, this is happening right now.

This is the conclusion of a study recently published in PLOS One, a peer-reviewed open-access scientific journal. "Evaluating the impacts of water resources technology progress on development and economic growth over the Northwest, China," was published in March 2020 and conducted by scientists at Shaanxi Normal University. 

These scientists examined a region of China as it was in 1996 regarding population, industry, water-related issues, and economic status, to the way it was in 2017, a 20-year period.

Then they took the next step and examined how water shortages and water scarcity impacted the GDP or gross domestic product in this specific region of China.  GDP is the monetary value of all goods and services in a country.

The researchers found that "water scarcity is increasingly becoming the biggest bottleneck for urban future development" in several semi-arid provinces in China. 

The areas of China included in the study have been experiencing increased water shortages, primarily for the same reasons we mentioned earlier: population growth, economic development, and the overall improvement in living conditions.  We should also mention, some parts of China also have poor water infrastructure, which wastes millions of gallons of water per year.

Water Overload

Two other concerns were mentioned in the study. For instance, the researchers also reported water "overload." Because of increasing demands, more of this region's water is derived from underground sources, as it is in many other parts of the world. 

However, the researchers found that China's underground water sources are not being regenerated. This is causing the overload, as they call it. Typically, with rainfall events, underground water reservoirs refill with water. However, this is no longer happening in this area of China due to overload.

 Recommendations

The study concludes with recommendations that can be used not only in China, but in countries and facilities around the world.  Among their conclusions are the following:

  • Continue developing and installing new water technologies that reduce water consumption.  

  • Conduct water audits in residential and commercial buildings. A water audit identifies where water is used, wasted, not used efficiently, or not needed at all.  

  • Repair water infrastructure. The researchers found that "water institutions," which are water treatment, delivery, and water removal organizations, were wasting substantial amounts of water due to poor water infrastructure.

  • Development of products that reduce waste and help use water more efficiently. These can result in more significant economic expansion.  

  • Evaluate current restroom fixtures. Today, restroom fixtures are changing rapidly, becoming more water efficient. This is important because in most facilities, the most water consumed in the facility is in the restrooms. 

  • Low-flow and no-water fixtures, such as waterless urinals, should be installed. These can reduce water consumption significantly.

Klaus Reichardt is CEO and founder of Waterless Co, Inc, pioneers in advancing water efficiency.  Reichardt founded the company in 1991 with the goal of establishing a new market segment in the plumbing fixture industry with water efficiency in mind. Reichardt is a frequent writer and presenter, discussing water conservation issues.  He can be reached at klaus@waterless.com

 

Urinal Flushing in a Post-Pandemic Era

During the worst months of the pandemic, researchers in China reported that the COVID-19 pathogen and other COVID-related microorganisms were released when a urinal was flushed. The flushing, they said, caused an alarming upward flow of coronavirus-laden particles that could shoot into the air as much as two feet in less than six seconds.

The study, published in August 2020 online in Physics of Fluids, confirmed that virus particles of COVID-19 are found in urine, “which means urine-based transmission could be a previously ignored transmission route. [This] also means that besides the toilet, the [flush] urinal, which is a common facility in the male public restroom, could become another dangerous item … promoting virus transmission.”

Xiangdong Liu, one of the Yangzhou University researchers behind the study, said that along with spreading the coronavirus, “urinal flushing [can] promote the spread of bacteria and viruses.”

This discovery of the aerosolization of the pathogen that causes COVID has several profound implications. This was at about the time researchers first realized that the transfer of COVID was most likely to occur by inhalation and not by touching contaminated surfaces.

However, this had far-reaching implications because this is not how health-threatening bacteria and germs are normally transferred. Typically, harmful pathogens collect on walls, counters, and other touchable surfaces.

Once we touch those surfaces, the pathogens are transferred to our hands and fingers. They then can become transferred once again when we touch our mouths or eyes, or touch food, which is then consumed. This is referred to as “cross contamination” and is the way many diseases are spread.

So, what does this mean to us today, as the pandemic drifts into the rearview mirror? Among the things we should know and learn from this study are the following:

·       Urine is normally viewed as “sterile,” and germfree. However, pathogens can and do collect in urine, especially if a person is ill. 

·       When a water-using urinal is flushed, pathogens can and do become aerosolized very quickly, in a matter of seconds, reaching far higher and into more areas than we realized before.

·       If the pathogens are inhaled, there is a possibility this will cause illness. This is how some respiratory illnesses and viruses are spread, such as colds and the flu.

·       However, what is more likely is that these pathogens will filter down to touchable and frequently touched surfaces. It is when we contact these touchable surfaces that the transmission of disease can begin.

And one more thing we should know: this only happens with flush urinals. The burst of water into the urinal is what generates the alarming upward flow as mentioned earlier. When using a waterless urinal, there is no flushing, or flushing mechanism. No water is used.  There is no alarming upward flow.

As a result, the chances of pathogens becoming airborne are exceedingly small, if at all. Even before the pandemic, waterless urinals were reported to be more hygienic than flush urinals, and this is likely one of the reasons.

This is also likely why, in a post-pandemic era, building developers, owners, and managers are taking a much closer look at waterless urinals. As they attempt to do everything possible to ensure the health and safety of their tenants — and get them back to work and in the office — many are now installing waterless urinals.

What we are finding is that in some cases, it is the replacing of flush urinals with no-water, waterless urinals that is one of the first steps building developers, owners, and managers take to help protect tenant health. Based on the study above, it’s a particularly good place to begin.

Klaus Reichardt is CEO and founder of Waterless Co, Inc, pioneers in advancing water efficiency.  Reichardt founded the company in 1991 with the goal of establishing a new market segment in the plumbing fixture industry with water efficiency in mind. Reichardt is a frequent writer and presenter, discussing water conservation issues.  He can be reached at klaus@waterless.com

Droughts: Their Impact on Lives and Livelihoods

Severe droughts have been a part of world history since the beginning of time. What's different today, primarily due to climate change, is they are becoming longer with less chance of the drought lifting. 

When this happens, it is referred to as aridification, the gradual process of an area getting drier and warmer. While arid regions may still experience rain events, these will become fewer and fewer over time.

Scientists are now paying closer attention to droughts, aridification, and what is causing them, primarily because they are happening so frequently and impacting more people. NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies is one organization that has been looking into historical precipitation data based on tree rings. If a tree grows over several years, it will have more – and more prominent – annual rings. This typically indicates a period of considerable precipitation.

If there are fewer rings – sometimes none – or the rings are less prominent, it indicates periods of drought.

But droughts do more than disrupt the life cycle of trees and vegetation. They also affect our lifestyles, businesses, and agriculture, and they can cause considerable suffering - even death.  

For instance, according to Statista, which collects statistics on many issues and topics, the following are the five worst droughts in recorded history and the deaths that resulted:

China: In 1928, an estimated 3 million people died due to a prolonged drought.

Bangladesh: Nearly 2 million people died due to drought conditions in this country in 1943.

India: Drought in India resulted in 1.5 million deaths in 1942 and another 1.5 million deaths in 1965.

Soviet Union: An estimated 1.2 million people were reported to have died due to drought in 1921.

China: In 1920, eight years before its most lethal drought, China suffered a severe drought that killed 500,000 people.  

Droughts not only cause deaths, suffering, and hardship, but they can change entire societies. As an example, a series of mega-droughts about 100,000 years ago in Africa caused one of the first migrations in human history. Africans moved away from the African continent because the lack of precipitation made it increasingly inhospitable. With no water, life became impossible.

Here are three more examples of how droughts changed entire societies:

1.   A 2013 report in the National Geographic Magazine concluded it was not civil strife that led to the fall of the pharaohs in Egypt about 4,500 years ago. It was chronic drought.

2.   The Mayan empire in Mexico was experiencing rapid growth about 1,200 years ago. But then drought set in. According to NASA, with drought and dwindling water supplies, crops failed and wars with neighboring nations over water began. This eventually led to the Mayan civilization's demise.

3.   In the U.S., the drought of the mid-1930s drove 2 million people off their land in the Midwest. This period was referred to as the Dust Bowl. However, something else happened during the Dust Bowl that is rarely reported, also causing people to leave this area of the country.

According to the American Red Cross, the arid conditions resulted in the spread of acute infections and diseases. They reported a 100 percent increase in pneumonia cases and acute respiratory infections. Due to all the airborne dust, there was also a steep jump in the number of people diagnosed with eye ulcers and serious eye infections.

The question we all need to ask ourselves now is whether we are living in another era that will result in extensive hardship, potential deaths, and the migration of people out of very dry areas of the country into those with more precipitation. After all, California is now reporting the worst drought in 1,200 years.

The only option we have to combat the effects of drought is to use water more efficiently and find ways to not use water at all. Waterless urinals are one example of a technology that has eliminated water use entirely. We need more technologies introduced that do the same.

Klaus Reichardt is CEO and founder of Waterless Co, Inc, pioneers in advancing water efficiency.  Reichardt founded the company in 1991 with the goal of establishing a new market segment in the plumbing fixture industry with water efficiency in mind. Reichardt is a frequent writer and presenter, discussing water conservation issues.  He can be reached at klaus@waterless.com

Wall Street Journal: Droughts Hurt World Economies

CNN - A dried up river in China

>Severe droughts across stretching from California to Europe and China—are snarling supply chains and driving up the prices of food and energy.

>Parts of China are experiencing their longest sustained heat wave since record-keeping began in 1961.

>The drought affecting Spain, Portugal, France, and Italy is on track to be the worst in five hundred years

>In the American West, a drought that began two decades ago now appears to be the worst in 1,200 years, according to a study led by the University of California, Los Angeles.

>The United Nations says the number of droughts worldwide has risen 29% since 2000 because of land degradation and climate change.

>In the U.S., agricultural forecasters expect farmers to lose more than 40% of the cotton crop, while in Europe the Spanish olive-oil harvest is expected to fall by as much as a third amid hot and dry conditions.

>In Europe, rivers such as the Rhine and Italy’s Po that serve as arteries for trade are running at historic lows, forcing manufacturers to cut shipments.

>Heat has forced France to lower production at several nuclear reactors because the river water that cools them is too warm. And Germany, Europe’s biggest consumer of Russian gas, plans to burn more coal instead of gas to generate electricity, but low levels on the Rhine are holding back shipments.

>In the U.S., smaller snowpacks in the Sierra Nevada mountains of California have sharply reduced water supplies in the region, home to the country’s largest agriculture industry.

>The Colorado River has fallen so much that the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation on Aug. 16 declared a second consecutive annual shortage, triggering a second straight year of mandatory water cuts to Arizona, Nevada, and Mexico.

“Our only option at this point is enhanced water efficiency,” Klaus Reichardt

Read the entire article here, may require sign-in: Droughts Hurt World’s Largest Economies - WSJ

What A Cleaning Expert has to Say About Cleaning Waterless Urinals

Ben Walker is a well-known and very respected cleaning consultant. He and his company, Management, Inc., work with large facilities and contract cleaning companies all over the world, helping them streamline cleaning operations, improve efficiencies, and reduce cleaning-related costs.

A few years back, his company was hired to help streamline cleaning operations for a new, exceptionally large, state-of-the-art building in San Diego, CA.

As he was touring the facility for the first time, he noticed something in the restrooms he had never seen before: waterless urinals. He was told they were installed because they can help reduce water consumption dramatically, as much as 35,000 gallons (about 132489.35 L) of water per year per urinal. In thirsty California, as well as many other western states, waterless urinals are now commonplace. In 2006, not so much.

Walker says that as far as cleaning and maintenance in the new building, everything was going perfectly – at least initially. The client was happy as were the building’s tenants. But by the third month, problems developed. The waterless urinals that the building proudly installed were releasing pungent odors that could be sniffed throughout the facility.

“This was a problem I had never faced before,” says Walker. And it was not just Walker. “I found…the custodial crew members [were also] struggling to keep the new waterless urinals clean, but a very pungent odor was beginning to overtake the facility.” 

What Walker later found out was that while waterless urinals offer “huge benefits,” as he called them, allowing organizations to meet their sustainably needs, they have their own cleaning requirements, many of which differ from the ways traditional, water using urinals are cleaned.

"While the cleaning procedure for waterless urinals isn’t difficult, they have additional process that managers need to be aware of.” 

Now aware of this, among his suggestions to managers and cleaning professionals are the following:

Read the cleaning instructions. Most manufacturers provide cleaning instructions with the waterless urinals. All too often, no one reads those instructions until a problem arises. Those problems usually can be eliminated if the instructions are read before any cleaning is performed.

Make sure the staff is using the proper cleaning solutions recommended by the manufacturer and that the chemicals are diluted properly. Some brands may require specific cleaning solutions; however, most waterless urinals can be cleaned using traditional cleaning solutions such as all-purpose cleaners, sanitizers, and disinfectants.

Keep the cleaning solutions from draining into the cartridge at the bottom of the urinal. The cartridge serves an especially important function. It helps prevent sewer odors – such as those this building in San Diego was having – from escaping into the building. If the cleaning solution fills the cartridge, it could reduce its effectiveness. To prevent this from happening, remove the cartridge when cleaning. (NOTE: This is Walker’s advice. This may not be necessary with all waterless urinals).

Wipe the urinal cleaning from the down. Also, use a cotton cloth or microfiber towel. Some cleaning professionals use paper towels. Paper towels are good for drying hands but not effective in cleaning, including cleaning waterless urinals.

Finally, take note as to when the cartridge was installed. Some cartridges have a noticeably short lifespan, two or three months.

Our comment: Interestingly, these short-lived cartridges are often the most expensive. The cartridges installed in urinals manufactured by Waterless Co., Inc, are inexpensive and can last as long as six months. Further, waterless urinals from Waterless Co., come with a unique key that can be used to quickly remove the cartridge when it needs to be changed.

Finally, determining when the cartridge needs to be changed can be subjective. Cleaning professionals should conduct a sniff test every time they clean a restroom where waterless urinals are installed. After two to six months, depending on what type of cartridge is installed, an odor may become noticeable. That means it is time to change the cartridges. Have more cartridges in the supply cabinet to remove the old unit and install a new one, in seconds.

Waterless Co., Inc Made It Again: Best Waterless Urinal Sold in America

The Baja Urinal from Waterless.com

You likely have heard of them. The design firm, Hernandez Greene, a design firm founded by Katrina Hernandez and Josh Greene, has been featured in the New York Times, Architectural Digest, House Beautiful, and several European architectural and home decor publications.

While writing about many things, they tend to focus on trends in restrooms and bathrooms. For instance, some of their past articles are entitled:

  • The 10 Best One-Piece Toilets

  • The 7 Best Drop-in Bathtubs

  • The Top 5 Ove Décor Toilets (These are oval smart toilets.)

  • And for those that can afford them, The 10 Best Clawfoot Tubs


    And now, Hernandez Greene has listed The Top 6 Best Waterless Urinals. Published in March 2022:

Modern-day toilets and flushed urinals are highly water-consuming bathroom fixtures. Most conventional urinals use between 1 and 3 gallons of water a day.

And if you consider that an average human pees 6 to 7 times a day, that [uses] 6 to 21 gallons of water every time. This may seem unacceptable for the planet. However, we cannot ignore hygiene and cleanliness. Thanks to new technological innovations, waterless urinals are the solution to high water consumption in bathrooms.

To ensure that readers know what waterless urinals are, the firm explains that waterless urinals “are also known as dry urinals. They require accessibility to drainage networks and are suitable for public places with heavy traffic. Waterless urinals save water, reduce the water bill, and are hygienic. When well-maintained, they are odorless, have few bacteria, and minimal maintenance costs.”

With that said, we can get to the nitty-gritty. According to the design firm, the top waterless urinal now available — based on its environmental consciousness, energy savings, ease of use, and overall quality — is the Baja Waterless Urinal from Waterless Co.

While the Baja model is certainly not new, it is an “innovative” urinary system and, while it is made for installation in commercial facilities, “considered one of the best waterless urinals by many homeowners.”

According to their website:

The Baja’s waterless urinal technology works in a way whereby the liquid is concentrated in a special cartridge known as the EcoTrap cartridge and remains blocked without risk of rising. The urinal is water-effective and reduces water, maintenance, and repair bills.

It is also pointed out that with the Baja, foul odors are blocked from entering the bathroom/restroom, which “guarantees an odor-free atmosphere in the bathroom.”

Maintenance of the Baja Waterless Urinal typically requires no more than misting with a cleaning solution or disinfectant and then wiping clean. As to the EcoTrap cartridge mentioned earlier, it is placed at the bottom of the urinal. “Replacing it is easily done and is only required once every 1,500 uses, about two to four times a year.”

Thank you, Hernandez Greene, for listing us as the Top Waterless Urinal available. However, you are not the first. This model has been honored many times before as the best or one of the best no-water urinals now available. Still, we do appreciate your review.

More raves about the Baja can be found here.

Waterless Co. is a pioneer in water efficiency. To discuss ways to reduce water consumption in your facility, visit www.waterless.com

Comparing Waterless and Flush Urinals When It Comes to Odor

Since the first of the year, we have seen an upsurge in orders for waterless urinals. What appears to be happening is more areas around the country are experiencing water shortages or expect to experience water shortages. 

Further, in worst-case scenarios, such as in California and other western states, aridification has set in. This is the process of the region becoming increasingly dry and often hotter as well.

An old question frequently arises when facilities select no-water urinals: Do waterless urinals release more odors than water-flush urinals? 

Because of this, we are reprinting the following article, which appeared in Facilities Net magazine. 

Two engineers, Doug Yon and David Cossaboon, wrote it. Both are with www.feapc.com and are members of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers. 

Here is what they have to say:

The University of South Maine offers an example of implementing this technology and demonstrating it as a viable alternative. The university retrofitted diverse types of waterless urinals in about ten of their thirty buildings as of 2005. The university found that waterless urinals were easier to keep clean and created fewer odors than conventional urinals.

Odor issues typically result from poor cleaning or the need to change liquids or cartridges more regularly. In fact, the university found the touch-free nature of the urinals was a plus.

A study performed at the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) to determine how odors differed between waterless and traditional urinals found odors were more a function of urine on floors and surrounding surfaces than the type of urinal.

The study included a section that evaluated odor proliferation from waterless and conventional, flush-valve urinals. Sensors were located on each urinal at three locations: inside and immediately above the bottom; six inches in front of each urinal and level with the bowl lip; and at ceiling height near a return-air vent.

The study concluded no statistically significant differences in odor existed between the two urinal types.

In general, waterless urinals have been better-received and maintained in office environments and higher-education institutions. Installing a test fixture might benefit other areas, including high-traffic locations, settings prone to vandalism and fixture abuse, and K-12 schools.

Another consideration when installing waterless urinals is the professional training of custodial and maintenance personnel. Training will primarily affect the custodial staff because proper cleaning is the key to waterless urinal maintenance.

Staff training should occur before and after installation to alert workers to changes in cleaning and maintenance procedures, including replacing or cleaning cartridges.

Managers will have to determine if waterless urinals are suitable for their buildings. When considering the installation of these urinals, it is essential to identify the products' location and whether installation truly will be cost-effective and environmentally beneficial.

Finally, research has shown waterless urinals are just one way to become more environmentally responsible.

If a facility manager is seriously considering taking positive steps toward creating a water-efficient building, engaging a qualified consulting-engineering service can help evaluate, design, and implement potential water-efficient technologies and strategies.

waterless.com
 
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