The Sustainable Sanitation and Water Management Toolbox

The Sustainable Sanitation and Water Management Toolbox (SSWM) is essentially an online library providing advice on how to handle many different types of sanitation and water-related problems, especially for third-world and developing countries.

In May 2019, they published a study, produced by the Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology, essentially covering the advantages and disadvantages of waterless urinals. Introducing their report, they said very simply that:

A urinal is used only for collecting urine. Urinals are generally for men, although models for women have also been developed. Most urinals use water for flushing, but waterless urinals are becoming increasingly popular. This is the reason for our investigation.

With that, we report their findings: 

The advantages of installing waterless urinals

• Waterless urinals do not require a constant source of water

• Can be built and repaired with locally available materials

• Low capital and operating costs

• Waterless urinals produce fewer odors than urinals with water flush and also have no problems with urinal cakes (odor and urinal cakes occur when urine is mixed with water)

• Waterless urinals contribute to water saving at the highest possible degree

• Waterless urinals allow the pure and undiluted collection of urine for reuse, e.g., as fertilizer in urban farming

Disadvantages of installing waterless urinals

• In case of replacement of the odor trap seal, the maintenance staff needs to be instructed on how to replace the seal when necessary and how to wash the fixture. However, no skilled personnel are required

• The use of microbial blocks may cause pollution problems in case of reuse of urine in agriculture and is therefore not recommended

• Problems with odors may occur if not used and maintained correctly

• Models for women are not widely available

While none of our other blogs discuss no-water urinals for women, many of them do discuss the importance of proper custodial training on how to clean and maintain no-water urinals.  This appears to be an ongoing problem but in reality it can be handled so easily. Some cleaning solutions need only to be sprayed on the waterless urinals. The solution dissolves soils and contaminants, no wiping or scrubbing is necessary.  The process helps keep both the waterless urinals and the entire restroom fresh, clean, and odor-free.

The Waterless Co blog is where building owners and managers find expert, practical advice on ways to reduce water consumption and to help use water more efficiently. Our goal is to protect our most valuable natural resources, help facilities reduce their water consumption and water-related costs, and operate in a more environmentally responsible and sustainable manner. For more information, contact us at 1-800-244-6264

Finding the Real Restroom Odor Culprits

Let’s face it. For the past hundred years or so we have grown accustomed to the idea that urinals, and their immediate surroundings, produce odors. Facility managers and maintenance crews have battled this issue for years.

In well-maintained buildings and restrooms, the areas around urinals, especially the floor in front of the urinal as well as walls and dividers, have been given special and regular cleaning attention, all in a focused effort to reduce odors.  However, this has not always proven successful, and the malodors persist.

And today with increased water costs and the need to reduce water consumption, we are dealing with a new situation that will likely also impact restroom odors, related explicitly to urinals.  With traditional flushing urinals, the water released by the urinal dilutes the urine in the bowl.  This helps eliminate odors.

But when water efficiency and water conservation efforts are put in place, and the water used per flush is reduced, the concentration of urine in the bowl increases along with the potential for odors.

Because no-water urinals use, as the name implies, no water whatsoever, many people initially believe that a urinal without water will produce odors.  If there are odors in a restroom where no-water urinals are installed, the first assumption tends to be it “must be those urinals.” But as shown above, other locations around a urinal are most often the culprit.

Where waterless urinals differ from flushed units is that instead of using water to carry urine out of the bowl, leaving wet surfaces, non-water urinals have a cartridge insert in which floats a sealing liquid. Once the urine flows into this cartridge, as long as the sealing liquid in the cartridge is present, there cannot be any odors.  This also allows for the urinal to stay dry.  Bacteria, which typically are what produces odors in a urinal, cannot grow because there is no moisture.  As a result, no bacteria growth, no malodors.

This leads us to another benefit of waterless urinals as well. For the maintenance and custodial crew, a waterless urinal tends to be easier to clean than a traditional, flush urinal.  This is because water and water residue inside the urinal bowl and around the rims are dry, so no residue develops.

While we will likely continue to have restroom odor problems, even in the best of situations, at least we know to look beyond the urinals, especially the no-water urinal.  In many cases, the real odor causing culprits have nothing to do with the urinal at all.