How an Architect Prevented a Client from Doing His “Business” Outside

Rachel Wray Thompson is an architect living and working in Chicago. A few years back, she was working with a client who “insisted on having a urinal in his home.” It was the first time she had ever received this request, and her client was adamant about it. “He said if he did not get a home urinal, he’d do his business outside just to avoid wasting water.”

Well, she did not want that. Further, it did not take long for her to realize she was working with a real “tree hugger.” So, Thompson said that going forward, everything she suggested for this client’s home, from the walls, floors, and appliances, would be as green and environmentally responsible as possible.

As far as the urinal, she had to do a little research. Installing a water-using urinal would not work for the simple reason that it still used water. Even the low-flow models used more water than she believed her client would like.

So, she turned her focus to waterless urinals. “Most of these fixtures rely on a liquid that floats at the top of the trapway [cylinder] at the base of the urinal,” said Thompson. “This liquid is less dense than urine and therefore allows the urine to drain through, while the trapping liquid stays on top.”

The trapping liquid, she soon learned, provides a barrier that blocks odors from entering the bathroom and “keeps everything tidy and clean.” BlueSeal, marketed by Waterless CO., Inc, is an example of just such a “trapping liquid.”

Further, she found that because the urinal dries out between uses, “waterless urinals can actually be more sanitary than conventional urinals.”

So, if a waterless urinal uses no water, it passes that test, but how much water does it really save?

Thompson said she did a little research and discovered that if there are two males in a home, and each uses the urinal three times per day, “a waterless urinal will replace about 2,040 toilet flushes per year.”

Taking this a step further, that translates into an annual water savings of about 3,250 gallons of water, even more, if there are more males in the household.

With facts in hand, she presented the numbers to her client, who was extremely excited. This was genuine water savings, “something he could tell all his friends and write home about.”

Since then, Thompson says that while this was her first request for a home urinal, it certainly has not been her last.

“They’re getting kind of trendy. They [waterless urinals] really do not cost that much to purchase or install. I’m actually a bit surprised we don’t get more requests for them. They can put a real dent in the monthly water bill.”

The “Marriage Saver” in the Bathroom

While everything started OK, eventually a husband and wife in Indiana reached a roadblock when it came to remodeling their master bathroom.

Photo by Obi Onyeador on Unsplash

At first, the wife said she wanted everything white—white walls, countertops, floors, and fixtures—to which the husband, grudgingly, said OK.

As to those floors, the wife wanted them heated. A surprisingly inexpensive luxury, which the husband liked as well. So, the heated floors were agreed upon.

Finally, the wife said she did not want a bathtub. She said she could not even remember the last time she took a bath. Instead, she wanted a large walk-in shower, with a bench no less. The husband, who also could not remember the last time he took a bath, agreed to this as well.

Then the husband had a request. He wanted a home urinal installed in the master bath. It would be white, just like all the other fixtures, so it should fit the décor. However, the wife did not like this idea at all.

“I had to draw the line,” she said. “I’ve never even seen a home urinal before. And because we plan to move in a couple of years, I’m concerned it could make it harder to sell the house.”

This disagreement was going nowhere and was holding up the remodel of the bathroom. To help move things along, they turned to their plumber for answers, who by now assumed the role of marriage saver. Here’s what he had to say

First, he said he’s not taking any sides. “It's not my job to say who is right or wrong. I’m just going to tell you what I know based on my own experience.”

With this disclaimer, he agreed that home urinals were still a rarity, but “I have never heard of anyone saying they would not buy a house because it had a home urinal. I think many people might like a home with its own urinal, because it makes their house different from all the others on the block.”

He added that many “green” home builders are now installing urinals in their homes. “If it’s a waterless urinal, it’ll save thousands of gallons of water per year. That’s a big selling point for people that want an environmentally responsible home.”

The wife was still not enthusiastic. She wanted to know what a home urinal looked like. The marriage saver (aka plumber) said, “many have neutral colors to match just about any bathroom layout. As far as sticking out like a sore thumb, that won’t be an issue.”

Baja #2104 Waterless Touch-Free Urinals

Looking a bit more relaxed about the issue, she asked how much it would cost to install a home urinal. The wife figured if it were a significant added expense, that would be “end of discussion.” She would argue the added cost would make it prohibitive.

To her surprise, the marriage saver indicated the urinal would likely cost less than a toilet, and “if it's a waterless urinal, the installation and plumbing costs are negligible.”

She was almost sold, but then one more concern came up: “How do you clean it?” she asked.

Once again, the marriage saver had a quick answer. If a water-using urinal is installed, he said, it would be cleaned just like the toilet. “However, with a waterless urinal, other than changing the cylinder at the base of the urinal every few months, which is a relatively quick and easy thing to do, cleaning a waterless urinal is the same as cleaning a countertop, simply spray and wipe.”

His final comment: “Bottom line: I’m nicely suggesting that you ‘go with the flow’ and install a waterless urinal in your new bathroom.”

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WATERLESS is the go-to company when it comes to reducing water consumption, understanding the many benefits of waterless urinals, and finding ways to use water more efficiently. For more information, contact a Waterless Co Specialist.

Uncovering Water Efficiency in Different Types of Buildings

Different types of commercial buildings use water differently, and this can vary considerably. However, being aware of this is the first step to using water more efficiently, referring to long-term water-use reduction.

For instance, at least 95 percent of the water used for washing cars is in the car-wash process. The remainder, about 5 percent, is used in the car wash’s restrooms.

This means that if a car wash wanted to find ways to use water more efficiently, it would need to focus primarily on the car-washing method. Possibly it could do the following:

• Install water recycling systems, now commonly used in car washes.

• Increase the conveyor speed that moves cars through a car wash. This would allow more cars to be washed, using less water.

• Install high-pressure nozzles that use less water but are still effective at removing soil and debris from the exterior of cars.

Let’s look at some other types of facilities, see where they use most of their water, and offer some suggestions as to how they could reduce consumption:

Office Buildings

Restroom, cooling, heating, and landscaping consume about 90 percent of the water used in a typical office building. Water-efficiency measures for office buildings would include the following:

Photo by Eric Sharp on Unsplash

·        Restroom fixture replacement. As fixtures age, they may be using more water than designed. Further, newer fixtures are available that use even less water than those  a few years ago or, when it comes to urinals, no water at all.

·        Cooling tower retrofits. One of the big problems with cooling towers is that much of the water evaporates in the cooling process. Newer systems have minimized this problem and also recycle more water.

·        Tenant education programs. One of the best ways to use water more efficiently is to engage tenants. Education programs and messaging have been amazingly effective in reducing water consumption in office buildings.

There are other ways office buildings can reduce water used for irrigation. These run the gamut of using a weather/moisture-based irrigation system to transferring to native landscaping, which tends to require less water.

Schools

More than half the water used in schools is used in restrooms. The remaining consumption is divided up between landscaping and cooling.

All the office building steps to reduce water consumption can apply to schools as well. However, it is often recommended to take one further action in schools that is not necessarily water-related. Because the flush handles on urinals are repeatedly vandalized in schools, administrators are encouraged to install waterless urinals. These have no flush handles, virtually eliminating this problem.

Photo by Graham Ruttan on Unsplash

Hospitals

Large hospitals often use vast volumes of water. It is estimated that 40 percent of this water is used in public and patient restrooms. The rest is used by x-ray machines, sterilization of medical equipment, laundry, cooling, and landscaping.

As to the medical use of water, manufacturers are introducing new systems that can reduce water consumption and still meet necessary and regulatory guidelines to protect human health. As to restrooms and bathrooms, the water-reduction step discussed earlier applies here as well.

Restaurants

About half of the water used in restaurants is used in the kitchen for cooking and washing. One third is used in restrooms and the remainder for cooling and landscaping.

Water-efficient kitchen appliances are now helping to reduce water consumption in kitchens. Further, water use “best practices” have been introduced, teaching kitchen staff how to perform their duties properly while still using less water.

Once again, all the already mentioned measures that apply to office buildings, schools, and hospitals would apply here as well.

If you look at this list, it is clear that different facilities use water differently. However, except for car washes, one-third to one-half of the water used in a facility is used in restrooms. This is why restrooms should be the first place to look when it comes to using water more efficiently.

In some buildings, just transferring from flush urinals to no-water urinals is all that is required to reduce water consumption dramatically.

For more information on how to reduce water consumption, waterless urinals, and to use water more efficiently, contact a Waterless Co Specialist

Water Sustainability: Time to Bring it Back

COVID-19 has taken the wind out of school budgets. All the plans made a year ago were soon out the window as schools around the country began to grapple with the pandemic. Planned purchases were canceled, as were school classes. While some schools did open, in many cases it was short-lived due to new waves of the pandemic.

However, it looks like in 2021, with the introduction of vaccines, things will be better. At the very least, the vaccines may bring some stability so that schools can plan a budget and stick with it, and even more critical, open their doors and stay open.

However, financially, they may be harder pressed than ever before. They will need to find more ways to reduce costs, especially when it comes to operating budgets. While it may be overlooked, one way school districts can reduce operating costs is to reduce water consumption. Districts pay for water in two different and very distinct ways:

1. The actual charges for the water by the utility company.

2. The charges for the tremendous amount of energy it takes to pump, deliver, remove, and treat the water.

In all too many cases, it is this second charge—for the energy needed to transport and treat water—that is the major cost we pay for water. Further, many districts may not even be aware of this.

To reduce costs, we need to reduce water consumption, which means we need to bring back water sustainability, something that has also fallen by the wayside due to the pandemic. But first, to begin the process, let us define what we mean by water sustainability. A working definition follows:

As it applies to schools, water sustainability is the minimization of water consumption by making changes in the behaviors of school water users and the introduction and application of water efficiency technologies.

Changing Behaviors

Re-instituting water sustainability into schools may be easier than we think, even though it has taken a temporary back seat to the pandemic. Younger people remain very sustainability-focused and, according to Deloitte’s 2020 Global Millennial Survey, which had millennials and Gen Zs in 43 countries participating, these people, “are deeply affected by the pandemic but seem able to see opportunity in the darkness. [They are] hoping for a better world to emerge after the COVID-19 pandemic releases its grip on society [and] they want to lead the change.”

How can we help them accomplish this? Among the steps that can be taken are the following:

· Create an online log where students and staff can report damaged or leaking water-using fixtures and appliances. We need to make it easy to “see something, say something.” More about water leaks later.

· Hold meetings and discuss with students and staff how they can reduce water consumption in the school.

· Create school-wide, realistic water-reduction goals.

· Teach water sustainability and its importance to the school and the community.

· Encourage children to start water projects, such as finding ways to capture rainwater for irrigation and re-use gray water.

· Discuss how climate change is impacting water sustainability and availability.

· Make the most of messaging. Create banners, posters, and colorful signs encouraging water conservation and water efficiency (long-term water conservation).

· Update water-reduction progress. Improvements tend to encourage more improvements.

· Honor those that come up with “bright ideas” to help reduce water consumption.  Once again, this encourages improvements.

· Teach students and staff how to read water meters. At first view, these meters appear to be overly complicated. However, a closer examination—with explanation—helps students understand what the meters are reporting. The goal here is to make water consumption more transparent.

Invariably, once these programs begin, new ideas evolve. Sustainability, whether it involves water, energy, fuel, or any other metric, is always a journey and new ideas invariably develop while on that journey.

Water Efficiency Technologies

Installing water-reducing technologies can cost money. Because of this, schools need to consider three things:

·    Amount of money they can spend now for new technologies that reduce water consumption

·    Areas of the school in which they can get the most bang for their water-reducing buck

·    Return on the investment of these new technologies

For instance, installing new heating and cooling systems may not be feasible due to costs. Additionally, new landscaping that requires less water may also prove too costly at this juncture.

In many cases, schools can get the most “bang for the buck” by focusing on restrooms. In fact, in inner-city schools, most of the water consumed is in restrooms. In suburban schools, it may be second only to irrigation.

So, what can we do? Among the steps are the following:

·    Conduct a water-leak audit. This can be done by in-house staffers.  In the average home, 10,000 gallons of water are wasted each year due to leaks. This gives you an idea of just how many thousands of gallons of water are wasted in schools each year.

·    Install water aerators in all faucets everywhere in the school. Very inexpensive, these can slow down water use from 2.2 gallons per minute to less than 1.5. The return on the investment (ROI) of aerators is very quick.

·    Install dual-control toilets. These are designed to use about one gallon of water per flush. ROI can vary due to many factors but is usually two to three years.

·    Install “high efficiency kits” designed to reduce water consumption in toilets.

·    Install low-flow or no-water urinals. Some schools prefer no-water urinals, also known as waterless urinals, because they typically cost less to purchase and install; the return on the investment is faster, usually less than two years; and each urinal eliminates the use of about 35,000 gallons of water annually.

·    Place containers under drinking fountains and taps to collect water. This water can be used for irrigation.

·    Related to this, water reclamation systems are now available that can be installed under sinks. Costs can vary, which means the ROI can vary. But these units may be able to transfer as much as 6,000 gallons of water that would normally go down the drain for re-use as irrigation.

·    While costs may make it prohibitive to replace heating and cooling systems, these units should be checked each year to see that they are using water as efficiently as possible.

Finally, when it comes to water-reducing technologies, do not go it alone. Work with local water experts and plumbers to find out what systems are available that can most expeditiously, and cost-effectively, reduce consumption in your school. Also, learn what other school districts are doing to reduce water consumption. Learning from each other is one of the best ways to make water sustainability work.

Getting to Know BlueSeal®

It is not until a waterless urinal is purchased that most new customers learn about how vital the sealant liquid, for example, BlueSeal, is to ensure that the no-water urinal functions properly. So, we thought we would take a few minutes to explain precisely what a sealant liquid is, what it does, and why it is so important.

Let’s begin:

• While not all waterless urinals are the same, most do require the use of a “sealant liquid.” That is exactly what BlueSeal is. It may also go by other names such as “blocking fluid” or “trap liquid.”

• This sealant liquid, as we will refer to it here, is typically made of various commercial natural oils, most of which are biodegradable. This means that when released as waste, they are capable of decomposing back into a natural state.

• About three ounces of the sealant liquid are poured into the cylinder inserted at the base of the urinal over the drain. This cylinder is also known as the trap or cartridge.

• The liquid sealant has a specific gravity less than water. Explaining what “specific gravity” means can be a bit complicated. However, what we need to know is that it is lighter than urine. As a result, it floats on top of the urine. Doing so allows it to form a barrier that contains the urine below the sealant, preventing sewer odors from being released into the restroom.

• This means that as the waterless urinal is used, the urine flows through the sealant and down the sewer drain.

• The BlueSeal sealant liquid has zero evaporation at 100 degrees (F) and does not freeze above -70 degrees (F). This means it remains stable and can work effectively in most all settings and climates.

• Over time, urine sediment and other debris from the urinal slowly collect in the cylinder. This is normal because the cylinder works like a filter.

• With each use of the urinal, a small amount of the sealing liquid gets carried down the drain and more sealant will need to be added. Eventually, however, the cylinder will need to be replaced with a new unit and fresh sealant liquid

• How often the cylinder needs to be replaced depends very much on the brand of waterless urinal selected. For instance, with some brands, the cylinder lasts only two or three months. With others, the cylinder can last several months before the cylinder liquid needs to be replaced.

So, there you have it, the basics of what a sealant liquid, in this case, Blueseal, is all about. It serves a vital purpose, ensuring restrooms stay clean, healthy, and odor free. Plus, the product is made of all-natural ingredients, ensuring it is not harmful to people or the environment.

For more information on how to reduce water consumption, waterless urinals, and to use water more efficiently, contact a Waterless Co Specialist

Smart Toilets May Be Coming Sooner than You Think

For years, former Microsoft CEO Bill Gates has been calling for the development of low-cost, highly efficient toilets that can be installed just about anywhere in the world. These toilets would help improve sanitation, protect human health, and use water more efficiently.

While he has been singing this tune for quite some time, the key improvements and advances in toilets in recent years have primarily been designed to pamper the user. Heated seats, built-in bidets, motorized seats that “remember” each user’s preferred position on the toilet, voice controls, and calming music are undoubtedly lovely, but they won’t do much to protect human health.

The pandemic has changed all that. What are called “smart” toilets have been introduced, designed to provide a window on the health of the people who use them in communities worldwide.

Note: This is not a smart toilet. Photo by Lazar Gugleta on Unsplash

This means that if the waste from toilets installed, for instance, in parts of Africa revealed abnormalities such as unusual viruses, germs, and other pathogens, public health officials could be called in to analyze the data. Their job would be to determine why this is happening, if these abnormalities are widespread and impacting the health of many people in that area, and if so, what steps are necessary to address it, potentially stopping a pandemic long before it has a chance to take root.

“If we could get this data from a toilet, I think it would be incredible,” says Sameer Berry, a Los Angeles–based gastroenterologist. “The opportunities are endless.”

Others agree with him. That’s why a consortium of businesses and nonprofits worldwide has started something called the Toilet Board Coalition. The Coalition’s goal is to provide health officials with evidence of a disease long before it becomes a full-blown disaster. This possibly could have even given us a heads-up about the coronavirus.

While it is not widely reported, scientists in Montana found traces of the pathogens that cause the coronavirus in wastewater in late 2019. This could have been considered an abnormality, the term used earlier, and prompted a further investigation. This investigation could have helped us prepare for the virus. In this case, however, it was too late. The virus had already arrived. The scientist concluded that these early traces of the virus were from the human waste of either asymptomatic people, those who had very mild cases of the disease or thought it was the flu, when in reality, it was COVID.

Now, due to the pandemic, all types of companies are becoming interested in developing smart toilets. Google, for instance, was recently granted a patent for a toilet that “assesses human physiological systems using noninvasive sensors.” These smart toilets can take someone’s temperature while they are using the toilet, measure cardiovascular health, and “test a person’s heart to see if their heart is healthy,” according to the patent.

But that’s just the beginning.  Other systems now developed or on the way have optical sensors that determine what type of waste is in the toilet, liquid or solid, looking for abnormalities such as color and stool consistency.

Taking this a step further, some toilets can now detect fingerprints. They identify each user by their fingerprints on the flush handle and, using that information, can detect any abnormalities this person might have, such as blood in the urine or the presence of unusual bacteria in waste.

It’s expected that we will find these smart toilets being installed soon in many parts of the world, except for one. “People, particularly in the U.S., are very squeamish and skittish about talking about their excreta,” says Vikram Kashyap, founder and CEO of a San Francisco startup called Toi Labs. Something that he says is less of a problem in other parts of the world.

Further, he says there are privacy concerns. However, due to the pandemic, he believes that even in the U.S., people may welcome smart toilets if they can help fight disease, give people more awareness as to their own health, and help prevent another pandemic.

For water conservation tips, please visit https://porch.com/advice/water-conservation-tips.

For more information on how to reduce water consumption, waterless urinals, and to use water more efficiently, contact a Waterless Co Specialist

Why Are Water Stains Different Colors?

In an earlier blog, we discussed the benefits and potential problems caused by hard water. One of the advantages we mentioned is that drinking hard water can be good for you. It contains nutrients possibly lacking from our diets.

However, hard water can also cause various plumbing-related problems, including spots and stains on toilets, sinks, and urinals.

But whether your water is hard or soft, over time, it can discolor sinks, tubs, toilets, and urinals. There are many causes of these water spots and stains, and their color is a big help in diagnosing the problem. For instance:

·     If the stains are blue-green, they are most likely caused by corrosion of copper in the pipes.

·     If the stains are yellow, tan, brown, orange, or red, that indicates metals other than copper are in the water.

·     Black stains are an indication that magnesium or other metals are in the water.

·     Red stains are typically caused by excess iron.

Now, before we place all the blame for discoloration on the metals in water, we need to understand they are not the only culprit. Instead, it is when these metals are exposed to oxygen—a process known as oxidation—that the staining process begins.

We should also mention that when certain types of bacteria in water are mixed with oxygen, they can also discolor fixtures. Typically, this bacterium is not harmful if consumed, but it thrives in water that contains high levels of iron and magnesium.

Removing Spots and Stains

Before we explore removing spots and stains, we should discuss the difference between these two terms. Spots on a carpet, for instance, or on a restroom fixture, are typically not hard to remove. There are several commercial cleaning products available, for instance, that remove water spots on fixtures quickly and safely, without leaving any residue or creating any new problems.

But spill some bleach on a dark carpet and invariably it will dry leaving a stain that is virtually impossible to remove. This is true of most stains.  They typically become permanent.

Now that we understand the difference between spots and stains, we can better understand why most stains caused by hard water can be exceedingly difficult to remove from fixtures. Further, the removal process can cause its own set of problems, such as leaving scratch marks on the fixture, streaks, or discoloring.

The goal is to prevent them in the first place.  Fortunately, technologies are available that can remove these mineral deposits from the water before the water enters the facility. Once removed, the possibility of staining is dramatically reduced.

Further, while water staining can be a very unsightly problem with flush urinals, it is not an issue with waterless urinals for the apparent reason, these urinals use no water at all.

We should also note that hard water can cause flush valves in water-using urinals to fail. This is because the hard water can leave residue on key components, causing the value to leak or cause overflows.

And one more thing. While flush urinals typically require some scrubbing to remove stains and residue buildup, this is generally not the case with no-water urinals. In general, they are cleaned as we would clean most any surface: the cleaning solution is applied to all areas of the waterless urinal and then wiped clean. That’s it.

What the Pandemic Has Taught Us About Restrooms

Waterless Co., Inc Releases White Paper Discussing the Future of Restrooms

Waterless Co., Inc., the oldest and one of the largest manufacturers of no-water urinals in North America published a White Paper today, highlighting the impact the coronavirus will have on restroom design in the coming years.

The White Paper, “What the Pandemic Has Taught Us About Restrooms,” outlines current public restroom design and fixture issues and why they may need to be changed to protect public health.

For instance, in August 2020, a major U.S. news outlet reported that “flushing urinals can release clouds of virus-containing aerosols that [pose] a significant concern during the COVID-19 pandemic.” 1

This is based on a study published by researchers at China’s Yangzhou University, which reported that “more than 57 percent of these [aerosols] can travel from the urinal… and can reach a man’s thigh in 5.5 seconds.”

According to Klaus Reichardt, CEO and Founder of Waterless Co., Inc, these “virus-containing aerosols” are called “plume” and are typically associated with toilets.

“However, now we know flush urinals can also release this dangerous plume. To address this, more low flow or more likely, no-water urinals will likely be installed in coming years.  These help minimize or eliminate urinal plume.” 

The White Paper also discusses other items in public restrooms that may need to be changed or eliminated in coming years due to COVID:

·        Electric hand dryers because they may be releasing germs and bacteria into the air when used.

·        Improving traffic flow by having separate entries and exits.

·        Placing double-sided sink counters in the center of restrooms to minimize congestion and improve social distancing

·        Selecting cartridge soap dispensers to ensure hand soap is not contaminated

·        Placing more handwashing messaging in public restrooms.

“This last point is more important than we may realize,” adds Reichardt. “An April 2020 report by the BBC found that restroom users are more motivated to wash their hands when they see restroom posters reminding them to do so.”

The White Paper is available now for download.

Key segments will also be placed on LinkedIn.

1 “Urinals May Spread Coronavirus, Study Finds,” Fox News, August 19, 2020

Is There a Water Rebate Program Near You?

The number of states and cities offering rebates to install water-reducing fixtures, such as Waterless urinals, varies year after year.

In most cases, the rebates are designed to expire after two to five years. Sometimes they are renewed; other times, they are not. Further, some states in the country have never had a rebate program for water-reducing fixtures. However, once they experience a drought or a water shortage, they typically begin one.  

The point of this is that these programs are not set in stone. They do come and go.  Also, be aware of the following:

·       In some states, only certain cities or water districts within those states have a water-related rebate program. 

·       The rebate may apply only to residences in some situations or commercial facilities, or both.

·       In some instances, the rebate is in the form of a tax credit; in other situations, it is applied when the fixture is purchased.

·       The credit may be covered by a non-government, private association set up to help reduce water consumption in a specific state.

·       The water rebate may be based on the amount of water saved by purchasing the new fixture.

·       The amounts of the rebate vary.

·       In some cases, the rebate applies to toilets only; in others, it includes urinals and additional fixtures proven to use water more efficiently.

Aware of all this, the following are the states in the U.S. that currently have some sort of rebate program in place as of 2020 for installing water-reducing fixtures.  

Massachusetts 

Dedham Westwood Water district

Virginia

Charlottesville

Purcellville

Virginia Beach 

Brevard county

 

Georgia

Griffin

Cobb County Government

Metropolitan North Georgia Water Planning District

 

Florida

Miami Dade

Pasco County

Petersburg

Cocoa

Broward county 

Melbourne

Tamarac

Titusville

Hillsborough County Board of County Commissioners

Manatee Board of County Commissioners

 

Texas

College station

Garden Ridge

Round Rock

San Marcos

 

New Mexico

Santa Fe

 

Colorado

Brighton

Greeley

Northglenn

Thornton Water Resources Division

Woodmoor Water and Sanitation District

Denver

Aurora

Boulder

 

Arizona

George County

Washington County

 

California

Desert Water Agency

Santa Clara Valley Water District

Menlo park

Mammoth Community Water District

Soquel Creek Water District

Pleasanton

Marin county

Brentwood

Redwood City

Marina Coast Water District

Windsor

Riverside

Metropolitan Water District of Southern California

Bay Area Water Supply and Conservation Agency

Vandenberg Village Community Services District

Rohnert Park

Monterey Peninsula Water Conservation

California Urban Water Conservation Council

San Benito County

Roseville

Napa Sanitation District

California Water Service Company

Zone 7 Water Agency

Santa Cruz

Sacramento County

Burlingame

Santa Rosa

San Francisco

Daly City

Watsonville

San Juan Water District

 

Oregon

Portland

Ashland

 

Washington

Cascade Water Alliance

Kent

Pullman

Saving Water Partnership (applicable to many cities in the state)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Rethinking the Restroom in the Post COVID Era

Photo by Buchen WANG on Unsplash

Have you ever gone into a public restroom and heard someone in the next stall having what sounds like a conference call with a dozen people? 

Expect those “conference calls” along with 20-minute “beautifying” sessions in public restrooms to be things of the past in the post-COVID-19 era.

“Public restrooms are no longer the place to use your phone, do your hair and makeup, [or] that sort of stuff,” Elizabeth Scott, an associate professor of biology at Simmons University in Boston and founder of the Simmons Center for Hygiene and Health in Home and Community, says in a recent article in New Jersey’s The Daily Journal. “You [will] want to get in and out of there as fast as possible.”

This is just one of several changes we can expect. Along with modifications in the way's restrooms are cleaned and sanitized, we can anticipate major structural redesigns as well.

Some of these shifts are long overdue. For instance, have you ever opened a restroom door to find a line of people inside waiting to use the facility? Consider that another condition of the past. More restrooms will be designed with availability indicators. As one person leaves, a light installed outside the restroom will turn from red to green to indicate the next patron may enter.

Further, restroom users may no longer come in and leave through the same door. Especially in larger restrooms, you can soon expect two automatic doors—one for entry and one for exit. This not only will help regulate occupancy but will also reduce the number of surfaces touched. More restrooms will also have s-shaped doorless entries, such as those in airports and other heavily used facilities.

Protection from the plume

Of interest to cleaning professionals, restroom design will include features to deal with toilet plume—aerosolized droplets of water that spread germs.

Plume, whether from toilets or urinals, is caused when they are flushed. They release germ-infected particulates that invariably land on nearby surfaces, but which can also be inhaled.

The problem may be worse with urinals as plume can also be released through splatter when the urinal is being used. Cleaning professionals have known about plume for years, but it is of greater concern today because recent studies have reported traces of the novel coronavirus in urine and solid waste.

If these particulates are inhaled or touched when they land on surfaces, cross-contamination can begin, causing the spread of the disease.   To address this situation, more facilities are likely to consider installing no-water urinals. No water means no splatter and no flushing, which means no plume.

As for toilets, we may see the comeback of the toilet lid. These were removed decades ago in commercial facilities because they added to the cost of the toilet and were one more thing to clean. However, lids can play a key role in controlling plume by blocking its release or minimizing the particles that become airborne.

Photo by LOGAN WEAVER on Unsplash

Social distancing

Along with the loss of toilet lids, many restrooms no longer have partitions between urinals. Most likely the reasons for this are similar to why toilet lids disappeared; partitions require the added cost of installation and increase the number of surfaces that must be cleaned.

But in the post COVID-19 restroom, keeping a six-foot distance between restroom patrons is ideal. The simplest way to accomplish this is to put more space between urinals and to install partitions—or  longer partitions—between urinals. We can expect to find these solutions implemented in men’s restrooms moving ahead.

Enhanced ventilation

After the 2002-2003 outbreak of SARS in Hong Kong, studies indicated that poor ventilation played a role in exacerbating the spread of the disease. It is believed the same may be true with COVID-19. Joe Allen, director of Harvard’s Healthy Buildings Program, says in a recent article on nationalgeographic.com, “I always remind people to check the exhaust in the bathroom.” He added that moving “dirty” air out of the restroom is one of the best ways to safeguard against contamination.

Gender-neutral options

Gender-neutral restrooms were the talk of the restroom industry about two decades ago. Several avant-garde hotels and commercial properties wanted to be the first to install them. However, they never really took off.

But COVID-19 may have turned things around. With a gender-neutral restroom, toilets are housed in individual stalls. These stalls often have floor-to-ceiling partitions, eliminating open top and open bottom partitions, making them fully enclosed with walls. Sinks are available in a common area.

A totally enclosed stall offers privacy and safety, as well as social distancing. Steven Soifer, cofounder of the American Restroom Association, is advocating the installation of “single-person, gender-neutral restrooms.”  However, this may be a costly option.

The journey continues

We can expect more changes in the post-COVID restroom. Even when COVID is no longer an issue, it will have caused many restroom manufacturers to reconsider how restrooms are used and how they can be redesigned to further promote health and safety.