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| Build-up
in the collecting drainline after nine month’s use. |
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The
faucets, toilet, and showerheads were easy to convince the bosses about, but
the waterless urinals required a little more effort. I conducted extensive
research on available fixtures, reading all the literature I could find and
interviewing the manufacturer’s representatives. I tallied the cost for the
fixtures, the anticipated required maintenance, and installation. I persuaded
the local Public Utilities District to provide the firm a rebate in the amount
of $150 per fixture installed. Finally, I calculated that all the money spent
for the fixtures, maintenance, and installation (less the PUD rebate) would be
recuperated in three short years due to money saved in not using any water for
the urinals.
The installation was simple and uneventful, out with the old, stubbed the
supply lines, in with the new and Voila! We decided to save the old, 1.0 gallon
per flush (g/f) urinals and flush valves just in case, something that proved to
be a very wise decision in the end. For the first three months of use, the
reaction was universally positive. The fixtures worked flawlessly, as
advertised, and we were thrilled. Clients that came to the firm were impressed,
and we even got a nice write up about our shiny new fixtures in the local Daily
Journal of Commerce.
Waterless Troubles
It was about month four that things started going south. Just a small issue at
first, having to do with the top secret blue stuff that creates a seal between
the urine that goes into the fixture and the occupied space. It’s heavier than
urine and water, so it floats above within the trap. We were told by the
manufacturer that the blue stuff would need to be added by mere capfuls, just a
few times every six months. We began to have to add more and more of the
expensive, proprietary blue liquid into each of the two urinals installed. But,
a quick recalculation showed that the payback period would be only slightly
longer with the increased addition of the fluid.
Just before six months of use, we experienced another unexpected issue—the
cartridges. The model of waterless urinal we installed uses cartridges to
contain the blue liquid seal and need to be replaced at regular intervals,
after thousands of uses in accordance with the manufacturer’s literature. We
made it maybe to half of the predicted life before having to replace the
cartridges. And, like the blue liquid, the cartridges are proprietary and
expensive. Revising the calculation pushed the payback period closer to five to
seven years but that was still completely acceptable. After all, the urinals
were working well, and we were not using any water to flush—a very big deal
psychologically. The firm was emotionally committed to waterless urinals after
just six months of use. Even the doubting Thomas’s were won
over.
Just after six months of use a crisis erupted, and all hell broke loose. In the
middle of a typical work day, I was urgently called to the men’s room to deal
with some sort of emergency. When I got there, one of the urinals had stopped
working, a layer of blue liquid seal floated lazily over a large pool of urine
that had nowhere to go, the cartridge was completely clogged. But the cartridge
had just been replaced! It wasn’t long before the second urinal stopped working
as well. Even with the new cartridges and blue liquid seal, both urinals
remained clogged; nothing would pass, nothing would drain. It was the pipes! I
was on the telephone with the manufacturer immediately. I was told that this
was a first, the manufacturer was as baffled as we were. The owner of the
company finally came up with what he thought might be a solution, a special
product that he had seen at a local county fair, designed to unclog even the
most stubborn of drains; just a capful, environmentally friendly and
inexpensive. He sent us a bottle of this magical stuff overnight. I ripped the
box open and removed the white plastic bottle. Printed on the front was
something like “Clog-B-Gone” in big, bold text. Just beneath that text there
was a warning about the use of the product. The back of the bottle went into
more detail, and listed the main ingredient—hydrochloric acid. It was
immediately obvious to me that this was not a long-term solution to our
problem, even if it did work (I tried it, after hours, one capful after
another—except for foaming and hissing, it did nothing to unclog the
drain).
I learned a lot about waterless urinals, and urine in general, as the weeks and
months passed. The solids that drop out of urine after passing through the
body, without water to move it through the cartridge, the trap, and down the
waste line, stick around. They cling to every surface, every nook and cranny.
The cartridges clog. The trap clogs. The drain lines clog. The accumulation was
so much after six months that even the main waste line clogged after snaking
and flushing with gallons of water (there goes the calculated water savings!).
We snaked and flushed and cursed for another six months. The problem only
worsened. And the odor. Once the urinals began to back up, a horrible stench
took up residence in the restroom, growing more intense each week.
The Waterless Solution- Just Add Water!
Saving the original urinals proved to be a wise decision. They were dusted off
and reinstalled in place of the waterless versions with a new ultra low flush
valve that allowed the per-flush rate to be dialed in from anything between 1.0
to 0.3 g/f. At 0.5 g/f and years later, the ultra low water consuming urinals
are working perfectly, no clogs, odor or problems
whatsoever.
None of the problems we experienced is any mystery to waterless urinal
manufacturers. These fixtures have a long history, first developed back in the
1800s. Improvements have been made in the design of the fixtures and the
durability of the liquid seal material, but the technology is essentially
unchanged. They worked about as well then as they do today.
Other's Troubles
Not too long ago, the University
of Washington bought into
waterless urinals and purchased 100 for installation around the campus. They
managed to install 40 fixtures before they realized the mistake they had made
in doing so. All 40 were removed and replaced with flush type fixtures; the 60
that were not installed ended up for sale. In an effort to more fully
understand why the urinals failed, one of them was removed and vivisected. You
can see in the photo that the accumulation of solids is extensive, and is what
caused the failure of the installed units. There is no way to effectively clean
and remove the deposits from this type of waterless fixture. Once they have
been clogged to this degree, the only recourse is replacement.
A 2004 German study, “Application of Dry Urinals” by Mete Demiriz of the
Gelsenkirchen University of Applied Sciences, gets to the bottom of the
problems associated with waterless urinals. Six waterless urinals made by three
manufacturers were installed in a university cafeteria restroom plumbed with
glass waste lines that were left exposed in a chase space for observation. In
just nine months of use a 7 millimeters thick, and 42 millimeters wide layer of
solids was deposited at the bottom of the horizontal waste line.
The study reports that the solids continued to build and “The higher this
layer, the wider the adjacent flowbed became, causing slower urine flow, which
in turn led to additional build-up.” So, the more the urinals are used, the
faster the accumulation of solids, eventually leading to clogged urinals and
clogged drainlines. The study concludes that “…urine deposits and forming of
crusts in drainage pipes of dry urinals is still the case. It is not possible
to remove these by application of high water volumes through the urinal
itself.” And the odor: “A very intense odor develops in the drainlines leading
away from the dry urinals.”
Conclusion
Green building rating systems provide points for using water conserving
fixtures. Waterless fixtures count toward this point, but there are now so many
ultra low flow fixtures available that waterless fixtures no longer offer the
great benefit toward achieving the available points they once did. While it may
be true that some facilities have enjoyed great success with waterless urinals,
I cannot in good conscience recommend them to clients as a trouble-free
solution to water conservation. Instead, I recommend that they consider ultra
low flow urinals (which are available from one-eighth to half a gallon per
flush), ultra low flow aerators on faucets, dual flush valve water closets, and
ultra low flow shower heads. Installing these fixtures routinely result in more
than 40 percent water savings over standard fixtures— without having to go to
waterless urinals and risk inheriting the problems associated with them.
W&C
If you read this article, please circle number 385.
