subject: The Story of the Waterless Urinal – Hits and Misses [print this page] After being granted government approval, waterless urinals from Falcon have found more than 200,000 buyers and competitor companies have also cropped up. There is no disputing the environmental benefits of waterless urinals, but one thing is certain - issues can arise if they are not maintained properly.
University of Washington, Seattle conducted an experiment in 2007 to decide if they could go ahead with a mass purchase of Falcon's waterless urinals for the entire college. They took the help of water conservation consultant Roger van Gelder to determine if such urinals could work in their environment. For the purpose of the study, Van Gelder asked that the existing drain pipes be replaced with newer pipes to start afresh. Six months into the study, Van Gelder had bad news to report. After opening the pipes, he discovered that some sort of oily liquid has started clogging the drain lines. It would be matter of days before the lines would get completely blocked.
Another problem that Van Gelder found with Falcon's waterless urinals was the plastic cartridges. They would get clogged faster than projected, in some cases after just above 600 uses and subsequently had to be recycled or disposed off. The disposal of a large quantity of plastic wasn't eco-friendly, ironic given that the waterless urinal was inherently a green product. Besides the cartridges had to be replaced immediately or a mixture of sealant and urine would get pooled and give out a bad stench. University of Washington has since then uninstalled all the waterless urinals.
Falcon says that before putting a new cartridge, the urinal has to be flushed with hot water to get rid of all the deposits. The university's janitors may not have followed this procedure, but they cannot be blamed as it is natural to assume that a waterless urinal may not require flushing with water.
In other instances where Falcon's waterless urinals missed the mark, Sacramento's EPA headquarters reported clogged drain pipes, dirty bathrooms and a bad smell. All the urinals here were removed in February this year. Other establishments that have faced such problems and subsequently uninstalled their waterless urinals include O'Hare International Airport and Chicago City Hall. Chicago plumber Jim Majerowicz says that the requirement to plumb water to these urinals is a good idea, as the building owner does not have to drain his wallet when he gets the waterless urinals uninstalled.
But Falcon's waterless urinals have also found admirers in many facilities across the United States, including Southern California's Temecula Valley School District. Maintenance Operations Director at the facility Gaylon Holland says that with good maintenance, the waterless urinals deliver first rate performance and save large quantities of water. The facility has installed more than 600 Falcon urinals and the janitorial staff is sufficiently trained on how to maintain them. The Las Vegas Motor Speedway and Rose Bowl Stadium are two other facilities where waterless urinals have delivered satisfactory performance and continue to be used.
In the past four years, the number of waterless urinals sold has doubled and sales continue to build up strongly. James Krug is a happy man and concentrating his efforts on other revolutionary innovations in urinal technology.
