Waterless Urinals: Sometimes It's Better To Have More Men Than Women

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When the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection was looking for ways to save water at their Cambria office, they were happy there were more men than women working in the 36,000-square-foot facility.

Tammy Ford-Hanna, the facility manager, believed that because the facility had more men, replacing the conventional water-based urinals with waterless systems could provide significant savings.

However, she first had to select a waterless system that performed well, was dependable, and was cost effective. According to other facility managers as well as plumbers at the University of California in Los Angeles and Santa Barbara, the most important issue to consider is not the cost to purchase the urinal but the cost to maintain it.

A big difference among brands of waterless urinal systems is the costs of the inserts or traps that must be replaced every two to six months. Of the two major brands in the United States, one system costs more than $40 per trap while the other, manufactured by Waterless Co., LLC., costs only $6.50.

Additionally, a liquid sealant that extends the life of the insert can be added to the Waterless brand, a feature not available on the other brand. And the managers and plumbers said the Waterless urinals are easier — and therefore less expensive — to service should repairs be needed.

Taking their advice, Ford-Hanna selected urinals manufactured by Waterless Co. The result: “We have had a 30 percent reduction in water use by installing the Waterless systems,” she says, “and have had no problems and no complaints [from our male staff or custodial workers] with these urinals.”