Urinal
A urinal is a sanitary plumbing fixture similar to a toilet, but for urination only. Urinals are often provided in male public restrooms in Western countries. They are usually used in a standing position. Urinals can be equipped with manual flushing, automatic flushing, or without flushing, as is the case for waterless urinals. They can be arranged as single sanitary fixtures, or in a trough design without privacy walls.
Urinals designed for females also exist but are rare. It is possible for females to use stand-up urinals using a female urination device. The term "urinal" may also apply to a small building or other structure containing such fixtures. It can also refer to a small container in which urine can be collected for medical analysis, or for use where access to toilet facilities is not possible, such as in small aircraft, during extended stakeouts, or for the bedridden.
Description
A stand-up urinal can be used conveniently and appropriately by someone who has a penis or other adaptive means with which to urinate from a standing position. There is no age restriction, and urinals are commonly used by men and boys of all ages. Female urinals also exist but are not common.In busy public toilets, urinals are installed for efficiency. Compared with urination in a general-purpose toilet, usage is faster and more sanitary because at the urinal there are no fecial germs, no additional doors or locks to touch, and no seat to turn up. Consistent use of urinals also keeps the toilet stalls cleaner and more available for persons who need to defecate. A urinal takes less space, is simpler, and consumes less water per flush than a flush toilet. Large numbers of them are usually installed along a common supply pipe and drain. Urinals may also come in different heights, to accommodate tall and short users.
Public urinals usually have a plastic mesh guard, which may optionally contain a deodorizing urinal deodorizer block or "urinal cake". The mesh is intended to prevent solid objects from being flushed and possibly causing a plumbing stoppage. In some restaurants, bars, and clubs, ice may be put in the urinals, serving some of the same purposes as the deodorizing block without dispensing odorous chemicals.
Arrangement
For purposes of space and economic practicality, urinals are not typically placed inside stalls. Unlike in female public toilets that do not have urinals, optimal resource efficiency in male restrooms therefore requires urinating in full visibility of other users. In recent years, it has become more common in some countries for dividers or partitions to be installed between urinals to eliminate any chance of incidental exposure during the process of urination.Urinals in high-capacity public toilets are usually arranged in one or more rows directly opposite the door, so that users have their backs to people entering or standing outside. Often, one or two of the urinals, typically at one end of a long row, will be mounted lower than the others; they are meant for the disabled and other users who cannot reach the regular urinals. In facilities where people of various heights are present, such as schools, urinals that extend down to floor level may be used to allow anyone of any height to use any urinal.
Instead of individual fixtures, trough urinals may be installed. These designs can be used by a number of people simultaneously, but they do not allow for much privacy. They are often installed where there is a high peak demand, such as in schools, music festivals, theatrical events, sports stadiums, discos, dance clubs, and convention halls.
Urinals were once installed exclusively in commercial or institutional settings, but are also now available for private homes. They offer the advantages of substantial water savings in residences with many occupants, and reduction of "splash back", making cleaning easier.
Urinals with flushing
Most public urinals incorporate a water flushing system to rinse urine from the bowl of the device, to prevent foul odors. The flush can be triggered by one of several methods:Manual handles
This type of flush might be regarded as the standard type of flush in North America. Each urinal is equipped with a short lever to activate the flush, with users expected to pull it down as they leave. Such a directly controlled system is the most efficient, provided that patrons remember to use it. This is far from certain, however, often because of fear of touching the handle, which is located too high to kick. Urinals with foot-activated flushing systems are sometimes found in high-traffic areas; these systems have a button set into the floor or a pedal on the wall at ankle height. The Americans with Disabilities Act requires that flush valves be mounted no higher than AFF. Additionally, the urinal is to be mounted no higher than AFF, and to have a rim that is tapered and elongated and protrudes at least from the wall. This enables users in wheelchairs to straddle the lip of the urinal and urinate without having to "arc" the flow of urine upwards.Timed flush
In Europe and South America, manual flush handles are unusual. Instead, the traditional system is a timed flush that operates automatically at regular intervals. A group of urinals will be connected to a single overhead cistern, which contains the timing mechanism. A constant drip-feed of water slowly fills the cistern until a tipping point is reached, when the valve opens, and all the urinals in the group are flushed. Electronic controllers performing the same function are also used.This system does not require any action from its users, but it is wasteful of water when toilets are used irregularly. However, in these countries users are so used to the automatic system, that attempts to install manual flushes to save water are generally unsuccessful. Users ignore them not through deliberate laziness or fear of infection, but because activating the flush is not habitual.
To help reduce water usage when the urinals are not being used, some urinals with timed flushing use a water-saving device. The cistern will be connected with a passive infrared sensor, which makes the cistern stop filling unless the urinals are being used. The sensor can be wall or ceiling-mounted, and will detect movement within the range of the urinals.
Door-regulated flush
Used mostly in the countries of Asia. This is an older method of water-saving automatic flushing, which only operates when the public toilet has been used. A push-button switch is mounted in the door frame, and triggers the flush valve for all urinals every time the door is opened. While it cannot detect the use of individual urinals, it provides reasonable flushing action without wasting excessive amounts of water when the urinals are not being used. This method requires a spring-operated automatic door closer, since the flush mechanism only operates when the door opens.Alternatively, a flushing system connected to the door can count the number of users, and operate when the number of door opening events reaches a certain value. At night, the door never opens, so flushing never occurs.
Automatic flush
Automatic flush valves solve the problems of previous approaches, and are common in new installations all around the world. A infrared sensor identifies when the urinal has been used, by detecting when someone has stood in front of it and moved away, and then activates the flush. There usually is also a small override button, to allow optional manual flushing when the sensor is not working.Automatic flush facilities can be retrofitted to existing systems. The handle-operated valves of a manual system can be replaced with a suitably designed self-contained electronic valve, often battery-powered to avoid the need to add cables. Older timed-flush installations may add a device that regulates the water flow to the cistern according to the overall activity detected in the room. This does not provide true per-fixture automatic flushing, but is simple and cheap to add because only one device is required for the whole system.
To prevent false-triggering of the automatic flush, most infrared detectors require that a presence be detected for at least ten seconds, such as when a person is standing in front of it. This prevents a whole line of automatic flush units from triggering in succession if someone just walks past them. The automatic flush mechanism also typically waits for the presence to go out of sensor range before flushing. This reduces water usage, compared to a sensor that would trigger a continuous flushing action the whole time that a presence is detected.
Waterless urinals
Since about the 1990s, urinals have been available on the market that use no water at all. These are called waterless urinals or flushless urinals.The first waterless urinal was developed at the end of the 19th century by the German-Austrian Wilhelm Beetz using an oil-based syphon with a liquid that he called Urinol.
Waterless urinals can save between of water per urinal per year, depending on the amount of water used in the water-flushed urinal for comparison purposes, and the number of uses per day. For example, these numbers assume that the urinal would be used between 40 and 120 times per business day.
Waterless urinals allow the collection of undiluted pure urine which can be used as a fertilizer.
Odor control
Models of waterless urinals introduced by the Waterless Company in 1991 and others in 2001 by Falcon Waterfree Technologies and Sloan Valve Company, as well as Duravit, use a trap insert filled with a sealant liquid instead of water. The lighter-than-water sealant floats on top of the urine collected in the U-bend, preventing odors from being released into the air. The cartridge and sealant must be periodically replaced.Waterless urinals may also use an outlet system that traps the odor, preventing the smell often present in toilet blocks. Another method to eliminate odor was introduced by Caroma, which installed a deodorizing block in their waterless urinal that was activated during use.
Odor control in waterless urinals is also achieved with simple one-way valves which are manufactured as a flat rubber tube or with two silicone "curtain" pieces. The former is used in the waterless urinals by the company Keramag in Germany and the latter is marketed by the company Addicom in South Africa who called it the EcoSmellStop device.