Waterless Urinals

Design and technical improvements make the new generation of waterless urinals well worth considering when looking for ways to save water. Maintenance is much easier on these latest models, and advances have made them more hygienic and odor-free. Pretty spiffy, really.

Besides saving water, a big benefit of waterless urinals are the associated costs - they're cheaper to buy than flush urinals and, with no moving parts to break or leak, they are cheaper to maintain. Plus, there are no water costs involved to operate. There are also energy savings overall in that the water saved didn't need to be pumped, piped or treated.

Given all those benefits, it is still the water savings that is driving increases in the installation of waterless urinals.

"According to a report for the Massachusetts Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs, a waterless urinal saves one to three gallons of fresh water per flush, compared with a normal model. Take a big office building or university campus with 10,000 men in it, peeing several times daily. That represents a savings of nearly 16 million gallons a year." (cited in Passing Water Without the Water: Waterless Urinals Save H2O, Dollars)

Now there are not any locations in our service area that big, but one to three gallons a flush times however many times the conventional urinals around here do get flushed adds up big time.

Last fall the City of Los Angeles approved waterless urinals for all of its buildings, specifying the H2Zero Waterless Urinal from Caroma.

The H2Zero’s unique patented cartridge technology does not use an oil-based seal, as traditionally used in waterless urinals. Within the cartridge is a Bio Fresh deodorizing block that is activated during use. The Bio Seal™ allows urine to pass through the seal freely, eliminating unnecessary waste build-up within the cartridge. The Bio Seal, which lasts up to 10,000 uses, also acts as a one-way airtight valve to seal the cartridge from the drainage system.

As urine flows into the cartridge and around the Bio Fresh deodorizing block, heat from the urine activates the block, which emits a lemon fragrance. The urine then flows through the Bio Seal valve and into the drain line. The Bio Seal closes, protecting against back-pressure situations, ensuring good hygiene.

“For more than three decades, Caroma has been a leader in designing advanced technology for the bathroom, and the H2Zero waterless urinal is one example,” states John Karas, North America Product Manager. “The H2Zero can save the City of Los Angeles millions of gallons of water per year through replacing older, water-consuming one gallon urinals. In addition, the unique technology in the H2Zero minimizes service required and manages odors and waste build-up, unlike other waterless urinals currently on the market.”

To service the urinal, the H2Zero’s cartridge tool is used to remove the grate and access the internal components. The Bio Fresh deodorizer and Bio Seal can then be removed and replaced as required. This touch-free tool ensures no direct contact with the replacement components, and no special disposal method is required.

It's a little surprising given all the interest in these new and improved fixtures that less than 1% of urinals now in use are the waterless variety. So lots of opportunity for water saving.

For more information on the H2Zero and other Caroma high efficiency products, email info@caromausa.com or visit www.caromausa.com.

To find out about rebates available in Sonoma Valley for purchase and installation of high efficiency urinals, visit www.vomwd.com or www.sonomacity.org.

You can also read more at this waterless urinals link.

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Boden Plumbing primarily serves Sonoma Valley, Napa Valley, and the Petaluma area. We provide a full range of residential plumbing repairs and services.
866-663-7477
www.nodrips.com

Amazing Video of Water Drop at 2000 Frames per Second

Despite water's very simple atomic structure, it exhibits some amazing properties.

"This structure consists of two hydrogen atoms bonded to one oxygen atom. The nature of the atomic structure of water causes its molecules to have unique electrochemical properties. The hydrogen side of the water molecule has a slight positive charge. On the other side of the molecule a negative charge exists. This molecular polarity causes water to be a powerful solvent and is responsible for its strong surface tension."

For a somewhat less technical explanation and a very cool demonstration of some of water's almost amazing properties, check out this video...




For more about the physical properties of water see www.physicalgeography.net.

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Boden Plumbing primarily serves Sonoma Valley, Napa Valley, and the Petaluma area. We provide a full range of residential plumbing repairs and services.
866-663-7477
www.nodrips.com

Protect Yourself from Frozen Pipes

Each year around this time we post some information about protecting your plumbing in cold weather. Well, it seems this year's cold snap caught us all by surprise. For the last two days the guys have been running around fixing burst pipes all over Sonoma Valley. Even few of our customers in Napa got dinged by this week's weather.

Sorry for the delay - but here's our advice from the last couple of years - just a tad late.

Tip: Always do this before 8 p.m. the night a freeze is forecast. Otherwise Friedman's will be closed, and you'll be running around looking for MacGyver tape and old blankets. It will be cold and dark, and you will get annoyed with yourself. You might even kick the dog. And we can't have any of that.

So before you get all caught up in holiday hoopla, set aside time to assess the state of your outdoor pipes. Check existing insulation and replace any damaged or missing bits. Cover any pipes that haven't yet been insulated. Go ahead and put away your garden hoses for the winter and cover outdoor hose bibbs. There are inexpensive insulated foam covers available that just screw on over the faucet.

If you happen to have a valve that shuts off water to your outside faucets, you can easily shut down all of them at once. Then open the faucets outside to allow any water in the pipe to drip out.

Important: Don't forget your pool or hot tub. While you might very well leave the water in your pool or spa through the winter months, there may be plumbing leading to it that should be insulated. Check it out - just to be sure.

It's been COLD in Sonoma Valley for a few too many days now, and the weather services are predicting another sub-freezing night tonight. Given the prolonged cold snap, it's even more important that you guard your exposed pipes from these ice-inducing temperatures.

Here are a few steps to take to keep your pipes from freezing:

• Keep a trickle of water running from the faucets.
• Beam a heat lamp or small heater at exposed pipes.
• Wrap uninsulated pipes with newspapers, heating wires, foam, or self-adhesive insulating tape.
• Keep doors ajar between heated and unheated rooms.

What If Your Pipes Do Freeze?

A faucet that won't yield water is the first sign of frozen pipes. But even if pipes do freeze, you can thaw them before they burst if you act quickly.

If a pipe does freeze, shut off the water at the main shut-off valve and open the faucet nearest to the frozen pipe so it can drain as it thaws. Be sure to waterproof the area with containers and plastic drop clothes in case leaks occur. Then, use one of the following methods to gradually warm the frozen pipe. (Be sure to work from the faucet toward the iced-up area.)

• Propane Torch with a flame-spreading-nozzle: The torch will quickly thaw a frozen pipe. Safety Tip - Shield flammable areas with a fireproof sheet, don't let the pipe get too hot to touch.
• Hair Dryer: Used like the torch, a dryer will gently defrost the pipe.
• Heating Pad: Wrap a length of pipe with a heating pad.
• Heat Lamp: For pipes behind walls, floors, or ceilings, beam a heat lamp 8 or more inches from the surface.
• Hot Water: If no other method is available, wrap the pipe (except plastic) in rags and pour boiling water on it.

When loosening frozen connections, instead of using a wrench to force nuts and couplings frozen in place, douse the connection with penetrating oil. Wait half an hour; then loosen with a wrench.

Some of this helpful info comes by way of the All About Home website. Check it out.

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Boden Plumbing primarily serves Sonoma Valley, Napa Valley, and the Petaluma area. We provide a full range of residential plumbing repairs and services.
866-663-7477
www.nodrips.com