Do Waterless Urinals Smell?

One of the major myths about waterless urinals is that they smell and that’s exactly what it is, a myth. The old style of waterless urinal did used to smell but this was due to the technology they relied on. They used to have a membrane in the traps which was supposed to close after use, but never did which meant you got the hit of the raw sewage from the waste pipes.

Technology has come a long way since then and waterlessurinals now work via a self contained trap in a cartridge. The cartridge is locked into the urinal using a key which forms and air tight barrier between the waste pipes and the washroom. There is also a liquid seal that is poured into the cartridge which floats on top of fluid which again forms and airtight barrier between the cartridge and the washroom. Urine can only pass one way so it locks both the urine and the smells in the cartridge.

Water is a major contributing factor to the smells in a washroom. Urinals should be flushed every 3 minutes to ensure a clean environment, but this isn’t possible! Water contains lime scale and it is the lime scale that causes the problem. Lime scale builds up on flush urinals and in the pipe work. Uric sediment then attaches itself to the lime scale. This forms solid waste which bacteria grow on and it is the bacteria that cause the bad smells. No water = no lime scale. No lime scale = no solid build up. No solid build up = nothing for bacteria to grow on. No bacteria = no smells!