# "Flushless" urinals **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [October 20, 2006, 4:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flushless-urinals/377187 "2006-10-20T04:22:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Raguleader](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/258eb7/32.png) [@Raguleader](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Raguleader)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2006, 4:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flushless-urinals/377187/1 "2006-10-20T04:22:56Z")
So, at my community college in Arizona, all the bathrooms are equipped with these “Flushless” urinals. OK, I can see how that makes sense, especially since, according to the friendly posted signs in the mens’ rooms, they use less water than regular, flushable urinals (as far as I can tell, these are essentially urinals not hooked up to a water source, and urine just gets pulled down the drain by gravity). In the same bathrooms, we have the sinks with the old school push-button faucets. You know the ones, the big button that you have to forcibly push down, so the water will flow. for about a second. These faucets have two settings: [ol] [li]Off[/li][li]THAR SHE BLOWS[/li][li]Hi, Opal![/li][/ol] So, they save water by taking away the flushers on the urinals, then leave the sinks that only emit water at full-blast, requiring multiple pushes of the button in order to wash your hands without drenching yourself with water. :smack: Anyhow, that’s all I got. Thoughts? Comments? Funny anecdotes? ---
**Author:** ![jackelope](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a6a055/32.png) [@jackelope](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jackelope)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2006, 6:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flushless-urinals/377187/2 "2006-10-20T06:33:15Z")
What’s a “flushless” urinal? ---
**Author:** ![Raguleader](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/258eb7/32.png) [@Raguleader](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Raguleader)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2006, 6:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flushless-urinals/377187/3 "2006-10-20T06:43:34Z")
Like I said, basically a urinal that you can’t flush. No water hooked up to it, except at the drain. You euphemise, and it just gradually flows down the drain via gravity instead of needing to flush it. ---
**Author:** ![Cunctator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/43a26b/32.png) [@Cunctator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cunctator)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2006, 6:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flushless-urinals/377187/4 "2006-10-20T06:57:09Z")
[QUOTE=jackelope] What’s a “flushless” urinal? [/QUOTE] The men’s toilets in my office are fitted with these. Water is too precious to waste just flushing the urinal. So they don’t flush. They have those scented cube thingies at the bottom, and they get cleaned each evening, but otherwise that’s it. ---
**Author:** ![Renee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/renee/32/287_2.png) [@Renee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Renee)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2006, 8:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flushless-urinals/377187/5 "2006-10-20T08:23:33Z")
Is the smell worse? ---
**Author:** ![DeadlyAccurate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ac91a4/32.png) [@DeadlyAccurate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DeadlyAccurate)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2006, 12:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flushless-urinals/377187/6 "2006-10-20T12:31:39Z")
[QUOTE=Renee] Is the smell worse? [/QUOTE] According to my husband, yes, the smell is awful. ---
**Author:** ![Sailboat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sailboat/32/461_2.png) [@Sailboat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sailboat)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2006, 12:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flushless-urinals/377187/7 "2006-10-20T12:41:05Z")
It’s a shame someone with the username **DeadlyAccurate** doesn’t get to use the urinals personally. 😉 Sailboat ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2006, 2:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flushless-urinals/377187/8 "2006-10-20T14:14:20Z")
The ones I’ve seen are actually quite clever, and there’s no smell. Basically, there is a tank beneath the urinal. In the tank, there is a layer of oil. Liquids sink through the oil, which seals off any odors. The urine is emptied out as it fills. ---
**Author:** ![iamthewalrus\_3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/258eb7/32.png) [@iamthewalrus\_3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iamthewalrus_3)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2006, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flushless-urinals/377187/9 "2006-10-20T18:17:16Z")
[QUOTE=RealityChuck] The ones I’ve seen are actually quite clever, and there’s no smell. Basically, there is a tank beneath the urinal. In the tank, there is a layer of oil. Liquids sink through the oil, which seals off any odors. The urine is emptied out as it fills. [/QUOTE] I’ve not noticed any greater smell from flushless urinals either. But I don’t understand how this works. How does the urinal keep the oil from draining away, too? ---
**Author:** ![Hypno-Toad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b2d939/32.png) [@Hypno-Toad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hypno-Toad)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2006, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flushless-urinals/377187/10 "2006-10-20T19:00:37Z")
[QUOTE=iamthewalrus(:3=] I’ve not noticed any greater smell from flushless urinals either. But I don’t understand how this works. How does the urinal keep the oil from draining away, too? [/QUOTE] I saw a diagram showing this. It was perfectly obvious, but since then I’ve forgotton the exact configuration. We have these urinals at my office and they stank at first. But now they’re OK. The problem is that when you walk away from them you feel weird with not flushing. And when you’re using a regular urinal elsewhere, you have to specifically remember to flush. ---
**Author:** ![AuntiePam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@AuntiePam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AuntiePam)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2006, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flushless-urinals/377187/11 "2006-10-20T19:45:05Z")
I’d never heard of these until this week. The Republican is running an ad listing some pork barrel things that his Democrat opponent voted for, and one of them is $100,000 for a study of waterless urinals. Which might not be a bad idea, if it contributes to saving water. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2006, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flushless-urinals/377187/12 "2006-10-20T19:57:46Z")
[QUOTE=iamthewalrus(:3=] I’ve not noticed any greater smell from flushless urinals either. But I don’t understand how this works. How does the urinal keep the oil from draining away, too? [/QUOTE] There’s a diagram here: [http://www.triplepundit.com/pages/case-study-the-cost-benefit-of-001353.php](http://www.triplepundit.com/pages/case-study-the-cost-benefit-of-001353.php) It’s hard to describe, but the principle is that the urinal drains into a U-shaped tube with one leg of the U longer than the other (sort of like a sink trap). The longer leg has the oil. As the U fills up, the urine flows out the shorter part of the U and into the drain. Even when filled, the oil is denser than the urine, so it forms a seal and doesn’t back up. ---
**Author:** ![Jake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f475e1/32.png) [@Jake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jake)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2006, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flushless-urinals/377187/13 "2006-10-20T20:04:21Z")
I want to eat a big plate of asparagus then pee in one of these a couple hours later. I doubt the smell will be eliminated! ---
**Author:** ![Cunctator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/43a26b/32.png) [@Cunctator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cunctator)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2006, 2:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flushless-urinals/377187/14 "2006-10-21T02:24:27Z")
[QUOTE=Renee] Is the smell worse? [/QUOTE] No. In fact, they smell better. ---
**Author:** ![Raguleader](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/258eb7/32.png) [@Raguleader](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Raguleader)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2006, 2:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flushless-urinals/377187/15 "2006-10-21T02:25:56Z")
[QUOTE=Cunctator] No. In fact, they smell better. [/QUOTE] You’d think they’d both smell the same. Seeing as how they both lack noses… ---
**Author:** ![Diceman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Diceman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diceman)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2006, 3:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flushless-urinals/377187/16 "2006-10-21T03:56:13Z")
I used a flushless urinal at a concert not too long ago. You definitely smelled the urine. It didn’t bowl me over or anything, but the smell was there. ---
**Author:** ![Raguleader](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/258eb7/32.png) [@Raguleader](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Raguleader)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2006, 4:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flushless-urinals/377187/17 "2006-10-21T04:50:54Z")
[QUOTE=Diceman] I used a flushless urinal at a concert not too long ago. You definitely smelled the urine. It didn’t bowl me over or anything, but the smell was there. [/QUOTE] Well, I imagine before the urine can sink under the oil layer, it has to get down there. Depending on how many people are using the urinal, you may not actually be standing near it at any given time when there is not a fair bit of urine yet to drain. ---
**Author:** ![danceswithcats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9e8a1a/32.png) [@danceswithcats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/danceswithcats)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2006, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flushless-urinals/377187/18 "2006-10-21T20:21:04Z")
[QUOTE=Diceman] I used a flushless urinal at a concert not too long ago. You definitely smelled the urine. It didn’t bowl me over or anything, but the smell was there. [/QUOTE] If you were bowled over, you were using a toilet. Nyuk, nyuk, nyuk. Perhaps I’ll contact the flushless urinal folks and propose installation of optical sensors to play a digitally stored flush sound when users step away so folks don’t feel ill at ease. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Tuckerfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@Tuckerfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tuckerfan)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2006, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flushless-urinals/377187/19 "2006-10-22T17:07:14Z")
[QUOTE=Sailboat] It’s a shame someone with the username **DeadlyAccurate** doesn’t get to use the urinals personally. 😉 Sailboat [/QUOTE] Well, she _used_ be known as **ThroatShot** , which in the context of this thread wouldn’t have, uh, pleasant connotations, if you know what I mean. ---
**Author:** ![Sweet\_Mercury](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/49beb7/32.png) [@Sweet\_Mercury](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sweet_Mercury)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2006, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flushless-urinals/377187/20 "2006-10-22T17:16:21Z")
[QUOTE=RealityChuck] The ones I’ve seen are actually quite clever, and there’s no smell. Basically, there is a tank beneath the urinal. In the tank, there is a layer of oil. Liquids sink through the oil, which seals off any odors. The urine is emptied out as it fills. [/QUOTE] [Yep.](http://www.magic-tec.com/magic_ur.html#how)