Commercial Restroom Urinals: Benefits, Options, and Guidelines

If you are renovating the bathrooms at your commercial facility, then you should consider including urinals in your men's bathroom design. Urinals are affordable and offer many benefits that you simply cannot obtain when installing toilets alone.

Read to learn more about the benefits of including urinals in your bathroom design, your urinal options, and design guidelines you should keep in mind when selecting your new urinals.

Commercial Urinal Benefits

Since today's modern urinals require much less water to flush than even low-flow toilets do, urinals can be considered bathroom water-conservation devices. In fact, while a low-flow toilet can use up to 1.6 gallons of water with each flush, urinals with the WaterSense label use no more than 0.5 gallons of water per flush, and waterless urinals that require no flushing at all are also available today.

In addition, since the average urinal is much smaller than a toilet, a greater number of urinals can often be installed in a restroom; if you have a high-traffic men's restroom, then you may be able to reduce your bathroom wait time dramatically when you add several urinals instead of toilets alone.

Urinal Options

When selecting your new urinals, you have several options.

Types

There are four main types of urinals: manual flush, automatic flush, timed flush, and waterless urinals.

Manual flush urinals have buttons or handles that bathroom users use to flush the urinal after each use, while automatic flush urinals are equipped with sensors that detect when a urinal has been used and then trigger it to flush afterward. These urinal types tend to use the most water.

Timed flush urinals are equipped with timers that flush the urinals on a regular schedule that you select. The water usage of these urinals can vary based on how frequently you set the timer to flush the urinals.

Waterless urinals work differently than all three other urinal types. While waterless urinal design can vary somewhat, all use the force of gravity to encourage urine to flow right down the drain and into the

bathroom waste line without the use of water at all and eliminate the need for flushing.

Material

You can obtain urinals made from either porcelain or stainless steel. Both materials are good options and have their unique advantages and disadvantages.

Porcelain urinals can chip or crack upon impact, while stainless steel urinals are more impact-resistant. However, stainless steel urinals can rust over time with exposure to acidic urine, especially if not cleaned properly on a regular basis, while porcelain simply does not rust. Since each material has its advantages, many business owners choose their urinal material based on their desired bathroom aesthetic.

Additional Urinal Design Considerations

The International Plumbing Code (IPC) and American's with Disabilities Act (ADA) guidelines must be taken into consideration when choosing your urinals and incorporating them in your commercial restroom design plans.

According to the IPC, all adult bathroom urinals must be installed with at least 15-inches of clearance between the urinal center and any adjacent walls or partitions. At least 30-inches of clearance are required between two urinals or a urinal and another bathroom fixture, such as a toilet or sink. In addition, each urinal should have at least 21-inches of clearance between it and any walls or obstructions in front of it.

For urinals to be ADA-compliant, they must have elongated rims that lie no more than 17-inches above the floor surface, and urinal front clearance must be increased to a 30- x 48-inch square that connects to a bathroom entry and exit route. Finally, any required urinal flush mechanisms must be located no more than 44- inches above the floor to help people with disabilities reach them more easily.

If you plan to renovate your commercial bathrooms soon, then consider including several urinals in your men's bathroom design to save water and reap the additional benefits of bathroom urinals. Contact the experienced plumbers at Power Plumbing Inc. for all of your plumbing and bathroom fixture installation needs today.