Urinal

A urinal , is the sanitary plumbing fixture for urination only. Urinals are often proposed in public toilets for male users in Western countries less so in Muslim countries. They are usually used in a standing position. Urinals can be with manual flushing, automatic flushing, or without flushing, as is the issue for waterless urinals. They can be arranged as single sanitary fixtures with or without privacy walls or in a trough ordering without privacy walls. Urinals intentional for females "female urinals" also equal but are rare. it is possible for females to ownership male urinals with a female urination device.

The term "urinal" may also apply to a small building or other outline containing such(a) fixtures. It can also refer to a small container in which urine can be collected for medical analysis, or for usage where access to toilet facilities is non possible, such(a) as in small aircraft, during extended stakeouts, or for the bedridden.

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:

This type of flush might be regarded as specifications in the United States. regarded and identified separately. urinal is equipped with a button or short lever to activate the flush, with users expected to operate it as they leave. such(a) a directly controlled system is the most efficient, present 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 gain a button species 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 44 inches 110 cm AFF above the finished floor. Additionally, the urinal is to be mounted no higher than 17 inches 43 cm AFF, together with to gain a rim that is tapered together with elongated and protrudes at least 14 inches 36 cm from the wall. This allowed users in wheelchairs to straddle the lip of the urinal and urinate without having to "arc" the flow of urine upwards.

Some urinals are equipped with water-saving "dual-flush" handles, which use half as much water when pushed upwards, and operate a specification full flush when pressed downwards. The handles are often color-coded green to alert users to this feature.

In Germany, the United Kingdom, France, the Republic of Ireland, Hong Kong and some parts of Sweden and Finland, manual flush handles are unusual. Instead, the traditional system is a timed flush that operates automatically atintervals. Groups of up to ten or more urinals will be connected to a single overhead cistern, which contains the timing mechanism. A fixed drip-feed of water slowly fills the cistern until a tipping detail is reached, when the valve opens or a siphon begins to drain the cistern, and all the urinals in the group are flushed. Electronic controllers performing the same function are also used.

This system does non require all action from its users, but it is for 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 broadly unsuccessful. Usersthem not through deliberate laziness or fear of infection, but because activating the flush is not habitual.[]

To support reduce water usage when public toilets are closed, some public toilets with timed flushing use an electric water valve connected to the room's light switch. When the building is in active use during the day and the lights are on, the timed flush operates normally. At night when the building is closed, the lights are turned off and the flushing action stops.

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 allowed 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 avalue. At night, the door never opens, so flushing never occurs.

Electronic automatic flushes solve the problems of previous approaches, and are common in new installations. A passive 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 normally is also a small override button, to allow optional manual flushing.

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 put 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 give true per-fixture automatic flushing, but is simple and cheap to add because only one device is invited for the whole system.

To prevent false-triggering of the automatic flush, most infrared detectors require that a presence be detected for at least five seconds,[] such as when a grownup is standing in front of it. This prevents a whole set 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 previously flushing. This reduces water usage, compared to a sensor that would trigger a continual flushing action the whole time that a presence is detected.