These deposits apparently result when urea causes calcium carbonate to precipitate out of hard water, not from the urine itself. The third major benefit has to do with hygiene. That's not the case, according to the company. Bacteria, the primary concern in bathrooms, need a moist environment to live. This airborne bacteria settles on surfaces close to toilets, but survives only on moist surfaces.
Users also report less urine smell than they experienced with conventional urinals.
Facility managers for buildings where the Waterless urinals were installed were highly positive in their comments to EBN about the urinals. Larry Poplin at the GSA Federal Supply Depot in Arlington, Virginia, where 27 urinals were installed in 1994, said they are working perfectly and saving thousands of gallons. Given existing plumbing in the building, the urinals had to be mounted higher than normal on the walls, which resulted in some minor complaints, and the agency has had to contract the somewhat delicate trap replacement to a different firm than their usual cleaning contractor, which employs handicapped workers. They install deodorizing cartridges in the urinals and have had no complaints of smell. The problem was easily remedied, he said, by adding the fluid.