urinal urinal a urinal (us: /ˈjʊərənəl/, uk: /jʊəˈraɪnəl/) is a sanitary plumbing fixture for urination only. urinals are often provided 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 case for waterless urinals. they can be arranged as single sanitary fixtures (with or without privacy walls) or in a trough design without privacy walls. urinals designed for females ("female urinals") also exist but are rare. it is possible for females to use male urinals with a female urination device. this article is about the plumbing fixture. for the bottle used for urination, see urinal (health care). for other uses, see urinal (disambiguation). a man using a urinal typical arrangement of sensor-operated urinals in a row without partitions the term "urinal" may also apply to a small building or other structure containing such fixtures. it can also refer to a small container in which urine can be collected for medical analysis, or for use where access to toilet facilities is not possible, such as in small aircraft, during extended stakeouts, or for the bedridden. description urinals with privacy barriers in a men's public toilet in vienna, austria a male urinal can be used conveniently and appropriately by someone who has a penis or other adaptive means with which to urinate from a standing position. there is no age restriction, and urinals are commonly used by men and boys of all ages. urinals for females also exist but are not common. in busy public toilets, urinals are installed for efficiency. compared with urination in a general-purpose toilet, usage is faster and more sanitary because at the urinal there are no fecal germs, no additional doors or locks to touch, and no seat to turn up. consistent use of urinals also keeps the toilet stalls cleaner and more available for males who need to defecate. a urinal takes less space, is simpler, and consumes less water per flush (or even no water at all) than a flush toilet. large numbers of them are usually installed along a common supply pipe and drain. urinals may also come in different heights, to accommodate tall and short users. public urinals usually have a plastic mesh guard, which may optionally contain a deodorizing urinal deodorizer block or "urinal cake". the mesh is intended to prevent solid objects (such as cigarette butts, feces, chewing gum, or paper) from being flushed and possibly causing a plumbing stoppage. in some restaurants, bars, and clubs, ice may be put in the urinals, serving some of the same purposes as the deodorizing block without dispensing odorous chemicals. arrangement urinals that extend to the floor, suitable for users of all heights for purposes of space and economic practicality, urinals are not typically placed inside stalls. unlike in female public toilets, optimal resource efficiency in men's or boys' public toilets therefore requires urinating in full visibility of other males. in recent years, it has become more common in some countries for dividers or partitions to be installed between urinals to eliminate any chance of incidental exposure during the process of urination. urinals in high-capacity public toilets are usually arranged in one or more rows directly opposite the door, so that users have their backs to people entering or standing outside. often, one or two of the urinals, typically at one end of a long row, will be mounted lower than the others; they are meant for the disabled and other users who cannot reach the regular urinals. in facilities where people of various heights are present, such as schools, urinals that extend down to floor level may be used to allow anyone of any height to use any urinal. instead of individual fixtures, trough urinals may be installed. these designs can be used by a number of people simultaneously, but they do not allow for much privacy. they are often installed where there is a high peak demand, such as in schools, music festivals, theatrical events, sports stadiums, discos, dance clubs, and convention halls. urinals were once installed exclusively in commercial or institutional settings, but are also now available for private homes. they offer the advantages of substantial water savings in residences with many occupants, and reduction of "splash back", making cleaning easier. urinal with pink-colored urinal cake urinals in tokyo, japan; one at far right is fitted with handle bars for people with disabilities urinals in the czech republic trough urinal in los angeles train station urinal in munich, germany modern trough urinal in an art museum in brisbane, australia old-style wall urinal at stetson bowl stadium in surrey, british columbia, canada vintage urinals in boston secondary school (c. 1933–59) outdoor urinals at school for boys (left) and girls (right) in tamil nadu, india 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: manual handles this type of flush might be regarded as standard in the united states. each urinal is equipped with a button or short lever to activate the flush, with users expected to operate it as they leave. such a directly controlled system is the most efficient, provided 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 have a button set 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, and to have a rim that is tapered and elongated and protrudes at least 14 inches (36 cm) from the wall. this enables 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 standard full flush when pressed downwards. the handles are often color-coded green to alert users to this feature. timed flush 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 at regular intervals. groups of up to ten or more urinals will be connected to a single overhead cistern, which contains the timing mechanism. a constant drip-feed of water slowly fills the cistern until a tipping point 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 not require any action from its users, but it is 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 generally unsuccessful. users ignore them not through deliberate laziness or fear of infection, but because activating the flush is not habitual. to help 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. door-regulated flush 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 provides 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 a certain value. at night, the door never opens, so flushing never occurs. automatic flush long-exposure photography shows how light sensors work 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 usually 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 add 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 provide true per-fixture automatic flushing, but is simple and cheap to add because only one device is required 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 person is standing in front of it. this prevents a whole line 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 before flushing. this reduces water usage, compared to a sensor that would trigger a continuous flushing action the whole time that a presence is detected. waterless urinals since about the 1990s urinals have been available on the market that use no water at all. these are called waterless urinals or flushless urinals. the first waterless urinal was developed at the end of the 19th century by the german-austrian wilhelm beetz using an oil-based syphon with a liquid that he called urinol. waterless urinals can save between 15,000 and 45,000 us gallons (57,000 and 170,000 l) of water per urinal per year, depending on the amount of water used in the water-flushed urinal for comparison purposes, and the number of uses per day. for example, these numbers assume that the urinal would be used between 40 and 120 times per business day. waterless urinals allow the collection of undiluted pure urine which can be used as a fertilizer. odor control models of waterless urinals introduced by the waterless company in 1991 and others in 2001 by falcon waterfree technologies and sloan valve company, as well as duravit, use a trap insert filled with a sealant liquid instead of water. the lighter-than-water sealant floats on top of the urine collected in the u-bend, preventing odors from being released into the air. the cartridge and sealant must be periodically replaced. waterless urinals may also use an outlet system that traps the odor, preventing the smell often present in toilet blocks. another method to eliminate odor was introduced by caroma, which installed a deodorizing block in their waterless urinal that was activated during use. odor control in waterless urinals is also achieved with simple one-way valves which are manufactured as a flat rubber tube (the tube opens when urine flows through) or with two silicone "curtain" pieces. the former is used in the waterless urinals by the company keramag in germany (model centaurus) and the latter is marketed by the company addicom in south africa who called it the ecosmellstop device. applications waterless urinals can be installed in high-traffic facilities, and in situations where providing a water supply may be difficult or where water conservation is desired. waterless urinals have become rather common in germany since about 2009 and can be found at restaurants, cinemas, highway rest stops, train stations and so forth. it was estimated in 2009 that there are about 6 million urinals in germany, and about