FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions)
BENEFITS OF ZERODOR
Why use Waterless Urinals? I do not have to pay for the water bill, why should I invest in a waterless system?
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Accounting changes. In order to avoid raising taxes, communities are shifting the costs of supplying and maintaining water systems from property taxes to utility bills.
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Demographics. The areas of the country that are now growing the fastest are the same ones facing the greatest water challenges.
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Reduced access to clean water. The number of rivers, streams, lakes, and other water sources that can be accessed has been reduced in the past few years due to pollution and related issues.
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Climate change. Increased reduction of freshwater table to support human health, food, and energy needs.
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Supply and demand. Basic economics is playing a role. As supplies dwindle, costs go up. This applies to water as well.
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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.
Why Zerodor
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Saves water
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No power required
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No consumable cartridge
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Low in maintenance
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No flushing required
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Easy to clean
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Fresh and odor-free
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Cost effective
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No chemical
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No recurring cost
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Retrofit into most existing urinals
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Reduces load on your sewer
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Helps reducing BOD and COD on your sewage treatment
How much water can be saved by using Waterless Urinals?
Waterless urinals can save anything between 57,000 and 170,000 liters (15,000 and 45,000 US gallons) 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.
HOW DOES ZERODOR WATERLESS URINAL WORK?
How much water can be saved by using Waterless Urinals?
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Hydrolysis of urea present in human urine generates odor in urinals. The enzyme urease hydrolyses urea into ammonia and carbamate. The latter compound decomposes spontaneously to carbonic acid and a second molecule of ammonia. The overall reaction can be represented as
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NH2(CO)NH2 + 2H20 → NH3 + NH4+ + HCO3-
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Ammonia (NH3) is a colorless gas with a pungent odor. Ammonia exists naturally in the air at levels between one part and five parts per billion (ppb) of air (OSHA, 2003). The normal human detection level of ammonia is approximately 50 ppm, some people can detect ammonia gas concentrations as low as 20 ppm (Source: UCLA and BioContractors, 2000).
Once the urine passes through the drain and the odour evolves the float valve will have enough weight to block the odour from refluxing back into the water closet. As the float is hand molded out of polymeric material it does not have aging.
What happens to the odor?
Odour = Ammonia (NH3) and odorous gases like hydrogen sulphide generated by the dissolution of organic waste into flushed water and decay thereof. The gases tend to leak in the closet and hence accumulate there causing the odor. Zerodor traps those gases from coming into the closet and make them drain out to gas release pipes or get dissolved back in the sludge. Thus reducing the amount accumulated in the closet and hence reducing bad smell.
Is Zerodor Efficient?
The efficiency of Zerodor is measured in ammonia level concentration ( ppm). Zerodor decreases the ammonia concentration to a distinct level to reduce the odour significantly. Our research data shows it goes down upto 0.22 ppm.
Is Zerodor Durable?
We have tested it for 10 years now at various places and it is running efficaciously without any replacement. The only failure that may happen is because of the continuous usage of highly acidic/alkaline cleaning agents or physical damage to the valve.
INSTALLATION & MAINTENANCE
How do I install Zerodor Waterless Urinals?
Zerodor retrofits into the existing urinal by removing the valve in the plumbing line just below the opening. Any plumber can easily install this. Please refer to the link below for a detailed installation process.
How much time does it take to install Zerodor Waterless Urinal?
It depends on the type of the urinal pan and the plumbing fittings required retrofitting. Typically if all materials are available, it takes about an hour to install Zerodor.
Is Zerodor Durable?
Cleaning and Maintenance of Zerodor Waterless Urinals are very easy and can be done without any expertise. Please refer to the video for a detailed maintenance process and frequency.
Does Ekam provide maintenance service
Yes, to further improve the experience, we have introduced Annual Maintenance Contract (AMC) for Zerodor-Waterless Urinals. The contract is valid for ONE YEAR from the date of signing of AMC contract. The AMC may be renewed from year to year subject to rendering of satisfactory services and fulfilling the terms and conditions.
Which cleaners can I safely use with Zerodor Waterless Urinals?
One should use natural or biological and Enzyme based cleaners to clean any sort of sanitation areas. The cleaners advertised heavily by most of the consumer products companies have heavy amount of acid or alkali. This acid or alkali will kill waste decaying bacteria and also increase Biological oxygen on demand / Chemical Oxygen Demand of the sewer. You tend to spend more with higher costs on sewage treatments with high acid and alkali based chemicals.
For Zerodor, it is made out of food-grade Stainless Steel, CPVC and ABS plastics and is safe from most of the commonly used cleaning solutions in the market.
TROUBLESHOOTING
How to Troubleshoot if there is a problem with the Zerodor?
In the past ten years, over 30000 installations have indicated that there is zero failure in the mechanism. In a couple of cases, due to miss-handling of the valve while cleaning has lead to a puncture of the ball. This was replaced immediately within an hour. At an affordable cost, replacement unit of 3 pieces per unit can also be stocked to tackle emergencies.
Is there a warranty on the product?
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Zerodor comes with a standard one-year repair or replacement warranty. We will provide you with any spares required in this one year apart from keys and brushes which have to be maintained as accessories. This is a static product and has the float as the only moving part. We have tested its life for the last 10 years with all harsh cleaning chemicals. Unless physically damaged while handling or cleaning there is nothing that gets damaged just like our regular CPVC piping for drainage. We recommend checking sealing joints every 2 years as they may leak due to the end of life of the sealants used.
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Spares are available at very minimal cost of product and handling charges after the warranty periods.
How is Zerodor different from other technologies?
The other technologies have a recurring and maintenance expenditure attached to them whereas zerodor works on the principle of a non-return valve mechanism. This valve allows urine to pass and blocks the odour to enter the restrooms. It does not require any consumables, has very low maintenance and zero recurring cost.
MISCELLANEOUS
How do I maintain hygiene in the restroom?
More moisture means more bacteria formation, so keeping it dry is the best option. Hence we say don’t add water. Hygiene is not flushing water but is to maintain a regular cleaning schedule and wiping dirt off. Use enzyme-based cleaners instead of strong fragrance-based chemical cleaners having strong alkalis or acids. Fragrance-based cleaners are harming the ozone layer and alkali and acids are killing bacteria that decay the waste. This is unhygienic. So to maintain hygiene is to reduce water dilution thereby reducing the load on your sewer and accelerating the decay process. Wiping with enzyme-based cleaners adds good bacteria to decay waste and also reduces odor in addition to The Zerodor’s mechanism.
Why is it important to maintain restrooms and urinals?
Urine is mainly composed of Water, Nitrogen (N), Phosphorus (P) and Potassium (K). Most blockages in urinal waste pipes are caused by the combination of uric acid salts (contained in urine) with the limescale contained in water. Washrooms with naturally “soft” or artificially softened water (i.e. little limescale content) are likely to experience less problems with blockages than those with hard water. When static in the waste pipes, urine and limescale combine to coat the pipework with a hard scale. Over time, layer upon layer is added until the pipe blocks. The coating also provides an ideal medium for the development of odour causing bacteria.
A major advantage of Zerodor Waterless Urinals is that, to state the obvious, they do not use any water. If urinals are not flushed with water, there is no limescale entering the waste pipes and therefore nothing for the urine to combine with. Instead of hard scale, untreated and static urine eventually forms a soft sludge. In addition, hair and other debris inevitably enters the wastepipes and attract fats in urine, forming the sludge. This can also cause blockages and stinks, but is considerably easier to combat than the combination of urine and limescale.
Zerodor Waterless Urinal systems seek to avoid the problems of sludge build-up by trying to ensure the urine flows quickly through the urinal waste pipes to the main drain, often referred to as “the stack”. In order to ensure ‘free flow’, the trap or u-bend usually found under the urinal is replaced with a right angled pipe so that urine and debris cannot collect. For this method to work well, waste pipework should be near to perfect in terms of the gradient (fall) towards the stack. Moreover, it is important to have clean pipes connected together without any ridges behind which urine and debris can collect. Having numerous right-angled connectors to reach the stack is not recommended.
So even in waterless systems, some form of manual flushing is often recommended. It is essential that the simple action of cleaning is performed regularly, with a mixture of water and cleaning chemical solution.
Why is Zerodor Waterless Urinal recommended for Hospitals?
It is absolutely safe and hygienic to install this system in places like hospitals because of two reasons. Firstly, urine is mostly water and usually does not contain pathogens. Secondly, this system is a touch free mechanism where there is no contact with either the infected surface or the infected person. Everyday cleaning of the urinal can be recommended as an additional safety precaution in such places.
What are the best places to install Zerodor Waterless Urinals?
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Public places such as parks, shopping complexes, offices of various companies, etc
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Educational institutions, schools and colleges
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New residential projects involving multi-towers of houses
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Hospitals
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Government offices
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Tourist spots all over the world
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Airports, railway stations, bus terminals, auto stands
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Villages in the rural area
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Army, Navy and air-force stations
What are the CSR benefits for installing Zerodor Waterless Urinals?
It can be included in the CSR budget in the areas of environment and sanitation. Zerodor can help you collect up to 11 points from LEED Green Building Certification too.
What is Green Pro Certification?
Zerodor is a Green Pro Certified product. Green Pro Certification is issued by CII-IGBC (Indian Green Building Council). GreenPro is a product certification that helps an environmentally conscious customer to make an informed choice to buy eco-friendly products. GreenPro is a mark of guarantee that the product is environment-friendly throughout the different stages of its life cycle which includes the Design Stage, Raw Material Selection, Manufacturing Process, Product Performance during Use, Disposal and Recycling. For more information on Green Pro, please visit https://igbc.in
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