Comments on: where is Solomon when you need him?

By: How to Fix a Clogged Shower Drain | SF MOM MAP

How to Fix a Clogged Shower Drain | SF MOM MAP — Sat, 04 Apr 2009 02:11:31 +0000

[...] where is Solomon when you need him? photo credit: daviddesign Here’s a question for you, to see where you fall on the health/hygiene versus the environment scale. Ladies, sorry but I’ll be referring to a purely male institution so bear with me. In the office I’m working in we have urinals. They are the old-fashioned…… [...]

By: Coddigus

Coddigus — Fri, 25 Apr 2008 05:10:48 +0000

Dude. Wasting that water is way worse than the smell. Yeah it smells bad but look at our times. Water is considered a scarcity now.

Can you believe it? A planet almost SOLELY composed of water on its exterior, is now considered a scarcity. Water purifying jobs are going to boom in the next couple of decades at this rate.

Here I go! Jump the entrepreneurial opportunity bro!

-Greg

By: boomie

boomie — Fri, 25 Apr 2008 00:28:44 +0000

You work as a consultant? Must be slow.

Why don’t you try the toilet, like you do in your own home and forget about the urinal for now?

By: Mrs. Micah

Mrs. Micah — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 21:48:21 +0000

I used to clean urinals with the same problem. Unfortunately, I don’t have a solution, since I was always cleaning and never using. I appreciated when people gave it at least a partial flush…

By: 42

42 — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 19:34:37 +0000

ugh, waterless urinals may save water (duh) but oh dios mio do they stink.

By: Pamela

Pamela — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 16:28:23 +0000

Plant a tree in the urinal!

Well, that’s not practical so they make cake deodorizers that can be put in a urinal so if you don’t flush completely it won’t smell horrible. And, while urine doesn’t have germs coming from your body, as well as no smell, it does get odoriferous when left to stagnate because of all the bacteria it encounters outside of your body. (that’s your science lesson for the day… ;o) ..)

Pine deodorizers are also effective. Good Luck! (ps: that would bother me too)

By: AJC @ 7million7years

AJC @ 7million7years — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 15:33:09 +0000

I’m not an expert, but I believe that urine is germ-free, so (aside from the smell … where are the ‘green inventors’ when we need them?) there’s no real reason to flush (or even wash your hands). Just for the record, though: I flush AND wash … thoroughly!

BTW: There is a useful business lesson on the subject of toilets:

There was a very successful bakery in a country town … tourist buses make special trips to this bakery (now they have expanded to multiple areas). One of the reasons is that they survey their customers and deliver what they want.

And, when they surveyed their female customers, what did they want from a quaint little bakery in the countryside?

More/better toilets!

That was the #1 request … so they renovated to provide LOTS of pristine-clean female toilets and the rest is … history. AJC.

By: deepali

deepali — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 14:42:04 +0000

You could always put mothballs in the drain area.

By: Dividend Growth Investor

Dividend Growth Investor — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 13:42:20 +0000

Steve,

Good luck asking any company to spend any money on anything. Especially since you are a consultant, your word does not really matter to them

BTW I am all for planting trees and doing number 1 there..Except in the winter..

By: FFB

FFB — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 12:46:37 +0000

Here’s the truly “green” option – plant tress on the rooftop and let the guys take care of business like they were out in the woods.

Another option, for real, would be to use the stall instead of the urinal. It may use more water but it might prove a better balance between hygiene and environment (assuming people don’t miss their target).