Monday 29 March 2010

Why don't we use urinals in the home?

The use of urinals has never taken off in the home – would you ever consider installing one?
Urinals seems sensible when you're in a public loo so why haven't they caught on in UK bathrooms? They don't take up much space or plumbing. Ben Miller, Edinburgh
Using up to a dozen litres of fresh drinking water to flush away your "business" does seem somewhat excessive and there have been various attempts over the years to get us to use "hippos", bricks and the like to decrease the amount of water we waste when pulling the chain.
But, as far as I'm aware, the use of urinals has never taken off in the home. There are some good reasons: they're not exactly unisex devices, despite the best efforts of some women, and I can imagine the wandering hand of a child coming to grief on the porcelain lip.
Do they use less water, though? There are some "waterless" urinals around, plus ones that are motion activated. But would you really ever consider installing one at home?