Waterless urinals are becoming an increasingly popular choice for hospitality businesses across the country. They offer a wide range of key benefits, but they do require a slightly different cleaning process compared to standard urinals. In this guide, we look at the best products to unblock a waterless urinal and how to maintain one properly — including which product to reach for depending on the problem you’re actually facing.

Why Waterless Urinals Are on the Rise

Businesses across the country have started using waterless urinals in their facilities, from fast food restaurants to buildings with public or private toilets. The benefits come from the fact that they don’t require water to flush:

• More environmentally friendly, due to reduced water consumption
• Lower water bills, saving businesses considerable costs over time
• Improved cleanliness and hygiene standards, since there’s no standing water for bacteria to accumulate in
• A more pleasant washroom, as the removal of standing water also reduces odours

As a result, waterless urinals are a fantastic investment for public-facing spaces, particularly restaurants, retail units and high-traffic commercial premises.

How Waterless Urinals Work

In many ways, waterless urinals look the same as their regular counterparts. The key difference is that they don’t contain a flush valve or pipe — instead, a vertical trap sits on top of the drain space, filled with liquid sealant. Urine passes through this trap, under the barrier, and into the drainage area below.

Routine Cleaning and Maintenance Steps

Because there’s no water flush to help keep things moving, proper care and maintenance matters more with waterless systems. We recommend the following regular steps:

• Always wear gloves and goggles when cleaning the urinal
• Clean the surfaces of the urinal daily, using a cleaner that’s safe for public-use facilities
• Deodorise the unit regularly with a cleaning solution made for waterless systems — waterless urinals are less prone to bacteria and rust, but need more frequent deodorising
• Check the drain and vertical trap for blockages, and remove any debris (the trap is designed to catch larger objects here)
• Refill the sealant regularly — usually required around once every 1,500 uses
• Descale both the urinal and the pipework on a semi-regular basis, and don’t pour excess water into the system, as this can wash out the sealant

Which Product Do You Need: URI-Klear or URI-Klearpath?

This section replaces the previous version, which described URI-Klear as the routine/daily product and URI-Klearpath as the long-term/stubborn-issue product — the reverse of how the product pages describe them. The framing below is symptom-based instead of frequency-based, and matches the product pages.

Bio8 supplies two different products for waterless (and standard) urinal problems, and which one you need depends on what’s actually happening at the urinal — not on a fixed schedule.

If the urinal has stopped draining altogether, you need an instant unblocker. URI-Klear dissolves a hard blockage of uric acid and limescale within minutes, without affecting the trap, seal or any of the unit’s internal components, and without damaging pipes, metals or ceramics.

If the urinal is still draining, just more slowly than usual — or you want to stop a blockage happening in the first place — you need a pipe maintainer. URI-Klearpath is designed to be used routinely (for example monthly) to dissolve uric scale build-up deep in the pipework, opening up restrictions before they become a full blockage.

A simple way to remember it:

Both are non-caustic, safe on waterless and standard flushing urinals alike, and won’t damage pipework, fittings or trap components.

Get Expert Advice

At Bio8, we’ve developed high-performance, non-hazardous solutions specifically designed for cleaning and maintaining waterless urinals. If you’re not sure which product fits your situation, our specialist team is on hand to advise — contact our team today.

Urinal not draining at all? Shop URI-Klear →

Urinal slow to drain, or due a maintenance treatment? Shop URI-Klearpath →