Health & Safety

The nature of plumbing products puts the plumbing industry on the front lines of the public health and safety. Safe plumbing systems are so common in developed nations, it can be difficult to remember the critical role of plumbing products in preventing the spread of bacteria and diseases.

Other health and safety issues arise in wet-bathroom environments, compelling innovations to protect users from hazards such as scalding and slipping, as well as to assist users of all ages and physical capabilities. Plumbing product manufacturers have designed smarter products to enable the greatest number of people to use the bathroom independently and always with dignity.

• Managing Water Temperature for Safety and Comfort
• Reducing Maintenance, Enhancing Sanitation
• Safe Accessible Design for All

Managing Water Temperature for Safety and Comfort

The simple act of turning on the shower belies the complex interplay of water temperature and pressure variables behind getting that temperature just right.

A shower is actually a combination of several different plumbing products – including the showerheads and handles that users see, as well as the behind-the-wall piping and the shower valve – that deliver the mix of hot and cold water to each user's optimum comfort.

• Pressure-balancing guards against a sudden unanticipated change in shower water temperature caused by the simultaneous usage of other fixtures, such as a toilet or a washing machine, that demands a large quantity of water quickly.
• Thermostatic shower valves maintain comfortable outlet temperatures, even with changes to the inlet water temperature. Some thermostatic valves even adjust the outlet water temperature with inlet pressure changes as well.

The result of rapid temperature changes of the shower water is "thermal shock" that can lead to dangerous falls, caused by trying to scramble away from sudden discomfort. Scalding is also a real risk without pressure-balanced or thermostatic shower valves, where the user is actually burned by the extremely hot water. Pressure-balance and thermostatic valves limit the swing of water temperatures experienced by the user.

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Reducing Maintenance, Enhancing Sanitation

New anti-microbial advancements in plumbing products contribute to safe sanitation, while delivering the hard-to-resist benefit of making it easier to clean the bathroom.

Available for toilets, bathroom faucets, drinking fountains and whirlpool piping systems, anti-microbial properties add different benefits, depending on the fixture or fitting. Permanent glazes fired into the surfaces of toilets improve bowl cleansing and waste-removal with less water, while making it harder for grime and bacteria to adhere to the surfaces. On faucets, drinking fountains and in whirlpool systems, such technologies work on the drops of water that remain in the products after use to reduce scale buildup and ease routine maintenance.

"Hands-free" valves for plumbing fixtures and fittings enable them to be operated without being touched. Also known as proximity valves, they are similar to auto-open doors, using light sensors that are activated by movement to flush toilets and urinals and to operate faucets. Newer advancements in sensor sensitivities that take into account the reflective surfaces of bathrooms improve operability. Hands-free valves deliver the benefits of being both barrier-free and sanitary to use.

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Safe Accessible Design for All

Plumbing products are designed with variations and special features to safely satisfy the needs of families throughout their lifecycles, taking into account varying human conditions such as the inability to walk, difficulty walking, reliance on walking aids, blindness and visual impairment, lack of balance, reaching and manipulation disabilities, lack of stamina, difficulty interpreting and reacting to sensory information, and extremes of physical size.

Since the Americans with Disabilities Act became law, all elements located in areas within a building are required to be accessible and must be constructed to be useable by persons with physical disabilities. Given the wide range of user needs, this creates some challenges, as accommodating a sink height for wheelchair users can create back strain for taller individuals. As such, accessibility laws and regulations throughout the United States are developed with the understanding that providing access to everyone all of the time is impossible. The goal is to provide the greatest degree of accessibility to the greatest number of individuals.

There are two major initiatives underway within the accessibility community. The first is called "mainstreaming," or an attempt to require that everything be accessible. This is a result of the understandable desire of persons with disabilities not to be singled out and classified separately from the remainder of society.

The other initiative is called "universal design," a concept that calls for all products and environments to be usable by all people to the greatest extent possible without the need for adaptation or specialized design. Similar to mainstreaming, universal design seeks to avoid "special" treatments and designs, in favor of designs that benefit everyone through ease of use.

• providing knee and toe clearances under fixtures;
• locating operable parts, such as faucet handles, in a reachable range;
• making movable parts operable with little force from one hand and without tight grasping, pinching or turning of the wrist;
• providing access for wheelchair users, including enough room for the turning radius and removal of barriers to showers;
• precise placements of load-bearing grab bars.

The beauty of universal design is the comfort and performance advantages for all users. Toilets are available in a variety of heights to provide a range of comfort options. Standard toilets are about 14 to 15 inches high from floor to the top of bowl rim (not including the seat). Toilets billed as having more comfortable heights are closer to the height of a chair, from 16 to 17 inches high. Toilets of shorter heights, originally designed for elementary schools, have now entered the homeowner market in the form of children's toilets.

Slip-resistance is another innovation that provides safe use for everyone. Bathroom product manufacturers have been in the forefront of pioneering safe surfaces that have integral permanent textures, whether it's an acrylic shower or glossy enamel-finished tub.

Accessible design also includes products designed to accommodate the obese. This is a consideration in commercial installations where toilets are often wall-mounted, as well as in the installation and engineering of grab bars. While all wall-mounted toilets must pass a 500-pound load test, sheering force applied to wall mounted fixtures when a bariatric user sits down too quickly can be better supported with carrier systems or floor-mounted toilets.

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