Warning: The content in this post could make you a bit nauseous and create an aversion to public restrooms. But if you stick with it, there is also good news!
Researchers at the University of Colorado Boulder (CU) recently published a scientific study revealing commercial toilets’ shocking impact when flushed.
You can read the complete study and watch a Fox News clip on the subject in part 1 and part 2 if you are inclined, but here’s a synopsis of what all the hubbub is about.
Flush, or toilet, plumes—aerosols produced by flush toilets—have been widely reported on and researched for over a decade. When a toilet is flushed, it emits a substantial plume of potentially infectious aerosols. These unsanitary flush plumes propel all sorts of undesirable germs, pathogens, and bacteria into the air, where they then land on nearby surfaces or float out of the restroom.
The new study out of Boulder is unique in that it shows, via a laser light show, just how high, how fast, how far, and how dense that flush plume is. You are not going to like what you see.
Researchers from the environmental engineering program found that airborne particles travel at speeds of 6.6 feet per second and can travel almost 5 feet above the toilet within 8 seconds.
In the video above, the lead author of the study and professor of civil, environmental, and architectural engineering John P. Crimaldi says:
We need to emphasize that, you know, we’re not epidemiologists, we’re not in public health. We’re engineers and physicists. Our role is to understand the physics of this mechanism and show that that could lead to exposure of pathogens and then work ideally with other people down the road to try and understand how to minimize the transmission.”
The AcornVac Difference
AcornVac has long known about the dangers of the flush plume—and back in 2012, we set out to prove that our products were safer and more sanitary than the competition.
Our vacuum system eliminates splash and plume by drawing air into the toilet with every flush. This innovative system also offers the added benefit of reducing water usage to less than half a gallon per flush—a water savings of up to 68% on every flush.
We commissioned a test from NSF International to compare the flush of an AcornVac® toilet against those of the cistern-style and flushometer toilets typically used in public restrooms. Our video illustrating the NSF test results showed, just like the CU study, a large flush plume emanating from a commercial toilet.
The AcornVac toilet, however, showed no flush plume at all. The NSF International report stated, “the two AcornVac vacuum toilets had non-detectable levels of overspray,” unlike the cistern and flushometer toilets.
What’s Next
Are we doomed never to use a public restroom on a gravity system again?
This is where the Boulder study comes in and why it’s so important. With this and similar studies showing how far the aerosolized flush plume can travel, engineers can start working on solutions via improved plumbing design and ventilation strategies. Finding solutions is what engineers are great at.
Engineers have taken us out of the outhouse and into the comfort of indoor “flush” toilets. Then they tackled the issue of sewer gas emissions by inventing the S-shaped trap. After that, engineers cleaned things up further by building complex sewer systems, and engineers figured out how to conserve water by developing low-flow toilets. And it was, of course, engineers who made vacuum plumbing commercially viable.
While AcornVac vacuum plumbing systems benefit various industries worldwide, healthcare facilities demonstrate the most urgent need. A literature review by the CDC confirmed that toilet plume may contribute to the transmission of infectious diseases, but additional research is necessary to fully understand the risks, especially within healthcare facilities.
In such environments, where sanitation is so important, AcornVac vacuum toilet systems not only eliminate the bacteria-laden flush plume, they also prevent wastewater piping leaks, significantly reducing contamination due to pipe failure. The spread of bacteria is minimized, assisting with infection control efforts to mitigate the potential for hospital-acquired infections.
Our decades of experience have resulted in the creation of the most advanced products and designs in the market today. The AcornVac R&D team ensures that we stay on the cutting edge of vacuum technology.