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Studor shows the way to health and hygiene in the bathroom

Whilst unpleasant, a bad smell in the bathroom is not in itself dangerous. However, it may well be indicative of a more serious and potentially life-threatening issue. The smell can indicate that the water trap seal – the only barrier between the drainage system and the living space – has been lost, potentially posing serious health risks.

Water trap seals started being fitted on bathroom and kitchen fixtures after the 1854 cholera outbreak in London, in which hundreds of people died. Today, cholera is not a risk in the UK, but within all our drainage systems sewer gases and pathogens such as SARS, legionnaires, norovirus and others are always present.

For the last 40 years, drainage ventilation expert Studor has been solely focused on developing products that maintain the water trap seals in our buildings.

Studor’s Trap-Vent solution, the combination of a water trap and Air Admittance Valve (AAV), can easily be retrofitted to an existing bathroom, and is also ideal for small group venting in, for example, hotels, care homes and hospitals. It protects the water trap seal between the drainage system and the room, stopping bad odours and pathogens escaping from empty traps.

Studor’s UK Managing Director Stephen Taylor comments, “The Trap-Vent comes with a lifetime guarantee and also reduces siphonage noise, providing a 20dB noise reduction compared to conventional traps. Furthermore, it allows freedom of design for engineers and architects to enable multiple drainage fixtures to link together. It is also highly styled, so eminently suitable for installation in environments where aesthetics is of high importance.”

The Studor Trap-Vent is a combined trap with a 50mm water seal and an integral AAV. It reduces the need for secondary ventilating in small fixture groups and replaces conventional S traps and P traps. It is height adjustable for fully flexible installation, has integrated self-cleaning, and is suitable for bath and shower rooms, providing an excellent solution for problem solving in new builds as well as the retrofit market.

Studor has more than one million products installed each year across six continents, and its worldwide distribution network extends to more than 50 countries. The company has a rich history and specialist knowledge, making it well placed to help architects, engineers, specifiers, plumbers, and end-users solve their drainage ventilation issues.

For more information call 0845 6013292; email info@studor.net or visit www.studor.net/trap-vent.
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Studor develops unique solution for unique building

It was local council concerns of the perceived risks from SARS and other airborne viruses that resulted in an innovative, new drainage solution at the iconic O2 arena. Once Greenwich Council dismissed the option to use open stacks within the tented area of this iconic London landmark, it was down to the UK’s best plumbing engineers to resolve the issue.

Studor, with their deep knowledge of drainage ventilation systems, worked together with ME Engineers and a team at Heriot-Watt University. The Studor System solution incorporated Studor Air Admittance Valves (AAVs) coupled with P.A.P.A. (Positive Air Pressure Attenuator) units. The P.A.P.A. acts like a shock absorber, dissipating pressure waves and stopping them bouncing around the plumbing system, thereby eliminating the need for roof penetrations at the O2.

“The O2 was a difficult project because it was breaking new ground and no typical model existed,” explained Studor expert Steve White. “The data we produced included flow calculations, flow rates and pipe sizing to deal with air and transient pressures.”

The university team which worked alongside Studor, determined that any gas build-up would follow the water flow. By placing all urinals on a twelve-hour flush cycle they greatly alleviated the potential of any gas build-up problem.

“This resulted in the world’s first sealed drainage system, totally without the need for any open vents,” said White from Studor. “It not only maintained the clean lines of the iconic roof but also minimised the environmental impact and kept costs down by reducing materials and labour.”

The O2 has an overall diameter of 365m, a circumference of 1km and is 50m high at its central point. When at full capacity, the building can hold 60,000 people and has 548 toilets.

While inside the O2 the full drainage and ventilation system is sealed, the outside pump stations are on pillars with open vents that are spaced 300 metres apart to dispense any odours are generated within the complex.

For more information please visit www.studor.net.
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