A: Ruth, with the amount of "number one" bathroom traffic in your home, you can expect to save thousands of gallons of water a year! Not to mention the fact that if you're on a septic system, you can expect lower maintenance bills.

Waterless urinals are becoming very popular for residential installations because they are usually pretty easy to install in most bathrooms. Since they are a "waterless" fixture, there is no reason to run any water lines to the urinal; all you should need is a properly sized drain line.

However, do not lose sight of the fact that a waterless urinal is a plumbing fixture, and local codes have to be followed -- along with taking out permits if required. I recommend that you call a licensed and insured plumber for installation.

Anyway, once the waterless urinal is installed, you need to follow the manufacturer's recommendations for proper operation and maintenance of the fixture. The ones that I'm familiar with use a "liquid trap seal" to keep out odors and dispose of the urine. This trap seal is made from an environmentally friendly, odor-absorbing fluid that floats inside the urinal trap. The urine simply passes through this fluid and goes down the drain.

As far as maintenance, once a day the urinal needs to be sprayed with a special cleaning agent. Also, twice a month, a small bucket of water needs to be poured into the urinal to wash out the trap, followed by a cup of the drain fluid to refill and seal the trap. Once you get the routine down, it should be no different from cleaning your toilet.

Speaking of which, since the boys will be using the urinal most of the time, your toilet should no longer be the victim of a "bad aim," and you'll probably be cleaning your toilet less!