Cathays High School, Cardiff

Client: Cathays High School
Type of works: supply and installation of Cistermiser's hands-free Easyflush flushing system for school toilets.

Cistermiser has been instrumental in helping Cathays High School improve its washroom hygiene. Working with the school, Cistermiser developed a practical solution. The Easyflush Walkaway valve provides touch-free flushing for the WCs as a direct result of the challenge Cathays High School faced.

Cistermiser’s Easyflush Walkaway valve is the result of a collaborative product development process with Cathays High School. The school identified a need to address a serious hygiene issue in the washrooms – that pupils were failing to flush the toilets.

While Easyflush, a wave-activated infrared sensor linked to a solenoid valve can be used to trigger the flush and fill of a WC, this was not an option in the school environment where the wave activation was perceived in the same way as a standard flushing system – it was just as easy to ignore.

Instead a system that ensures a flush every time a WC is used, activated when the user stands up or leaves the cubicle, provides a reliable solution for the school’s washrooms. Cistermiser’s Easyflush Walkaway was conceived.

When triggered, the Easyflush Walkaway valve operates with a delayed action, only allowing a WC cistern to refill after it has been emptied entirely and the valve has closed. The dual flushing function ensures that water efficiency is optimised; if the user walks away after 40 seconds a part flush at 4.5 litres is delivered, any longer and the system determines a full flush is needed, delivering a 6 litre flush.

With no need to manually flush, washroom facilities are kept clean with no lingering smells and a reduced risk of bacterial infection.

Now pupils at Cathays High School can use their washroom with confidence, safe in the knowledge that they will never encounter an un-flushed WC. It is well known, and supported through the Bog Standard initiative, that school washroom facilities which are unpleasant can have a negative long-term effect on pupils’ physical and psychological health.

In addition there is a direct link between hand cleanliness and infection control. By installing touch-free systems that work in tandem with each other, combined with a robust hand washing education programme, there is a significantly reduced risk of bacterial cross-contamination from the washroom environment.