When healthcare facilities look for ways to reduce water consumption, faucets and showers often get the most attention. But there’s another important component that can have a significant impact on water efficiency and maintenance costs: flush valves.

Found behind toilets and urinals throughout your facility, flush valves are responsible for delivering the right amount of water at the right pressure for the right amount of time. When they’re working properly, you probably don’t give them much thought. When they’re not, the consequences can add up quickly.

🎥 Watch our video featuring Chuck Bragdon of Water Saver Solutions as he explains why proper flush valve performance matters and how routine maintenance can help healthcare facilities reduce water waste and improve operational efficiency.

A flush valve may seem like a simple mechanical device, but getting the performance right is essential.

When a valve delivers too much water, your facility may be wasting thousands of gallons annually. Too little water can create a different set of problems, including incomplete flushing, clogged toilets, repeat flushes, and additional maintenance calls.

The goal isn’t simply to flush. It’s to flush efficiently and consistently, every time.

For hospitals with hundreds or even thousands of toilets and urinals, small performance issues can become significant operational expenses.

Like any mechanical component, flush valves experience wear over time. Recognizing the early warning signs can help your facilities team address problems before they become more costly.

Here are five signs to watch for:

1. Toilets requiring multiple flushes: This may indicate insufficient water delivery or improper valve operation.
2. Urinals that continuously run: A malfunctioning valve can waste water long after someone has finished using the fixture.
3. Water leaking into the toilet bowl: Even small, ongoing leaks can contribute to unnecessary water consumption.
4. Inconsistent flushing performance: Changes in flushing effectiveness may indicate worn internal components or improper adjustments.
5. Valves that are unusually noisy or slow to close: These symptoms may indicate mechanical wear or maintenance needs.

These aren’t just minor inconveniences. They’re potential indicators that your facility is losing water and spending more on maintenance than necessary.

Not all flush valves are designed to deliver the same amount of water.

As Chuck explains in the video, older toilet flush systems may use approximately 3.5 gallons per flush, while newer, more efficient systems commonly use 1.2 or 1.6 gallons per flush.

Flush cycle duration can also provide clues about performance:

• Newer systems: Approximately 2–3 seconds per flush cycle.

• Older systems: Approximately 4–6 seconds per flush cycle.

These are general indicators, not universal specifications. The appropriate flush volume and cycle depend on the fixture and valve design.

A flush that runs too long may waste water, while one that ends too quickly can contribute to clogs and repeat flushing.

The key is ensuring each flush valve operates according to its intended specifications.

One of the most effective ways to maintain flush valve performance is through routine inspection and preventive maintenance.

This may include:

• Replacing worn or damaged diaphragms.
• Adjusting flow to support proper flushing.
• Cleaning internal valve components.
• Inspecting and replacing relief valves when necessary.
• Verifying that each valve operates consistently and efficiently.

Proper maintenance can help extend equipment life, reduce unexpected repairs, and minimize unnecessary water consumption.

It also helps facilities teams identify opportunities to improve performance without automatically replacing entire fixtures.

Consider the number of toilets and urinals operating throughout a hospital or healthcare campus. Even modest improvements in water efficiency across hundreds of fixtures can translate into meaningful savings over time.

And the benefits go beyond reduced water consumption.

Properly maintained flush valves can also help minimize repeat maintenance calls, improve fixture reliability, and reduce disruptions for patients, visitors, and staff.

At Water Saver Solutions, we call this H₂ROI—the return on investment from smarter water management decisions.

The best-performing flush valve is one you rarely have to think about because it’s doing exactly what it was designed to do, every time.

At Water Saver Solutions, we help healthcare facilities identify opportunities to improve fixture performance, reduce unnecessary water consumption, and implement preventive maintenance strategies through our FixtureCare program.

Ready to improve water efficiency throughout your facility?

Schedule a 30-minute consultation with our team to learn how Water Saver Solutions and FixtureCare can help your facility improve performance, reduce water waste, and maximize H₂ROI.

Every drop still matters.

Water safety in healthcare requires a comprehensive approach. Explore these additional educational resources to learn more about managing waterborne pathogen risks, supporting compliance with ASHRAE Standards 188 and 514, and implementing best practices throughout your facility.

View the Water Saver Solutions Best Practice Video Library here.

Understanding ASHRAE Standards 188 and 514

Understanding the “Splash Zone” in Healthcare Sinks

Why Water Efficiency in Hospitals Delivers Powerful ROI

Hospitals invest significant time and resources in infection prevention, but one potential source of infection risk can be overlooked: the facility’s water system.

From faucets and showers to complex piping networks, hospital water systems can create conditions that increase the risk of waterborne pathogens. Understanding and addressing these risks is an important part of protecting patients, staff, and visitors.

That’s where a Water Infection Control Risk Assessment (WICRA) comes in. 

A Water Infection Control Risk Assessment (WICRA) is a process used to identify potential infection risks associated with a healthcare facility’s water system, determine who may be affected, and establish appropriate measures to reduce those risks.

A WICRA evaluates both the conditions within the water system and the vulnerability of individuals who may be exposed.

The goal is simple: Identify potential risks and take proactive steps to address them before they become bigger problems.

Hospital water systems are complex, with extensive hot and cold water distribution networks, storage systems, recirculation loops, and thousands of fixtures.

A WICRA helps identify conditions that may increase water-related infection risks, including:

• Water stagnation: Areas where water remains stationary for extended periods.

• Dead legs: Sections of piping where water movement is limited or nonexistent.

• Improper water temperatures: Conditions that may encourage microbial growth.

• Low-use fixtures: Faucets and showers that are rarely used.

• Inconsistent flushing practices: Insufficient water movement through fixtures and piping.

• Splash zones: Areas where water can splash onto surrounding surfaces, potentially increasing exposure risks.

Recognizing these conditions early allows healthcare teams to take appropriate preventive measures.

Not every area of a hospital presents the same level of infection risk.

For example, a faucet in an administrative office may present a different level of concern than one serving highly vulnerable patients.

A comprehensive WICRA considers both the water system’s conditions and the populations potentially exposed. This helps healthcare facilities prioritize resources and focus preventive measures where they are needed most.

Identifying potential problems is only the beginning. An effective WICRA should also help healthcare teams determine how to address them.

Depending on the risks identified, corrective measures may include:

• Reviewing and improving flushing procedures.
• Monitoring and adjusting water temperatures.
• Addressing stagnation and dead legs.
• Maintaining faucets, showers, and other fixtures.
• Managing water flow and splash.
• Increasing monitoring in higher-risk areas.

These actions support a more proactive approach to managing water-related infection risks.

Water safety isn’t the responsibility of one department alone.

An effective WICRA brings together facilities and engineering teams, infection prevention professionals, water management personnel, and other appropriate clinical and operational stakeholders.

Each group contributes valuable insight into how water is distributed, maintained, and used throughout the facility.

By working together, healthcare teams can develop a more complete understanding of potential risks and make informed decisions about preventive measures.

A WICRA should be more than another checklist. It’s an opportunity to ask the right questions, identify vulnerabilities, and implement meaningful improvements.

At Water Saver Solutions, we understand the challenges healthcare facilities face in managing complex water systems while prioritizing patient safety and operational efficiency.

Ready to take a closer look at your facility’s water systems?

Schedule a complimentary 30-minute consultation to learn how Water Saver Solutions and FixtureCare can support your facility’s water management efforts.

Water safety in healthcare requires a comprehensive approach. Explore these additional educational resources to learn more about managing waterborne pathogen risks, supporting compliance with ASHRAE Standards 188 and 514, and implementing best practices throughout your facility.

View the Water Saver Solutions Best Practice Video Library here.

Understanding ASHRAE Standards 188 and 514

Understanding the “Splash Zone” in Healthcare Sinks

Why Water Efficiency in Hospitals Delivers Powerful ROI

When it comes to hospital water management, what happens at the fixture matters.

Water may enter a healthcare facility through the municipal supply and travel through an extensive network of pipes before ultimately reaching faucets, sinks, showers, and other points of use throughout the building. While hospitals may have comprehensive water management plans in place, managing and documenting what happens at those individual fixtures is an important part of the process.

That’s where FixtureCare® comes in.

FixtureCare is more than a maintenance program. It provides hospitals with a systematic process for servicing, verifying, and documenting water fixtures so engineering teams have detailed information about these critical control points.

Every FixtureCare project begins by meeting with the hospital’s engineering team to review the scope of work and explain what the technicians will and will not be doing.

Before entering a department, technicians introduce themselves to the nurse in charge, answer questions, and identify any special considerations that should be addressed before work begins.

From there, each sink follows a proven process.

The existing condition of the fixture is documented with a before photo, and the current flow rate is recorded. When appropriate, the angle stops are cycled. The existing outlet device is removed, the faucet spout is cleaned, and both the hot and cold water lines are flushed until the water runs clear.

A new Neoperl laminar flow device is then installed. The technician verifies the proper flow rate, checks for leaks, and takes an after photo to document the completed work.

One of the most important aspects of FixtureCare is documentation.

Every fixture is documented and verified so it can become part of the facility’s Critical Control Point inventory and Legionella water management plan documentation.

Hospitals can contain many different types of fixtures, including male and female threads, older and newer fixtures, cache’, and products from multiple manufacturers. FixtureCare technicians use specialized thread assessment and adapter kits to identify what each fixture requires rather than guessing or forcing an incompatible component.

That process is supported by 18 years of experience working with hospital fixtures.

The process doesn’t end when the physical work is complete.

Each fixture is documented within the FixtureCare app. Engineering teams receive before-and-after photographs, flow information, fixture locations, service dates, and details about maintenance issues requiring attention.

Instead of relying solely on paperwork, hospitals gain a permanent digital history of their water fixtures that can support ongoing water management efforts.

FixtureCare isn’t simply about replacing components. It is about creating a consistent, documented process that gives engineering teams better visibility into the fixtures throughout their facilities while supporting their water management program and patient safety efforts.

Because when it comes to healthcare water management, it’s all about the fixtures and every drop still matters.

Water Saver Solutions helps healthcare facilities improve water safety through FixtureCare®, a comprehensive fixture management program designed to support proactive maintenance, optimize fixture performance, and assist facilities in managing waterborne pathogen risks.

Contact our team to learn how FixtureCare can help strengthen your healthcare facility’s water management strategy.

Water safety in healthcare requires a comprehensive approach. Explore these additional educational resources to learn more about managing waterborne pathogen risks, supporting compliance with ASHRAE Standards 188 and 514, and implementing best practices throughout your facility.

View the Water Saver Solutions Best Practice Video Library here.

Understanding ASHRAE Standards 188 and 514

Understanding the “Splash Zone” in Healthcare Sinks

Why Water Efficiency in Hospitals Delivers Powerful ROI

When healthcare professionals think about water system risks, obvious issues like leaks or equipment failures often come to mind. However, one of the most significant threats to water quality is often completely invisible: dead legs.

Dead legs are sections of plumbing where water remains stagnant because there is little or no regular flow. Although these inactive pipe sections may seem harmless, they can create ideal conditions for bacteria to grow, making them an important consideration in every healthcare facility’s water management program.

A dead leg is a portion of a plumbing system where water becomes trapped and stagnant. This often occurs after renovations, equipment removals, or changes to a facility’s plumbing system that leave unused branches connected to the main water supply.

Unlike leaks or mechanical failures, dead legs typically show no visible signs of a problem. They don’t make noise, they don’t trigger alarms, and they often go unnoticed for years.

Unfortunately, stagnant water creates an environment where waterborne pathogens can thrive.

Healthcare facilities serve patients who may have weakened immune systems, making water quality especially important.

Stagnant water within dead legs can contribute to conditions that allow opportunistic waterborne pathogens, including Legionella and Pseudomonas, to multiply. Once bacteria establish themselves within these stagnant areas, they don’t necessarily remain isolated.

Changes in water pressure, routine flushing, or everyday fixture use elsewhere in the building can introduce contaminated water back into active portions of the plumbing system, potentially affecting faucets, showers, and other points of use throughout the facility.

Because the risk isn’t visible, identifying dead legs should be an ongoing part of every healthcare water management strategy.

Finding dead legs requires both awareness and field verification.

One practical tool maintenance teams can use is a temperature gun.

Here’s why it works:

Active hot water piping maintains a relatively consistent temperature during normal operation. Dead legs, however, cool down because water isn’t circulating.

By scanning hot water piping with an infrared temperature gun, maintenance personnel can quickly identify sections that are noticeably cooler than surrounding piping.

When performing inspections, watch for:

• Unexpected temperature drops
• Branch lines that remain cool after flushing
• Sections of piping that never warm up
• Areas where nearby piping is hot while one branch stays cold

While temperature scanning is an effective screening tool, it should always be combined with:

• As-built plumbing drawings
• Physical field inspections
• Equipment usage history
• Facility maintenance records

Together, these resources can help identify patterns and confirm potential dead legs before they become larger water safety concerns.

Whenever possible, the preferred solution is to remove the dead leg entirely from the plumbing system.

However, immediate removal isn’t always practical.

When removal must be delayed, facilities should actively manage these areas by incorporating them into their water management program through:

• Scheduled flushing procedures
• Temperature monitoring
• Routine documentation
• Ongoing verification and inspection

Ignoring dead legs allows stagnant conditions to persist, increasing the potential for bacterial growth over time.

Managing dead legs is just one component of maintaining a safe healthcare water system.

Regular inspections, proactive maintenance, proper documentation, and ongoing monitoring all play an important role in reducing waterborne pathogen risks and supporting regulatory compliance.

By identifying hidden risks before they become larger problems, healthcare facilities can strengthen their water management efforts while helping protect patients, staff, and visitors.

Water Saver Solutions helps healthcare facilities improve water safety through FixtureCare®, a comprehensive fixture management program designed to support proactive maintenance, optimize fixture performance, and assist facilities in managing waterborne pathogen risks.

Contact our team to learn how FixtureCare can help strengthen your healthcare facility’s water management strategy.

Water safety in healthcare requires a comprehensive approach. Explore these additional educational resources to learn more about managing waterborne pathogen risks, supporting compliance with ASHRAE Standards 188 and 514, and implementing best practices throughout your facility.

View the Water Saver Solutions Best Practice Video Library here.

Understanding ASHRAE Standards 188 and 514

Understanding the “Splash Zone” in Healthcare Sinks

Why Water Efficiency in Hospitals Delivers Powerful ROI