Cleaning a Washroom With Better Technology

Almost every facility has a washroom of some type. Whether it’s for employees, guests or clients, the experience of using a public washroom impacts perceptions of a facility and the organisation itself. An under­­stan­­dable 94% of consumers say they would avoid a business if they encountered a dirty washroom.

Within a washroom there are two types of cleanliness. Cleanliness of the space and cleanliness of the people using it. Both of these types of clean, play into perceptions of the space and the organisation providing that space. Likely you have had an experience where you walk into a washroom and found a profound difference between your expectation and the actuality.

Clean and Clear From the Ground Up

Earlier this year, Excel Dryer conducted a research survey to understand the washroom expectations of users and the challenges faced by washroom operators.

For operators, the primary challenge when it comes to floors is discarded paper towels followed by water from sinks.

Paper towels on the floor in a washroom look untidy, can magnify the general sense of uncle­­an­­liness, and worse, present a safety hazard for users. Pools of water also present a slip or fall hazard, but they also provide a comfortable breeding ground for bacteria and pathogens that can cause sickness.

To assess how users perceive bathrooms we asked what makes for a better experience. They told us that unifying multiple points of the washroom process is essential to having a positive experience that meets their expec­tations.

The unifying of washroom elements such as water, soap and hand dryers doesn’t just make users feel better, it makes them safer, creating cleaner washrooms.

When hand dryers are installed on walls away from sinks users do one of two things. They either shake their hands to remove excess water, unhy­­gi­­eni­­cally flicking water across multiple washroom surfaces, or they walk to the dryer with dripping hands to a dryer that may blow the water back onto them or onto the floor. An unpleasant experience in both cases, one that’s unsafe and in terms of the paper towels, one that creates a source of unsus­ta­inable waste.

A washroom basin that combines multiple bathroom elements in one place improves turnaround time for users (79.2% rate this essential for modern washrooms) and eliminates factors that contribute to washroom safety and hygiene.

The Evolution of the Washroom

In case you hadn’t seen it mentioned many times before, the pandemic has changed people’s perception of acceptable hygiene levels. Hygiene and cleanliness changes in modern washrooms predates the pandemic by a number of years.

Large facilities have implemented bathrooms with no doors, instead preferring a zig zag corridor that provides privacy, while eliminating conta­mina­tion touchpoints. This elimination of a touchpoint extends further into the washroom.

Toilets with automatic flush, dryers that sense the presence of hands and even motion-based cubicle lighting represent the techno­logical advances present in washrooms that help to keep conta­mina­tion to a minimum, elevating cleanliness and susta­­ina­­bility at the same time.

In addition to the previous citation regarding cleanliness in washrooms, 73% of UK consumers want to be more sustainable in their interactions with brands and businesses. A unified washroom sink can make a washroom cleaner, safer and more sustainable.

Giving your users the experience they deserve.

For more information about Excel Dryer contact Phil Atkins on Phil@exceldryer.co.uk