WASHROOM HYGIENE
Keeping down costs in the washroom
Every facility needs to make savings wherever it can in the current economic climate. Stuart Hands, from Tork manufacturer Essity, looks at ways of reducing the cost of equipping and running a washroom.
The cost of living is rising, inflation is through the roof, and everyone is feeling the pinch.
Councils are paring their services to the bone in a bid to make savings wherever possible. Meanwhile, hospitality and leisure businesses are struggling because people have less cash to spend on outings and meals.
Some facilities – such as washrooms – need to be kept in service at all times, though. Cafés and restaurants must provide toilets for their staff and guests, while retail centres need to do the same to keep customers at the shops for longer periods. Even cash-strapped councils understand the need for some level of toilet provision to keep the streets clean and the residents happy.
However, washrooms can be expensive to run. Maintenance teams need to ensure that the premises they operate are clean and hygienic and offer a constant supply of soap and paper to users. Labour costs therefore need to be factored in alongside other outgoings such as water, consumables and energy to heat and light the premises. So, how can costs be kept down in the washroom?
Ideally most washrooms will have been designed to be easy to maintain in the first place. All floors and walls should be smooth, continuous surfaces or made up of large tiles, since these will be easier to clean than smaller tiles with numerous grout lines and crevices.
Automatic taps are another labour-saving aid since these will attract fewer fingerprints than manual versions.
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The number of mirrors on the walls should be kept to a minimum – or removed altogether – to further reduce costs. Mirrors will quickly become splashed with soap and subject to fingermarks, meaning they will require polishing at least once a day.
The labour burden can be further reduced by installing high-capacity dispensers that can be topped up at any time. These will cut down the number of maintenance checks required while also allowing the cleaner to refill the unit at their own convenience. If these dispensers are designed to control consumption as well, this will help to prevent frequent run-outs.
Many washroom dispensers feature refill indicators that allow the cleaner to see from outside how much product is remaining, but research shows that many cleaners open these dispensers anyway either to double-check on fill levels, or to cram in more paper to postpone their next maintenance visit.
All dispensers should therefore be quick and easy to open. For example, all Tork Elevation dispensers can be opened via a push-button or with a universal key where required. They are also designed to give out only one shot of soap or sheet of paper at a time to prevent overconsumption. They also have a smooth, curved design which makes them quick and easy to wipe clean.
Bulk fill soap dispensers need to be manually refilled – a task that can be messy and time-consuming, which will ramp up labour costs. Soap should therefore be supplied in
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