LEISURE AND RETAIL FACIL ITIES
Credit and debit cards are becoming much more widely used today. But plastic cards were actually found to harbour more germs than either coins or banknotes in a second study, carried out by financial education website LendEDU in May.
This autumn, tests by scientists revealed that the keypads of ATMs in 27 central London locations harboured more bacteria than loo seats, door handles in public toilet and poles on the tube.
Of course, it is not only money that is being handled and shared by Christmas crowds. Other frequently-touched surfaces include lift buttons, shopping baskets, trolleys, escalator hand rails and theatre seats.
The simple acts of hand washing and drying can remove many of the harmful germs from our hands and significantly reduce the risk of contracting colds, flu, norovirus and stomach bugs. So, plenty of washrooms should be provided, and everyone who uses a them should have the wherewithal to wash and dry their hands and should be encouraged to do so.
This can be achieved by equipping the washroom with user-friendly products and by providing quick and easy access to the basin, soap and hand drying facilities.
However, the washrooms of shopping centres, restaurants, theatres and pubs are inevitably crowded during the Christmas rush which makes it more difficult for cleaners to maintain high standards of hygiene.
For example, the dispensers are all too likely to run out between maintenance checks during peak periods in a busy shopping centre. Where pantomimes and Christmas concerts are staged, spectators will flock to the toilets during the interval which will cause queues, logjams and product run-outs. This becomes a vicious circle because whenever a toilet cubicle runs out of paper or a soap dispenser becomes empty, queues will form for the toilets and sinks where supplies still remain. Some people will become frustrated at the need to queue and will potentially skip the hand washing process altogether.
In high-traffic washrooms with unpredictable flow patterns, the cleaners and facility managers will have their work cut out to ensure that dispensers remain full at all times. This is where systems that allow staff to remotely track supply levels become invaluable.
Tork EasyCube uses sensors inside washroom dispensers to enable staff to check dispenser levels via a phone or tablet. They can then target those dispensers that are running low and swiftly top them up. It also alerts cleaners to any washrooms that are experiencing particularly heavy traffic. This allows targeted maintenance visits can be carried out, enabling staff to address any issues before they can give rise to complaints.
In busy washrooms it also makes sense to provide high- capacity systems that will run out less frequently in the first place. Systems that give out only one sheet of toilet paper, shot of soap or hand towel at a time will have the benefit of naturally reducing consumption while also
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ensuring that each user only touches the product they use, which cuts the risk of cross-contamination.
Tork PeakServe Continuous Hand Towel works particularly well in this context because the high-capacity unit caters for over 1,000 washroom visitors between refills - 600 more than most other dispensers. The system will also dramatically reduce queueing because each user is supplied with a towel in just three seconds, allowing the user to take a towel and then move on. Air dryers on the other hand take at least 10-12 seconds to dry the hands thoroughly - and the user is forced to remain rooted to the spot, potentially getting in the way of other washroom visitors and causing queues to form behind them.
“A UK study assessed the germ count on 36 samples of banknotes and
coins which were found to harbour 19 different types of bacteria
including MRSA, VRE and Listeria.”
A long-lasting soap supply that can be replenished quickly also works well in a busy washroom. For example, Tork Foam Soap comes in cartridges that contain two and a half times the amount of soap housed in most liquid soap systems which means the supply is less likely to run out between maintenance checks than rival products. And the cartridge can be changed in seconds when it does.
A long-lasting supply of toilet paper is also essential during the busy Christmas period because it will reduce the risk of run-outs. Tork SmartOne has been designed to give out just one sheet of toilet tissue at a time, reducing consumption by up to 40% which again helps to reduce the number of maintenance visits required.
Another good toilet tissue option for a busy venue is the Tork Twin Coreless Mid-Size Toilet Roll Dispenser. This comprises two tightly-wound rolls which are together equivalent to nine conventional rolls. When the first roll has been used up, the second can be quickly accessed to ensure a continuous supply. And of course, all these dispensers can be checked remotely via Tork EasyCube.
Picking up any sort of illness whether it is the norovirus, a stomach bug, the flu or even the common cold can cast a major blight over anyone’s Christmas.
If public facilities such as shopping centres, theatres, restaurants and pubs employ systems that help keep their washrooms clean and well stocked at all times –while also minimising the risk of queues – they will be doing everything they can to ensure that their customers enjoy the festive season to the full.
www.tork.co.uk TOMORROW’S FM | 45
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