Ensuring a pleasant washroom experience
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the one that can cause most offence to guests.
Hygiene is paramount in these areas.
Fortunately today there is a range of dependable solutions, products and cleaning services that can ensure a pleasant washroom experience every time. A public washroom area can most certainly serve as the hygienic calling card of a hospitality facility but without appearing to be purely functional and thus clinical. An inviting toilet area outfitted with high-grade materials and technologies can serve as an indication of service quality.
Some of the areas to be aware of include:
Hand washing and drying – no touch hand washing and hand drying is essential to good hygiene. Touch free soap dispensers, tap controls and hand dryers provide washroom visitors with a greater level of hygiene.
If you do maintain a paper towel system it should also be no touch and have an efficient repository for disposal of used paper.
The safest method of hand drying is when sensors are used for pleasant no-contact operation. When visitors hold their hands under a unit, an efficient stream of air starts automatically and drying times are just 3–5 seconds.
Odour control
vil smells and public washroom areas are, regrettably, synonymous but it does not have to be that way. Silent operating air fresheners with smart built in technology to eliminate odours and unpleasant smells are available and include motion activated systems that are highly energy efficient. There are also a wide range of air fresheners that keep washrooms fresh and welcoming with pleasant fragrances but care needs to be taken when selecting these as many just temporarily mask odours.
Toilet hygiene - sanitising solutions reduce the risks of cross contamination by treating the surfaces of the toilet and cubicle where bacteria are known to thrive.
As well as maintaining a regime of strict cleaning procedures, many hospitality public toilets also provide disposable toilet seat cleaners, seat sprays and toilet seat wipes, to combat these common toilet hygiene issues. Sanitisers offer the perfect protection against deposits and lime scale for urinals and toilet bowls.
Highly efficient features such as high-pressure 'tornado' flushes ensure even more hygiene and cleanliness in the toilet.
Door controls
Many washrooms that provide totally hygienic conditions within the area forget that users need to get in and out. Door handles and touch pads harbour germs and these can be avoided by automatic doors or by simple two-way swing doors that eliminate the need to hand touch.
Feminine hygiene
Discreet, quality sanitary bins allow for safe disposal of feminine hygiene items in your washroom and a hygienic sanitary disposal are essential. Odour controlling granules in the units also inhibit the growth of bacteria while deodorising.
Some units incorporate a powerful sterilising vapour which destroys infectious germs and eliminates unpleasant odours.
Infant changing solutions - for parents with babies or young children, it is important to know that washrooms are equipped with infant changing facilities. Parents are more likely to visit places that provide well-equipped infant changing facilities that include hygienic nappy bins, baby changing tables and infant essential vending machines.
Staff
The hospitality industry and other industries serving the public require that all workers are clean, neat and tidy in appearance. The opportunity to transfer contaminants such as bacteria from surface to surface must be minimised. This can be done through practicing personal cleanliness and being aware of possible sources of contamination and cross contamination.
The following basic personal hygiene and cleanliness standards are required of all workers:
• Clothing or uniform should be clean and, if possible, workers should change into/out of a uniform at start and finish of work.
• Hair should clean and secured.
• Jewellery should be kept to a minimum.
• Wounds must be covered with a waterproof dressing.
• Hand contact should be kept to a minimum - disposable gloves and/or utensils should be used for food handling.
• All workers should follow a daily hygiene regime which includes showering and using deodorant.
• Thorough hand washing procedures should always be followed.
Increasing numbers of accommodatio providers see their public toilet areas as calling cards, and attach appropriate importance to sophisticated design and high hygienic standards with the aim of boosting their guests' and customers' well being.
The use of sensor-controlled technologies is a further example. Besides simple handling and convenience, they have a crucial advantage: they make most hand movements superfluous, thus contributing decisively to hygiene. Moreover, the micro-sensors that control the flow of water without physical contact are accommodated in the body of the faucet and are thus resistant to vandalism.
