Touch-Free Commercial Restrooms: More In Demand Now than Ever Before

Has a touchless, hands-free commercial restroom ever been more important?

The COVID-19 pandemic has made everyone more aware of how infection  spreads. We’re wiping down and disinfecting surfaces—cell phones, doorknobs, grocery carts, and more—that we never paused to think about before.

When people return to their offices and schools, they’ll be extremely conscious of the surfaces they touch and the risks they present. Their  awareness is likely to be most acute when they visit the restroom.

Will the restrooms in your facility make them more comfortable, or less?

Increased Demand for Sensor-Operated Restroom Products

Now that people are so much more aware of disease transmission, they will be comforted  when they encounter touch-free fixtures in a busy restroom. They understand that the fewer surfaces they have to touch, the lower chance there is that they’ll contact an illness-causing microbe. The alternative is having to deal with employees and customers who are apprehensive because they have to take extra precautions to use a public restroom that does not have touch-free faucets, soap dispensers, dryers and flushometers.

That’s one reason why Sloan’s thousands  of different faucet models are all touchless.

We’re also the industry leader in touch-free flushometers, soap dispensers, and hand dryers. In fact, users may never have to touch a fixture with their hands in a restroom outfitted with Sloan products.

Sloan President and CEO Graham Allen recently said, “Any product that eliminates or reduces the number of surfaces the user touches is now of the utmost importance, and COVID-19’s rapid uptick has accelerated the need for such touch-free products. While there has already been an increased demand for sensor-operated products, that need will only continue to grow.”

Restroom Hygiene Suitable for Hospitals

At Sloan, we’ve helped many leading hospitals and other healthcare facilities build restrooms to the highest standards of hygiene. That expertise is one of the reasons why we were asked to provide touch-free restroom products for temporary field hospitals at Chicago’s McCormick Place Convention Center and Yale University’s Payne Whitney Gym during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Anything that eliminates or reduces the number of surfaces the user has to touch cuts down the potential for cross-contamination,” said Sloan Technical Training Manager Andrew Warnes.

Restrooms in offices, schools, and other venues may now demand a similar dedication to hygiene as healthcare facilities.

“When you walk into some commercial restrooms today, you probably notice devices that aren't automatic,” said Warnes. “They represent opportunities for improvement and the public is driving the move to touch-free. If you thought it was a trend before COVID-19, just wait for the demands and expectations after this epidemic.”

Retrofit Commercial Restrooms for Proper Hygiene

If you own or manage commercial facilities with restrooms that still rely on manual products, now is the ideal time to retrofit with touch-free flushometers, faucets, soap dispensers, and hand dryers. Upgrading from manual to sensor products can cost less and take less time than a full install, and your restrooms will welcome workers, students, and others back to a safer, more hygienic environment.

Touch-free commercial restrooms have never been more important—and there’s never been a better time to make them happen.

Sloan helps architects, designers, engineers, and building owners build commercial restrooms to the highest standards of hygiene. Like to know more? Talk to Sloan!