CuVerro® Flushometer Handles: Hygiene Where It Matters Most

Most people recognize that handwashing is an extremely effective way to combat the spread of disease. Unfortunately, because people can’t wash their hands before they flush a toilet or urinal, handles on manual flushometers can harbor the pathogens that cause disease.

But what if flushometer handles, instead of breeding germs, actually killed bacteria* and inhibited growth?

New handles from Sloan, made with CuVerro® Antimicrobial Copper, do just that. Here’s why you should consider specifying them for your next commercial restroom project.

How CuVerro® Flushometer Handles Fight Germs

CuVerro® is a copper surface that continuously kills bacteria* left behind by dirty hands, killing more than 99.9% of bacteria* within 2 hours. It’s the only class of solid surface materials registered with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to actively kill bacteria*.

CuVerro® handles help control “superbugs” and other potentially deadly bacteria such as:

• Vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus (VRE) faecalis
• Staphylococcus aureus
• Enterobacter aerogenes
• Escherichia coli (E. coli) O157:H7
• Pseudomonas aeruginosa
• Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA)

While it’s important to note that using antimicrobial copper for flushometer handles are not a substitute for handwashing, we’re excited about what CuVerro® handles do, and we’re making them available on nearly all our manual flushometers.

Where to Specify CuVerro® Flushometer Handles

Hygiene is important in any commercial restroom, but it’s especially critical where larger numbers of people may be exposed to germs. You should strongly consider specifying CuVerro® flushometer handles if you’re designing restrooms for:

• Hospitals. Healthcare-acquired infections (HAIs) lead to thousands of deaths every year and cost hospitals nearly $10 billion. Bacteria-killing* flushometer handles can be part of restrooms designed to limit the spread of bacteria that cause HAIs.
• Schools. Kids often forget to wash their hands and are more susceptible to disease than adults. CuVerro® antimicrobial flushometer handles can help limit the spread of disease-causing bacteria.
• Restaurants. Hygiene is critical wherever food is consumed, so restaurants (and other food service and hospitality facilities) are a logical place for bacteria-killing* flushometer handles.
• Airports. Millions of travelers carry germs from all over the world. You want to deploy every bacteria-fighting tool at your disposal—including antimicrobial flushometer handles.
• Entertainment venues. Sports arenas, theaters, and other entertainment venues should specify bacteria-killing* flushometer handles to help reduce the potential of disease spread amongst high concentrations of people.

When you’re specifying restroom components for a building where hygiene is paramount, you need to consider every detail. For your next commercial restroom, consider new CuVerro® antimicrobial flushometer handles.

*Laboratory testing shows that, when cleaned regularly, CuVerro surfaces kill greater than 99.9% of the following bacteria within 2 hours of exposure: Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus,  Enterobacter aerogenes, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, E. coli O157:H7, and Vancomycin-Resistant Enterococcus faecalis (VRE).

The use of CuVerro® bactericidal copper products is a supplement to and not a substitute for standard infection control practices; users must continue to follow all current infection control practices, including those practices related to cleaning and disinfection of environmental surfaces. This surface has been shown to reduce microbial contamination, but it does not necessarily prevent cross contamination. CuVerro® is a registered trademark of Wieland North America, Inc. and is used with permission.

Contact Sloan to learn more about other ways you can give make hygiene part of your commercial restroom vision.