How often do you walk onto a cafe's restroom and wish you haven't ordered food there? As a customer we all have very high hygiene standards but, why often as business owners we forget about that? A dirty bathroom leaves a horrible impression and, many people simply wouldn’t return if that were the case at your business. In fact, 80% would avoid a restaurant or eatery if they were unimpressed with the state of the bathrooms.
Whether it’s for staff, clients, or customers – any business needs to have clean and hygienic toilets and washrooms. Clean and tidy restrooms are not only important for the impression that your business gives to people, but also have benefits for health and safety.
Public bathrooms teem with hundreds of different species of bacteria, and people getting ill from using publicly shared facilities is not unheard of. Also, bacteria spread extremely fast in enclosed areas used by multiple people, like a workplace bathroom. Research carried out by Dr Charles Gerba, a microbiology professor at the University of Arizona, looked at the extent to which bacteria can spread. This research discovered that it took between 2 and 4 hours for the bacteria to spread over 60% of frequently handled surfaces. Think door handles, sink edges and flush handles and such. Moreover, after 8 hours, practically 100% of surfaces were contaminated.
Not only important to your customers having poorly maintained and unhygienic restrooms will have a direct impact on the morale and health of employees. It will cause them to be unwell more often and take time off work sick. It will lower their productivity, which in turn impacts the bottom line of your business. It also has the potential to spread serious illnesses and viruses that are very detrimental to the health of your staff.
We share a few ideas on how you can improve the impression you're leaving on your customers and employees.
1. Regular cleaningCommercial washroom environments and bathrooms in buildings or businesses should be cleaned and disinfected every day. Larger offices, clubs, parks, medical practices, schools, gyms, busy restaurants and shopping centres need attention at least twice a day. This includes emptying rubbish bins, wiping up water spills, drying benchtops, polishing stainless steel fixtures, making mirrors shine, restocking any supplies that are running low, and sanitising surfaces. These rooms will be hygienic for all who enter them.
2. Make it easier to keep it clean
Facilitating for the cleaning crew is a smart approach. When your washrooms are well equipped they can focus on what matters, the disinfection. For example, if you use a jumbo roll, there's less replacing time required. Providing automatic soap dispensers, hand towels with a proper dispenser is also very important, with fewer touchpoints.
To make sure the bathroom not only looks clean and tidy but also leaves a good impression, you need to keep on top of any lingering smells. Having automatic air fresheners in the room can help with unpleasant smells. Of course that the toilets need to be thoroughly clean to prevent the build-up of germs in the toilet bowls, which can also contribute to bad odour. Airflow, from windows or ventilation systems, will also help with odour control.
4. Preserve the good looks
Good hygiene is also important to help preserve the ideal condition of all of the elements in the public restrooms. After all, dirt, grit, mould, mildew and other unsavoury substances can cause your toilets, sinks, flooring and other elements that furnish these rooms to stain and possibly prematurely deteriorate.
5. Extra features
Additional supplies like sanitary and nappy disposal units are highly regarded in public or shared restrooms. Toilet seat sanitisers are also appreciated by many people. Hand sanitisers became an essential feature since the beginning of COVID 19.
As you can see, there are simple solutions to have well-presented bathrooms. Enacting good hygiene practices in your public restrooms preserves the establishment’s reputation, so if you have a building that is frequented by external visitors and clients (a restaurant, café, or an office open to the public) make sure you're providing the right experience and impression to people.
At Apack Commercial your business is always a priority. With more than 35 years of supplying quality cleaning chemicals, cleaning products and washroom supplies we’ve built a long-standing reputation for excellence. We’re always happy to help, simply reach out to us.
