how clean are public washroom environments

How clean are public washroom environments? The answer is that they are much cleaner than in years past thanks to the use of technology. Of course there are limitations and the cleanliness of facilities still depends upon the individual users and location of the facility for example.

A key factor in being able to leave a public washroom without carrying bacteria with you is how 'hands free' the washroom is. Most people assume the toilet stall to be the dirtiest part of a washroom but this may not always be the case. Assuming a person leaves the stall with bacteria on their hands, the next thing they touch would be the faucet and/or soap dispenser. Thus transferring bacteria from their hands to these fixtures. If the faucet is a turn on, turn off type, one would touch the bacteria again after washing hands.

Hands free soap dispensers and faucets are a must when providing sanitary facilities and promoting good hygiene. The user can leave the stall and wash hands with soap and water without touching any fixtures just by holding the hands in place near the sensors. This ensures bacteria end up washed down the drain instead of sitting on the faucet handle for the next person.

Hand drying and leaving the washroom can also contribute to the spread of bacteria and therefore disease. Hands free paper towel dispensers are increasing in popularity and do help to maintain good hygiene but at a cost to the environment. Hands free hand dryers are an excellent alternative as they are very cost effective and need little maintenance. Hand dryers are far more environmentally friendly than paper towels as they of course do not use paper and produce no waste. Hand Dryers are generally more compact than paper towel dispensers and therefore a smaller washroom can accommodate more of them. This reduces the line of people with dripping hands waiting for a paper towel in a busy washroom. Most modern hand dryers are hands free and even those that require a push of the button can be activated with an elbow rather than the hands thus keeping the hands clean.

Public awareness of hygiene and hand washing techniques have improved primarily due to public health efforts to prevent the spread of 'flu. This has helped drive the demand for hygienic public facilities which have greatly improved thanks to technological advances.