Public and commercial washrooms are frequently overlooked or pushed to the bottom of the priority list in favour of refurbishing more appealing areas. However, with the appropriate facilities and effective practices in place, you can be confident that your toilets are presentable and hygienic.

Here Stainless Steel Manufacturing & Equipment (SSME) share with you some of the key elements all good washrooms should include and their importance.

Why are washrooms important?

Whilst first impressions count in every industry, your washroom says a lot more about your organisation than you perhaps realise. It gives your staff and visitors a true reflection on how your organisation is run and how it values people.

Ensuring that everyone – regardless of age and ability – has access to hygienic, well-maintained and easy to use toilets, soap dispensers, sanitary units, loo rolls and hand dryers is guaranteed to keep both your organisation and visitors healthy and happy.

After all, harmful germs and bacteria are very common in washroom environments. And although a surface may look clean, it’s not always the case.

5 must-haves for your washroom

1. Ample toilet cubicles and urinals

The minimum number of toilets you should provide depends on the size of your workforce.

For instance, if you have less than 5 employees, you’ll typically need 1 accessible toilet and 1 urinal.

If you have up to 30 members of staff, you’ll need at least 2 toilets (ideally one for men and one for women) and 1 urinal.

The more people you expect to use the toilets, the more you’ll need to prevent queues and congestion in the washroom.

2. Stainless steel washbasins and troughs

Similarly to the toilets, you need to make sure that there are adequate sinks and basins for visitors to wash their hands and forearms if necessary.

Whilst there are several options available, stainless steel sinks are an excellent choice for commercial and industrial restrooms, as they offer unrivalled strength and durability. They’re resistant to corrosion and staining too, which is ideal in washrooms.

At SSME, we supply knee operated hand wash sinks with 1-6 stations, sinks with sensor-operated taps, Belfast sinks and bucket sinks. All our products are manufactured from high-quality stainless steel and can be tailored to suit your bespoke washroom requirements.

3. A readily available supply of toilet paper

It’s all well and good having toilet rolls stashed away in your stock room, but you need to make sure that dispensers are regularly refilled. Otherwise, visitors are likely to leave feeling embarrassed, inconvenienced and frustrated.

Being left without basic items such as toilet paper is not a pleasant experience for users and can give a poor impression of your business too.

On top of supplying enough toilet paper, it’s also worth providing females with somewhere to dispose of sanitary products, to prevent them being flushed down the loo and blocking the system.

4. Enough soap and dispensers

Every good washroom will have numerous soap dispensers along the wall above the sinks to promote handwashing and reduce the spread of germs, such as E. coli, MRSA and salmonella.

These will be loaded with soap solution or hand sanitising gel, allowing people to wash their hands after using the toilet and touching surfaces, such as door handles, toilet flushes, dispensers, etc.

5. An efficient method of drying hands

Whether it be a paper towel dispenser and/or sensor-activated hand dryers, all washrooms must have suitable options available for people to dry their wet hands. This is to save them from having to use toilet paper or wipe them on their clothes.

If you opt for paper towels, you’ll need to ensure you have sufficient disposal bins to keep the area clean and presentable at all times.

Do your washroom facilities need updating?

If you need more stainless steel sinks and washroom equipment to accommodate more members of staff and visitors, or you’re looking to make your washroom facilities more hygienic and modern, be sure to get in touch with SSME.

Always on hand to help, we’ll be more than happy to share our expertise, ensuring you provide your visitors with the best washrooms possible.

Either give us a call on 0121 661 6346 or drop us an email at sales@ssmeltd.co.uk, and we’ll get back to you as soon as possible.