Whats going on in your washroom?
July 1st 2004 Pilferage, messy units, toilet tissue and hand towels constantly running out..are these some of the problems you experience in your washroom? Peter Broom of SCA Hygiene Products looks at common washroom problems and how to solve them
Managing an industrial washroom can be a frustrating business because it is difficult to monitor the use or the over-use - of washroom products. It is one thing to check the use of consumables on the factory floor to avoid problems such as over-consumption, pilferage and waste. But it is quite another to invade the privacy of the washroom user in order to try and find out why so many hand towels and toilet rolls are disappearing.
Washroom users understandably do not take kindly to being asked how many disposable hand towels they have used and how much toilet tissue they have wasted. Washroom hygiene companies understand this, and have come up with a simple solution for every common washroom problem.
One of the cheapest toilet tissue solutions around is the conventional toilet roll. Dispensers for these are available anywhere and loo rolls can be bought in bulk at the local cash n carry.
But they can actually work out to be surprisingly expensive since many are stolen or thrown on the floor where they quickly become soiled, damp and unusable. A switch to a low-unit system in a lockable dispenser may cost more to begin with, but money will be saved on pilferage and waste due to spoilage. Savings can also be made on maintenance costs if the loo is equipped with a mini jumbo system, for example. This contains the equivalent of nine conventional toilet rolls which means the toilet tissue supply will last longer and the washroom will need to be checked less frequently.
Sometimes it is the positioning of washroom equipment rather than the type of system installed that can cause a problem. By changing the height of the dispensers in the washrooms of a sweet manufacturer, SCA Hygiene Products managed to save the company an astonishing 30 000 a year. The original dispensers had been situated too high up on the walls, which meant shorter washroom users were having to reach up to take out a length of hand towel or loo roll. As a result they were taking more than they needed. By moving the dispensers down by a few feet in each case, huge savings were made.
Portion control is a major factor in saving money. We saved another customer around 25 per cent of their washroom costs by installing a system that prevented over-consumption. The manufacturer previously used a continuous roll system controlled by a lever, and this could be repeatedly pushed down by the washroom user allowing an ever-increasing length of towel to be taken out. Our sales executive suggested a switch to a zigzag-fold towel system in a dispenser designed to give out only one towel at a time. As a result the customers washroom bills were dramatically cut.
In a particularly busy industrial washroom, a jumbo-sized toilet roll is often the answer as these contain the equivalent of around 20 conventional loo rolls. However, if your washroom is serviced only once a day it may be that the janitor finds that most but not all of the jumbo roll has been used up. He is then likely to change the roll and discard the remainder to avoid the problem of loo paper running out before the next maintenance check.
If this is the case, you would be better off with a dispensing system that can be topped up daily whether it is running out or not. Interleaved or twin roll systems are ideal here.
In some washrooms the possibility of cross-contamination is a particular problem. This is the case in industrial washrooms where hands are particularly dirty, and in food processing environments where micro-organisms from raw meat and poultry can contaminate the hands. In these situations, hand towels can quickly become soiled and cross-contamination can lead to the spread of disease.
Here it is best to install a hand towel system that ensures that each towel is touched only by the user. Interleaved and semi-automatic dispensing systems are designed for these environments.
If messy washroom units are your problem, it could be that your hand towel dispensers give out clumps of towels at a time a common problem with C-fold towel dispensers, for example or perhaps your soap dispensers are leaking. In this case, a switch to zigzag-fold hand towels and non-drip soap dispensers will alleviate the problem.
Most washroom problems are simply the result of the wrong soap, hand towel or toilet tissue system being installed. A discussion with your supplier will help you decide which is the most cost-effective system for your industrial washroom and could also dramatically cut your costs.
For more information, please contact:
Peter Broom
SCA Hygiene Products
Tel: 01582 677400
Fax: 01582 677578
peter.broom@sca.com More articles from SCA Hygiene Products UK Ltd: | 
