At a minimum, employers need to provide suitable and sufficient toilet and washing facilities for their employees.
According to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), workplace toilet and washing facilities should include sufficient toilets and washbasins, hot and cold running water, soap or another suitable washing agent, toilet paper, facilities for drying hands, adequate lighting and ventilation, and appropriate provision for people with disabilities. For female employees, there must also be a means of disposing of sanitary dressings.
However, a good commercial washroom should go further than simply meeting the minimum requirements.
Good practise means you should also consider:
The right combination will depend on the type of premises, number of users, level of footfall and specific needs of the people using the facilities.
For businesses in Great Britain, workplace welfare facilities are covered by the Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992.
The HSE states that employers must provide adequate and appropriate welfare facilities for people while they are at work.
For toilets and washing facilities, this means providing enough facilities for the people expected to use them. Facilities should be clean, well lit and ventilated and have hot and cold running water, soap or another washing agent and a means of drying hands. Toilet paper must also be provided.
The HSE also says that employers must consider the needs of people with disabilities when providing workplace facilities.
The HSE’s Approved Code of Practice provides guidance on the minimum number of toilets and washbasins needed, but the question shouldn’t simply be ‘how many people work here’, but more ‘how are our facilities used and by whom?’
Hand hygiene is one of the most important parts of any washroom.
A suitable hand-washing facility should provide:
Warm running water
Users need access to water suitable for washing their hands.
Soap
HSE guidance specifically identifies soap or another washing agent as part of adequate washing facilities.
A hygienic way to dry hands
This could be paper towels or a suitable hand dryer.
A suitable waste facility where required
If paper towels are provided, appropriate waste disposal needs to be considered.
Businesses can also go further by introducing touch-free soap dispensers, hand sanitiser and modern commercial hand dryers.
The aim should be simple:
Make it as easy as possible for people to wash and dry their hands properly.
Hand sanitiser isn’t a replacement for proper hand washing with soap and water, but it can be a useful additional hygiene measure.
Touch-free sanitiser dispensers can be particularly useful in all organisations. Providing sanitiser at key points around a building can encourage better hand hygiene beyond the washroom itself. For businesses, installing a dispenser should go hand in hand with keeping it maintained properly, filled and working.
There are two main options in commercial washrooms – and we’re always having this debate!
Paper towels
Paper towels are familiar and can provide a quick way of drying hands. However, they create an ongoing consumable and waste stream.
Businesses should consider the purchasing costs, storage, replenishment, disposal, bin capacity and the environmental impact.
Commercial hand dryers
Modern commercial hand dryers can reduce reliance on paper towels and therefore reduce the volume of waste generated in the washroom. Energy efficiency, drying performance, noise, hygiene features and suitability for the environment should all be considered when choosing a dryer.
In a busy washroom, choosing the right hand-drying solution can have a significant impact on both the user experience and ongoing operating costs.
For workplaces where sanitary products are used, appropriate sanitary disposal is an important part of providing suitable washroom facilities.
HSE guidance states that where female employees use workplace toilets, there must be a means of disposing of sanitary dressings. (HSE) A dedicated sanitary bin provides a discreet and hygienic method of disposal at the point of use. Providing the bin is only the beginning.
Consideration should also be given to the frequency of servicing of the bins, hygiene and odour control, safe handling and disposal, along with the environmental impact and this is where using a professional washroom services provider can make a significant difference.
Don’t just ask whether you have a sanitary bin. Ask whether the entire sanitary waste journey is being properly managed.
This is an area that is increasingly being recognised as an important part of inclusive washroom provision – although there is currently no legislation around it, only good practise.
Male incontinence is not something that should be hidden or treated as an embarrassing subject. Providing a discreet male incontinence bin allows users to dispose of continence products safely and hygienically.
In workplaces and public places, this can be particularly valuable. A person shouldn’t have to carry a used continence product around a building looking for somewhere to dispose of it. Nor should they have to put it into an inappropriate bin or flush it down the toilet. Good washroom design considers the needs of the people actually using the facilities.
Accessibility needs to be considered from the outset and HSE guidance states that employers must consider the needs of people with disabilities when providing workplace facilities. Accessibility isn’t simply about installing an accessible toilet but the whole experience.
Can someone easily:
Accessibility also means thinking about people with different needs rather than assuming that one standard facility works for everyone. For some venues and larger public-facing premises, Changing Places facilities may also be appropriate, providing additional space and specialist equipment for people who cannot use a standard accessible toilet.
There isn’t a single cleaning or service frequency that is appropriate for every workplace. A small office with 20 employees will have very different requirements from a shopping centre, school, stadium or hospital.
We work with businesses to take account of number of users, footfall, type of business, your opening hours, useage pattern, and risks and contamination
That’s why for every single customer we ask “How often does this particular washroom need to be cleaned and serviced to remain hygienic and fit for purpose?”
Urinals can be one of the biggest sources of odour, blockages and unnecessary water consumption in a commercial washroom and good management can involve a few different solutions.
Urinal mats to help control odour and reduce the build up of debris within the urinal
Urinal sanitising systems to help maintain hygiene and can help tackle unpleasant odours.
Water management systems which can help reduce unnecessary flushing by responding to actual usage, and potentially reduce water consumption, water bills and environmental impact.
For businesses with multiple urinals, the potential savings can make water management worth investigating.
Toilet seat sanitisers can provide users with an additional way of cleaning the toilet seat before use and are particularly relevant business and organisations, particularly those that are public facing.
Again, the important thing isn’t simply installing the dispenser and hoping for the best. They need to be consistently FULL, easy to use and well maintained – and it’s this principle applies to virtually every washroom product.
Absolutely – yes it really does.
Even a technically clean washroom can leave a poor impression if it smells unpleasant, and air freshener should not be used to mask the underlying problem.
Good cleaning, effective waste management, urinal hygiene, ventilation and the appropriate air care all go towards good air care management.
This creates a much more pleasant experience for everyone using the facility.
Sustainability is becoming an increasingly important consideration for businesses and this includes the toilets!
There are several ways to reduce the environmental impact of your facilities.
It is easy to think of waste as empty bin, problem solved, no need to think about it again.
Businesses should understand the full waste journey from who collects it, where it’s treated, does it go to landfill and what documentation can be provided to prove the claimed credentials?
Our 100% non-landfill approach means the waste we manage is directed away from landfill and towards energy recovery. We understand the journey of the waste we collect and continually looking for ways to reduce environmental impact.
A good washroom works properly for the people using it.
It should be clean, well stocked, reliable, inclusive, sustainable, comfortable and well managed.
Managing a commercial washroom can quickly become more complicated than it first appears. Every day…
Someone needs to make sure the soap is filled.
Someone needs to replace the sanitiser.
Someone needs to service the sanitary bins.
Someone needs to deal with male incontinence waste.
Someone needs to monitor the urinals.
Someone needs to replace the air freshener.
Someone needs to maintain the hand dryers.
Someone needs to manage the waste.
And someone needs to notice when something isn’t working properly.
A professional washroom services provider will take all of those individual jobs and turn them into one managed service. This means businesses can focus on running their organisation while having confidence that their washrooms are being looked after.
More than just the basics.
Businesses need to meet their legal responsibilities, but the best washrooms go further by considering hygiene, accessibility, dignity, sustainability and the actual experience of the people using them.
A well-managed washroom tells employees and visitors:
We care about your health.
We care about your comfort.
We care about your dignity.
We care about the environment.
And we care about getting the details right.
And perhaps that’s the most important measure of a good washroom.
Hygenie can carry out a free washroom survey and recommend practical improvements based on your building, users and requirements.
Hygenie Washrooms – Washroom done properly.
Sign up to our email newsletter for news on our products and services, offers and advice on workplace hygiene. Opt out at any time. View our Privacy Policy. Please check your inbox/spam folder to confirm your subscription.
