Small room, big job
February 1st 2007

Tiny toilets – such as in city restaurants, small offices and on public transport – have their own particular problems. SCA Tissue Europe looks at how to provide washroom systems that are hygienic,practical and attractive despite severe space limitations

We're all used to small toilets at home, but compact washrooms in away-from-home environments have to cope with a much higher throughput than our own private facilities, and they are also aimed at a wider variety of visitor – whether these are office staff, restaurant diners, hotel guests or commuters.

Hotel en suites are probably the easiest type of small washroom to equip. Each en suite loo has only one or two users per day and hoteliers therefore often equip them with the type of textile towel, individual toilet roll and soap bars that are commonly found in the home. But toilet rolls are fiddly to change and easy to pilfer, and soap bars will quickly coat the handbasin with an emulsified mess.

As a result,many hotel managers are equipping their en suite washrooms with compact soap dispensers and neat,hygienic interfold toilet tissue systems.Tork Premium mini liquid soap dispenser contains nearly 500 shots of soap and is non-drip which means that messy spills are avoided.A good toilet tissue option is Tork Premium folded toilet paper which comes in a lockable dispenser and can be topped up at any time for easy maintenance. Different challenges exist when equipping the washrooms of trains and aircraft. Relatively few toilet cubicles are provided to cater for such large numbers of people, and servicing these facilities during the course of the journey is impractical.

Toilets on trains and 'planes should therefore be equipped with compact systems that will not run out – or ones that are easy to refill when they do. Smells should be controlled and blockages must be avoided at all costs.Tork Advanced Flushable towels are handy for this type of washroom since they are designed to come apart quickly in water after drying the hands.This prevents toilet blockages if users put them down the toilet rather than in the bin.

For particularly small washrooms there is a mini dispenser that holds nearly 300 Tork Advanced Flushable towels, while the larger dispenser holds more than 400 towels.Tork Advanced folded toilet paper is also a good option since it is a compact system,and both this and Tork Advanced Flushable towels can be topped up at any time for quick and easy maintenance.This is a particularly attractive feature on today's nofrills airlines where turnaround times need to be kept short.

Tork Premium liquid soap comes in a mini dispenser for small environments, while smells can be controlled by using the Tork Premium Airfreshener.This is housed in a compact dispenser measuring 83mm x 50mm x 168mm,which makes it around 35 per cent smaller than most other air freshener dispensers.

Image is an important factor to consider when equipping the washroom of a smart pub or restaurant.Managers want to maximise customer seating areas , meaning precious little space is left available for washrooms, so these tend to be cramped affairs with only two or three cubicles.Despite their size,however, pub and restaurant washrooms need to cater for a large throughput of visitors while also contributing to the customer's overall good impression of the premises.

Washroom dispensers should therefore be slim and neat in order to fit the limited amount of space available. Lockable dispensers are important since these prevent pilferage – a common problem in pubs, particularly where individual loo rolls are provided. Maintenance checks during lunchtime and evening sessions will be rare, and dispensers should therefore either have a high capacity or be capable of being topped up at any time to avoid toilet paper, soap and hand towels running out. Portion control functions are also important in order to avoid the overuse of products.

Tork Premium décor embossed hand towels work well in a small pub or restaurant washroom.With a capacity of up to 180 towels the smart dispenser has a slim profile, enabling it to fit into small spaces.The Tork interfold hand towels inside are presented individually and are very absorbent – both factors that prevent over-use. There is a mini version of this dispenser for when space is particularly tight. One solution is the Tork Mini Jumbo toilet roll, which contains the equivalent of seven conventional toilet rolls.A brake in the dispenser eliminates the problem of run-on which can lead to excess amounts of toilet tissue being taken out or ending up on the floor. Tork Mini Jumbo Toilet rolls are now available in a brushed aluminium dispenser which is aimed in particular at high-image restaurants.

Office washrooms can present a different challenge.A typical office block may house a number of self-contained washrooms, and this can cause major maintenance problems.Here it is important to provide the highest-capacity systems possible in the space provided – otherwise the janitor will spend his entire working day visiting each washroom and refilling dispensers.

The Tork mini jumbo toilet tissue system works well here because it is a relatively high capacity product. If the cubicle space allows, an even better option is the full-size Tork Jumbo roll, since this contains the equivalent of 15 conventional toilet rolls.

A good hand towel option is the high-volume Tork Hand Towel Roll system which is semi-automatic and lockable and has a portion control function. If space is too tight for this, the mini Tork Interfold dispenser is again a good alternative that will also help to enhance the washroom's image.All Tork dispensers have clear 'windows' to allow the janitor to easily see where refills are required.

In many ways, small washrooms can be more difficult to equip than larger loos since a balance needs to be achieved between space,image and performance. To help achieve it,make an enquiry.

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