Washrooms for dirty hands
February 1st 2005

What are the particular challenges involved when equipping an industrial washroom? How do you keep the fitments and dispensers clean when the majority of washroom users’ hands are extensively soiled? And what type of soaps/hand drying systems are best? SCA Tissue Europe takes a closer look

Handwashing is a vital part of washroom use.Most of us know that failing to wash our hands after using the loo can lead to the spread of harmful bacteria. Effective soaps and hand towels are therefore needed in all washrooms, particularly away-from-home loos situated in busy places of work. But how do washroom providers go about equipping a washroom for particularly dirty hands? Industry has become much more automated in recent years and an increasing reliance on computers and robots mean fewer people are getting their hands dirty.However certain industries, such as the manufacturing and automotive industries, still involve the use of particularly dirty substances such as grease, grime, inks and oils.

Heavy soiling can quickly be transferred on to the door handles and taps of a washroom and then on to other people’s hands.This can be unpleasant for everyone and presents a bad image, particularly to visitors of the factory. In an industrial washroom, therefore, door handles should be avoided where possible and a swing door – or better still, a partition that shields the washroom without actually closing it off – are both good options. Employees can then enter the room without soiling the door for the next user.

Automatic taps are also a good idea in order to prevent grime from being transferred to the fittings. Soap bars should of course be avoided as these will quickly become grimy. A liquid soap may be provided instead and this should be chosen to suit the industry concerned. For example, our own Tork Premium liquid soap comes in a mild soap to prevent chapping, and a gently perfumed version to mask the pungent smells of solvents and other industrial fluids.The Tork soap dispenser also has an optional arm lever to avoid the problem of the push-button becoming soiled.

Not every operative will be able to completely remove the heavy dirt from his or her hands by washing, so hand towels should be designed to avoid cross-contamination. Disposable towels are of course preferable to textiles since laundry bills will be sky high if towels are constantly becoming oily or grimy.

Systems such as our Tork Hand Towel Roll are a good option as the towel is cut to size inside the semi-automatic dispenser, leaving a portion of the towel protruding for the next person.This means that each towel is touched only by the user and cross-contamination is avoided.

In some dirty industries, occupational dermatitis is a major problem.

This is caused by chemical substances used during applications such as cleaning, gluing or removing paint and is a particular risk for people who work in the construction, engineering, printing, chemical, catering, cleaning, healthcare and agriculture industries.

While dermatitis is usually non-contagious, some fungal dermatitis conditions can be spread via a contaminated towel. In these cases, a hand towel system that avoids cross-contamination is particularly important and a soft towel is required since this will ‘cushion’ the sore hands and encourage good hand hygiene.

Tork Premium Hand Towel Roll is extra soft to deal with this problem.

Where occupational dermatitis is not an issue,Tork Advanced or Tork Universal hand towels in either roll or zigzag-fold format can be used instead.Tork Universal is more abrasive to the touch than Tork Advanced and Tork Premium, but this may suit heavy industries since rougher towels can help to remove stubborn grime.

All these examples have tackled the problem of industrial dirt. But some soiling on the hands is harder to see though conversely,much more lethal. In the food and healthcare industries, employees’ hands come into contact with dangerous pathogens that can contaminate products, in the case of the food industry, or patients in the case of hospitals.

In hygiene-critical environments such as these, staff should be encouraged to wash their hands frequently even when they do not appear to be dirty.Washrooms should therefore be less utilitarian and more welcoming with soft, luxurious hand towels and mild, pleasant soaps. Softer towels are more expensive but can be cost-effective since washroom users tend to use only one high quality towel as opposed to two or three lower quality towels.We offer high quality Tork Premium Hand Towel Interfold in soft and extra soft options for the food and healthcare industries.

Soaps in food and healthcare industries should be mild to prevent chapping, and an antibacterial action may be preferred. In the food sector it is important that soaps are non-perfumed to avoid food spoilage.Tork Premium soaps come in antibacterial, mild and extra mild non-perfumed versions.

There are a vast range of products that tackle the issue of dirty hands.But before stocking the washroom,managers need to consider how dirty the users’hands are likely to be and what kind of dirt they are soiled with.This is where your washroom hygiene supplier can help and advise you.

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