facility focus AiringGrievancesWith RestroomOdors Preventing restroom odors can improve public perception and company profitability. By: Rick Ponthan A A facility’s restroom can be the defining factor for customer satisfaction and patron retention. According to a recent Harris Interactive poll, as many as 94 percent of facility patrons are unwilling to return to an establishment if the restrooms are unsanitary; therefore, achieving a competitive edge begins with cleanliness. Experiencing a nose-assailing malodor upon entering a restroom can completely taint a user’s impression of the facility overall. With the average person visiting the rest-room between six and eight times a day, the need for effective odor control and cleaning practices are crucial. Utilizing products that provide long-last-ing bacteria prevention and odor control can improve a business’ reputation while reducing health risks to employees and customers alike. Tackling Odor Control An initial and, of course, crucial step in achieving consistent restroom care and customer-approved cleanliness is selecting the appropriate odor control products and implementing proper cleaning procedures. ■ Air fresheners Lingering odors can taint a customer’s experience — providing a negative view of the company as a whole. According to the aforementioned Harris Interactive poll, more than 70 percent of all businesses receive complaints about the cleanliness of their restrooms due to odor. Consequently, air fresheners need to be long-lasting with a pleasant, yet subtle, scent to provide a constant — never over-powering — fragrance. To achieve good results, any odor control solution should be designed to eliminate odor rather than simply camouflaging it. Also, to prevent negative environmen-tal impacts, air fresheners are available that meet volatile organic compound (VOC) regulations by eliminating the use of ozone-depleting ingredients. To achieve intense odor control, facility managers should consider implementing multiple odor-neutralizing tactics. For instance, facility managers can install air fresheners, as well as utilizing bowl clips in stalls and lightly scented urinal screens to attack odors at their source for a compre-hensive air care system. Bowl clips and urinal screens should have a fragrance that is released over time, pre-venting oversaturation and promoting prod-uct longevity. For fast-acting odor elimination, some urinal screens contain an optimized bacteria component that activates a powerful clean-ing agent to freshen urinals after use. Further, air fresheners that contain Metazene will actively eliminate odors by neutralizing odors at the molecular level. Metazene evaporates the molecule to pre-vent it from re-entering the atmosphere and infiltrating the restroom environment. To avoid air freshener overuse that reduc-es the product’s lifespan, which can leave the restroom with a heavy perfume scent, some air fresheners offer an energy-saving feature. This not only delivers concentrated odor control when it’s needed most, but also avoids costly misuse. These battery-operated air fresheners ensure that a fresh scent is dispensed only when the restrooms are in use. The energy-efficient sensor triggers the battery-operated fan when the lights are on, not only extending the life of the battery but also ensuring that scents are dispensed only when the restroom is occupied. ■ Antimicrobial mats and mops Effective air care requires more than just reactive products, and any odor control sys-tem should combine methods that eliminate smells as well as prevent them. Antimicrobial urinal and toilet mats are designed to break down urine and thwart the growth and spread of odor-causing bacteria. By surrounding the splash zone to capture urine before it hits the floor, antimicrobial mats deliver odor and moisture control. Made from a material engineered to kill bacteria, these mats also provide long-term odor prevention. Plus, available in both disposable and fully washable options, antimicrobial mats accommodate diverse maintenance and cost requirements. Frequent cleaning also proactively eradi-cates odor-causing bacteria. With this in mind, facility managers should utilize mops that maximize cleaning perfor-mance without causing additional odor issues. For instance, traditional mops suffer the “mop rot” stench after only a few uses and can leave an unpleasant mildew smell in their wake. Antimicrobial mops are engineered to clean tough soils without becoming an odor or bacteria source. Moreover, mops can become a breeding ground for bacteria growth. Constructed of high-concentration syn-thetic fibers, antimicrobial mops contain a treatment that prevents the growth of pungent bacteria from flourishing, leaving a fresh-smelling, clean floor — even after numerous uses. Managing Inventory Odor control is a constant battle, and since 38 CM/Cleaning & Maintenance Management ® • November2012
CMM – Archives Nov 2012: 38
