and dispensers in general — to the next level of hygiene. “Restrooms are a potential source of contamination, especially when unwashed hands come into contact with inanimate objects, such as toilet and sink handles and towel and bath tissue dispensers,” notes Peter Leahy, office building segment man-ager for Kimberly-Clark Professional. “Touchless restroom systems can help min-imize the spread of infection by eliminating the need to touch potentially contaminated environmental surfaces.” Power Of The Good Stuff Besides touching levers, handles and knobs, common reasons why occupants disregard proper hand-washing include: Restroom areas/surfaces appear dirty; takes too long; and no supplies are avail-able or equipment is broken. Not only should facility managers and cleaning professionals be sure to provide adequate supplies and touch-free technol-ogy, but to further encourage hand-washing and drying, offer premium products. “By offering premium paper products, you get [multiple] benefits,” says Ray. “Users dry their hands quickly, effectively and completely. Also, by using these types of products, there is no need to use extra towels so there is reduced consumption because you can do the job with less, therefore your costs are less. [Additionally,] people actually appreciate the fact that they have these products available and the [facility] is concerned about hygiene and well-being.” And for facilities that prefer hand dryers to paper towels, several new generation, high-powered hand dryers have entered the market. “The new generation of hand dryers operate efficiently and dry hands rapidly and thoroughly,” says Denis Gagnon, pres-ident for Excel Hand Dryer Inc. “Building owners should always select sensor-oper-ated dryer models for hygiene purposes. They should opt for user-friendly dryers that do not require patrons to insert their hands into a trough, which presents the risk of touching a potentially unclean surface and may invite mischief and vandalism.” The bottom line in reducing cross-con-tamination is that proper hand-washing is the single most important practice to pre-vent the spread of disease. Therefore, growing awareness to all building occupants should be a continuous strategy. “Hand-washing is essential to the reduc-tion of cross-contamination,” says Dessify. “The benefits of hand-washing should be promoted with proper signage in key areas to keep the message mindful when needed most.” From manufacturer to distributor to end user to building occupant, a team effort is required to help keep your facility out of the news through frequent, effective hand-washing. CM Circle Product Information no. 223 on page 34 www.cmmonline.com 41
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