Good Public Washroom Hygiene Habits For Pleasant User Experience

Infrastructure and washroom design improvement in public premises are part of the local expectations for pleasant user experience. User experience is very important as it affects the attitude that users take in playing their part in maintaining the toilet’s cleanliness. The practice of good hygiene in public toilets would also help prevent the spread of bacteria.

Initial Hygiene has worked with Harris Interactive to survey 1,100 Singapore respondents in 2015 on their hygiene attitude, beliefs and expectations. These respondents surveyed are both female and males who are aged between 15 and over 61 years old.

The following result findings shows users have high expectations towards cleanliness and proper hygiene solutions in public washrooms

• 96% highlights that cleanliness is a key concern
• 80% view that a public washroom must have hand drying elements includes hand drying paper towels, hand drying cotton towel roll dispenser, electric hand dryer
• 88% prefer a comfort level experience in using a public washroom which are the basic hygiene solutions such as air freshener and sanitary bins. There must be hooks on the washroom cubicle door. Sufficient space is required to move around in the washroom without touching the walls / doors / toilet seat

Commercial premises such as office sector has the potential to serve as a hub for the spread and transmission of a range of potential pathogens which could in turn lead to absenteeism. The low levels of bioburden detected on the washroom and office surfaces at the Initial office were mainly composed of Staphylococcus aureus (often isolated from people’s hands) which highlights that bacteria can be transferred readily between washroom and office surfaces by hand contact. Formites and the human hand have been identified in a number of research studies as potential vehicles of germ transmission. Damp hands spread 1,000 times more bacteria than dry hand. Hand washing with soap for at least 20 seconds is important to stay healthy. The availability of paper towels and hand dryer in the washrooms would be convenient for the users.

Besides practicing good hygiene habits, many users are not aware 1 million bacteria can survive until the next toilet flush. The turbulent flushing action, which is necessary to remove faeces, unavoidably creates splashes of flush water droplets. These droplets transport faecal bacteria out of the bowl, larger droplets land on the seat and floor, but others are so small and invisible, that they remain suspended in the air for several hours. Faecel and urine matter can even spread up to 20 feet away! Initial’s Research and Development scientists developed effective solutions to reduce the risk and hazards of these sneeze effects. This includes managing the germs, scale and bacteria build up within the toilet, providing:

• A toilet seat cleaner to allow users to wipe the seat clean before using the toilet
• Toilet rolls which are protected in antimicrobial protected holders
• No-Touch feminine hygiene units with integral anti-microbial protection features to give females a peace of mind
• A sanitiser to minimise bacteria and germs upon flushing