Regardless of the business setting, restrooms have the ability to speak volumes about the standard an organization has for appearance. From cleanliness to quality, restrooms convey a lot about a business, and those who wish to provide the ultimate restroom experience invest in making an impression. Class-A restrooms are of the highest quality — and are located in the types of buildings in which users will notice and appreciate their cleanliness and functionality.

“People are sensitive about bathrooms,” says William R. Griffin, president of Cleaning Consultant Services Inc., Seattle. “(Customers and clients) equate quality in the restroom with quality in the business or quality in service.”

Therefore, many building owners and operators are putting a lot more emphasis on the appearance, maintenance and the cleanliness of their restrooms, Griffin adds.

Building service contractors need to be ready to provide their customers with the quality they expect.

Good First Impression
The impression that a clean, properly kept restroom leaves with visitors may be of the most importance in high-end corporate settings, such as law firms or financial advisors’ offices.

Griffin describes these bathrooms as those that look as though they have been professionally designed.

“Things like the floors and walls will be color-coordinated,” he says. Because of their high quality, Class-A restrooms require quite a bit more specialized care than ordinary restrooms. For starters, these restrooms should be checked and maintained at least three to four times a day if they are to be truly clean, says Griffin.

“They’re checked in the morning, right after the first break period, before or after lunch, and again at the end of the day,” he says.

Checking Class-A restrooms requires more diligence and attention than other restrooms.

High-end Products
Stephen Pluth, co-owner of Accurate Building Maintenance in Las Vegas, says upscale restrooms require products not only for function, but also for aesthetics and ambience.

“What you’re going to see in Class-A (restrooms) is a demand for certain kinds of deodorizing products that don’t just mask smells but also add to the building’s ambience, such as a floral or sea breeze scent,” he explains.

Many of the products, such as the type of toweling used, in upscale restrooms are superior to those found in other bathrooms.

“(In Class A restrooms), you will generally find a C-fold or a multi-fold type of towel, a white, soft towel or even cloth towels,” said Cleaning Consultant’s Griffin. “And many times you’ll see the towels on the counter, not in a dispenser.”

Other products found in Class-A restrooms, like soaps, are also of a higher caliber.

“Everything is anti-bacterial, from the hand soap to the soaps used to clean,” says Griffin.

Touchless Trend
Many Class-A restrooms also incorporate the newest technologically and hygienically advanced devices. Touchless products such as faucets, soap dispensers, towel dispensers, toilets and urinals automatically detect a user’s presence and function accordingly, creating an efficient and decidedly cleaner restroom experience.

Besides traditional touchless urinals and commodes, waterless urinals, which can be installed on top of current waste lines but require no additional flushing water supply and valves, are becoming more popular in Class-A facilities, but are not yet that common, says David Kinney, regional director for JaniKing in Phoenix.

Touchless devices in general, Kinney says, “also affect dumpster usage and landfill costs, which in a large facility can save thousands of dollars per year.”

While many of these products, such as touchless devices, and increased maintenance and cleaning services are commonly associated with Class-A restrooms, ordinary restrooms are starting to offer variations of them as well, says Pluth. For instance, many restaurants and retail establishments feature touchless towel dispensers or faucets.

Top-of-the-line restrooms incorporate visual appeal and cleanliness with high-quality products to provide an impressive experience for users.

Steven Potter is a freelance writer based in Milwaukee.




POSTED ON: 6/1/2007