Restroom Care

Every week, nearly 1 million people visit the expansive Mall of America in Bloomington, Minn. They shop. They eat. They ride the mall’s roller coaster. And a lot of them also use the restroom. With so many visitors, it is inevitable that restroom vandalism will occur.

“Our biggest problem is graffiti that is either scratched or written on the toilet-paper dispensers,” says Kent Olsen, maintenance lead at the mall, which opened in 1996. “We also occasionally have soap dispensers removed or broken.”

Like Olsen, most facility managers must deal with at least some degree of vandalism, waste and theft in their restrooms. Common problems include jammed dispenser levers, cigarette burns, pilferage and graffiti.

Soap and toilet-paper dispensers are a particular source of frustration for many janitors and managers. It requires a great deal of effort and expense to maintain these items.

For example, the Mall of America must replace about 100 toilet-paper dispensers and 60 soap dispensers each year at a cost of several thousand dollars. Vandals are responsible for at least one-third of the damaged dispensers. The rest of the damage is due to regular wear and tear of the units.

Vandalism not only costs time and money, but it has a lasting impact on the public’s perception of the facility, according to a recent manufacturer survey.

More than three-quarters of respondents said that broken or vandalized dispensers in public restrooms negatively affect their overall opinion of the facility. An even greater number — 82 percent — said broken, damaged or vandalized dispensers would lead them to assume the restroom is neglected by management, while more than half said these conditions would cause them to suspect the restroom is unsanitary.

Create a game plan
Avoid vandalism problems in restrooms by first evaluating the types of abuse that typically occur in your facility. Ask yourself:

• Who visits the restrooms?
  
  
• What are typical use patterns?
  
  
• What are equipment maintenance procedures?
  
  
• What is the lifecycle of dispensers?
  

From this information, determine whether it is feasible to establish policies for restroom access and conduct. In some operations, such as schools, these posted rules can help minimize vandalism.

Next, evaluate the restroom design and product installation. Are the facilities and products durable enough to handle high traffic and abuse? If not, resolve the issue with a simple retrofit of the restroom or a total renovation.

Find a standard
Good dispensers are hard to come by. The average facility manager changes the type of dispensers purchased every two to three years, according to a 2001 survey by Sanitary Maintenance magazine.

While cost ultimately is the most important consideration when purchasing paper and soap dispensers, performance and appearance also are deciding factors. Good quality products may have a higher first cost, but they can help prevent maintenance, repair and replacement costs later on.

Choosing the appropriate units also can reduce installation costs. For example, some soap dispensers can be mounted into pre-drilled holes in countertops. Features like this saved money for Mall of America.

“I like to use the same size and brand when mounting on tiled walls,” Olsen says. “This allows us to use the same mounting holes so we do not have to replace tiles.”

Standardize the purchase of restroom products. This simplifies the maintenance and repair systems. In addition, you’ll spend less time shopping around for replacement parts from a large number of manufacturers.

Make a careful selection
There are many grades of soap and paper dispensers available today. Well-designed products can help high-traffic restrooms stand up to vandals.

For example, heavy-duty, stainless-steel dispensers resist damage. Dispensers with theft-resistant polyethylene spindles ensure rolls will remain in place.

Dispensers with a contoured design and no hard corners can withstand greater impact and force if grabbed or hit. Also, rounded shapes are less likely to be a resting place for cigarettes, reducing burn marks.

To reduce waste and theft, select a double-roll toilet paper dispenser with a “hidden” roll, which is inaccessible until the first roll is depleted. Also, be certain that dispensers include a hinged and locked panel for refilling.

Washington State University recently experienced a rash of theft of standard rolls of toilet paper, says custodial manager Tom Parrish. The university soon learned that heavy-traffic areas demand a jumbo-roll unit.

“We have switched many of our heavy-use buildings to jumbo toilet paper,” Parrish says. “This not only helped reduce time stocking but also reduced the theft issues because jumbo rolls will not fit in home dispensers.”

Some dispensers are sold with optional protective cages, which are designed to fit over the unit to deter vandalism.

“I prefer an all stainless steel dispenser,” Olsen says. “Marker can be cleaned off and they do not scratch easily.”

A heavy-duty product does not have to look “industrial.” Today, such materials as solid plastic phenolic laminate and other solid-surface materials can give restrooms a more custom-designed look than metal. Solid phenolic products are extremely resistant to dents and scratches.