Public restroom with urinals

Courtesy of Kaivac.

Keeping a public restroom clean and sanitary is a significant challenge every business faces — and it is crucial. Without a clean and sanitary restroom, it's possible customers will never return.

This is especially true in the restaurant industry, where customers are much more cleanliness savvy than in the past. But many business owners underestimate how restroom cleanliness affects their bottom line.

According to a recent Harris Poll survey, 86 percent of those surveyed say that a clean restroom is as important as a clean kitchen. Seventy-five percent report they would not return to a restaurant that had a dirty restroom.

Similar surveys have also been conducted reporting similar results. One revealed that 94 percent of those asked would not patronize a business that had a dirty restroom, irrespective of the industry.

Roy and Beth Davis, owners of Full Sweep Cleaning in Taylorsville, Utah, and parents of 11 active children, say that “with a family our size, we understand the constant challenge of keeping the bathrooms clean and sanitary. We’ve also learned that just because a restroom looks and smells clean, doesn’t mean it is clean and sanitary.”

Studies have shown that the standard methods of cleaning with mops and rags, essentially smears soils on surfaces and can cause cross contamination. In other words, they don’t remove soils, odor-causing bacteria, or harmful pathogens such as Staphylococcus, Streptococcus, MRSA, E.coli, Salmonella, and influenza. Instead, they spread these germs and bacterias around.

To combat these restroom issues, Full Sweep Cleaning utilizes a spray-and-vac cleaning system developed by Kaivac. These systems are proven to be as much as 60 times more effective at removing contaminants from surfaces than mops and rags.

“It is the most effective restroom cleaning tool on the market,” says Roy. “This cleaning machine is highly versatile and it thoroughly cleans any restroom hands-free.”

By “hands-free,” Roy means the cleaning professional does not have to touch potentially contaminated surfaces. This protects the health of the worker and, almost as importantly, helps improve the self-esteem and professionalism of the cleaning worker.

As to how the Kaivac system works, Roy says the machine applies a metered amount of cleaning solution to all restroom fixtures, walls, partitions, and floors to be cleaned using a low-pressure spray. Then, using the high-pressure spray setting, the machine rinses the same areas with fresh water.

“We also pressure clean grout lines and areas that mops can’t reach," says Roy. "This way we can flush out soils in these areas, leaving the restroom thoroughly clean.”

The same areas are then vacuumed using the machine, leaving the floor and the restroom dry and ready for use in minutes.

“The result is a hygienically cleaned restroom,” adds Roy. “One that not only gives the appearance of cleanliness, but really is clean an odor free.”