Restroom Cleaning Tips

Here are some restroom cleaning tips for what is undoubtedly the most important job for any maintenance professional. It is also the least pleasant. After all, no one wants to get on their hands and knees to scrub a single toilet. Now think of all of the toilets, urinals, sinks and other restroom touchpoints that must be maintained at any given school, office or retail establishment every single day and the job seems even more impossible.

Yet protecting public health demands just that to keep our restrooms clean and safe.

Good restroom cleaning practices protects more than public health. A well-maintained, fresh-smelling space reflects back positively on the rest of the organization and builds trust and loyalty. Poorly-maintained, foul-smelling facilities send a different message; that the organization doesn't care about its spaces, its employees or its customers.

Restroom cleaning is vital but it doesn't have to be expensive, difficult or time consuming if you use the right equipment.

Why Are Public Restrooms So Unclean?

Google "why are public restrooms so gross?" and you'll find that many people are asking the same question. A lot of the common complaints; unflushed fixtures, urine spattered toilet seats, liquid (maybe water, maybe something else) on the floor and garbage everywhere, can be blamed on bad user behavior.

Other complaints, like no toilet paper, hand towels or soap, bad smells and stained or clogged fixtures, can be chalked up to poor maintenance practices.

No matter the cause, the resulting mess makes a bad impression. That impression is amplified as a growing number of people rely on public restrooms for more than a place to use the toilet or wash their hands. The latest Bradley Corporation Healthy Hand Washing Survey found lots of other reasons Americans choose to visit a public restroom.

• 47% Check their Appearance.
• 40% Blow their Nose or Cough
• 27% Take a Break
• 25% Use their Cell Phone
• 14% Change their Clothes

Families Demand Restrooms Be Clean

The rise of the family restroom also speaks to the multifunctionality of these public spaces. Seventy six percent of parents report not only using the toilet in a family restroom but also washing hands, changing diapers, changing clothes, washing their child's face and calming a child.

"Our survey this year shows that public restrooms meet so many needs," said Jon Dommisse, director of strategy and corporate development for Bradley Corp. in an article for PHCPPros.com. "They are a space that's important to everyday life for hundreds of millions of people."

What's at Stake

With all of the activity going on in these spaces, restroom cleaning has never been more important to your organization's reputation. In fact, 64% of people made a conscious decision to visit a business based on its history of cleaner, better-maintained restrooms, according to the Bradley survey.

The numbers are even higher at schools. Nearly two thirds of U.S. high school students surveyed state that badly-maintained restrooms show that the school doesn't care about it's students, reflect poor management and lowers their overall opinion of the facility, as reported by Cleaning & Maintenance Management.

The numbers tell a clear story. Clean restrooms are vital to your reputation.

How often should public restrooms be deep cleaned?

High-traffic restrooms should be spot-cleaned throughout the day and deep cleaned at least once daily after hours. Deep cleaning involves chemical application, pressure rinsing, and wet vacuum extraction — not just mopping — to fully remove soils and pathogens.

What are the dirtiest areas in a public restroom?

While toilets and urinals are obvious, restroom sinks can harbor just as much salmonella, listeria, and E. coli. Door handles, faucet handles, and countertops are also high-touch pathogen hotspots. A no-touch cleaning system addresses all surfaces without cross-contamination.

Can traditional mopping properly sanitize a restroom floor?

No. Mopping spreads dirty water across surfaces and deposits it into grout lines rather than removing it. This leaves behind bacteria and soils that cause odors. A wet vacuum system that fully extracts soiled solution is the only way to achieve a truly sanitized restroom floor.

What's the Germ Count?

But proper restroom cleaning tips is more than just good for your facility's image. Dirty restrooms do in fact harbor a variety of pathogens. Some are benign, others more dangerous.

A recent study found genetic traces of more than 77,000 distinct types of bacteria and viruses in restrooms. The most prevalent include: fecal bacteria, influenza, streptococcus, E. coli, hepatitis, MRSA, salmonella, shigella and norovirus. News of the novel coronavirus outbreak in Wuhan City, China and its spread has brought pathogens into sharper focus as global markets react to fears of a pandemic.

As long as common sense and proper handwashing techniques are used, the chances of catching a serious illness in a restroom are small. But try telling that to a panicked public where perception is reality.

Restroom Cleaning Made Fast and Easy

Traditional tools like mops, buckets and rags can't clean restrooms well. They're time consuming, cumbersome and frankly, humiliating to use. Who wants to get on their hands and knees spraying to wipe down a restroom full of dirty toilets with a cloth?

What's worse, these restroom cleaning methods don't even fully remove the dirt, soils and pathogens found in a restroom. The result is a frustrated cleaning staff, smelly restrooms and unsatisfied customers that won't come back.

Try a Kaivac No-Touch Cleaning Machine instead. This state-of-the-art technology combines chemical metering and injection, a pressure washer and wet vacuum into one system. The No-Touch thoroughly removes restroom contaminates in half the time of cotton mops and leaves surfaces dry and ready to use.

Recommended Kaivac Restroom Cleaning Solutions

• KaiVac 1750 No-Touch Cleaning System — Kaivac's most popular restroom cleaning machine. Combines chemical injection, pressure wash, and wet vacuum to clean up to 60 fixtures per system. Cuts cleaning time in half and fully removes contaminants.
• SUV All-in-One Cart — Compact custodial cart with built-in wet vacuum for eliminating mops and buckets facility-wide.
• KaiBlooey Restroom Cleaner — Mild acid cleaner formulated for urine scale, mineral deposits, and restroom odors on non-stone surfaces.
• KaiBosh Disinfectant — Hospital-grade disinfectant for killing Norovirus, E. coli, influenza, and other restroom pathogens.