No-Touch Restroom Cleaning Machine Saves Time and Labor

There are probably scores of building service contractors and in-house cleaning professionals that share the same dream. They dream of finding a commercial bathroom cleaning machine that can solve their restroom cleaning problems, speed up processes, deliver consistent results and be so cost effective that this ‘dream’ machine pays for itself in just a few months, or less.

For Mike Koesters, business services field operations manager for Goodwill Easter Seals Miami Valley in Dayton, Ohio, that dream has become a reality. The commercial bathroom cleaning equipment he hoped for took the form of the No-Touch Restroom Cleaning system from Kaivac, developer of the no-touch technology. This commercial restroom cleaning equipment ticked all of his boxes and then some.

A Specialized Workforce

According to Koesters, the organization primarily hires people with disabilities and trains them in proper cleaning methods and processes.

As the organization grew — now cleaning more than two million square feet of commercial space per day — concerns mounted about both the speed of the cleaning process and how uniform the cleaning results were. By ‘uniform’ he means that the organization expected to see the same high-quality cleaning results each and every time, no matter who used the cleaning equipment, as long as he or she had been properly trained.

To address these concerns, Koesters decided to go touch free. He bought a single No-Touch Cleaning machine and put it to work at his largest, busiest account in the Dayton area. This facility contains 42 large restrooms and serves between 4,000 to 5,000 people every day.

Koesters saw positive results almost immediately.

‘We tried the [no-touch] system and in the first week we saw a 25 percent labor savings,” he reports. The equipment was so good at removing soils, dirt and grime that Koesters was inspired. “We got a second machine, and another.” Today Koesters reports having four [no-touch cleaning machines] at just this one account.

Touch Free Cleaning Improves Outcomes

According to studies by ISSA dating back more than 15 years, spray-and-vac or No-Touch Cleaning systems can ‘potentially reduce cleaning times by one-third or more.’ Even more telling, Rex Morrison, developer of the process cleaning method, reports that the no-touch system can ‘clean restrooms in half the time of manual cleaning methods, averaging one minute per fixture using spray-and-vac versus two to three minutes per fixture with a manual process.’

Not only did the No-Touch Cleaning restroom machines cut costs and improve worker productivity, they also improved the health and appearance of the restrooms on a consistent basis. Restroom floors were always left clean, dry and ready to walk on. Tile grout looked and smelled fresh every single day. Touch points like flusher handles, light switches, doors and tap handles also looked consistently clean and appealing. 

Return on Investment

The return on investment also impressed Koesters.

‘It did not take long at all to pay for the machines; I’d say they were paid for within about three months,’ he recalls. 

The No-Touch Cleaning machines have also proven to be a problem solver for the rest of his organization. For instance, one client complained that he too would like to see his restrooms cleaner and healthier. 

The problem was not the maintenance staff. They worked hard cleaning these restrooms using traditional methods such as sprayers, rags, mops, and buckets. These tools tend to spread dirt, soils and germs around instead of fully removing them. 

Turning Complaints to Praise

Koesters brought in a No-Touch Cleaning system one night to clean the restrooms. The next day the customer called and had changed his tune. Instead of complaining, he praised the cleaning crew, saying the restrooms looked great.

‘The [no-touch] systems have helped us quite a bit,’ adds Koesters. ‘They keep our clients happy, they help us speed up cleaning, and they reduce our costs.” 

He also knows that the system and their consistent results make his company and staff look good as well. “They are good for public relations,” he says. “These machines tell our customers that we are willing to go the extra step to keep their facilities clean, healthy and safe, every time.”