Have you ever wondered exactly how sanitary your public restrooms are? Sure, they look clean but are they really? Have you educated your staff on exactly HOW to deep clean the bathrooms? A survey by ISSA done recently reveals that a lot of public restrooms are not up to par when it comes to cleanliness.

Bathroom cleaning and maintenance is something that should be done daily since most public restrooms are used every day. They need to be kept clean not only for their reflection on your company but also for the health and safety of those who use them. However, according to the survey, many have a hard time figuring out how to keep their restrooms clean enough.

According to the survey there are some particular problem areas that are being neglected across the board. Apparently there is a science to this that many have yet to be educated properly on.

 Dirt You Can See and Germs You Can’t

Maintaining your public bathrooms consists of two forms of cleaning: Tidying for appearance and sanitizing for health and safety. Of course you want to make sure your bathroom LOOKS good but you can’t forget about what is commonly lurking unseen in public restrooms, harmful bacteria such as Salmonella, E. coli, Shigella, Hepatitis A, and norovirus.

The survey suggests that 95% of professionals understand the correlation between public bathroom cleanliness promoting the health of the public by preventing the spreading of diseases. It also finds that 85% of professionals understand that there is a difference between surface cleaning and cleaning for health.

Those are great statistics but unfortunately that knowledge may stop there where employees are concerned. Of the same polled, only 49% thought their employees understood how dangerous the bathrooms can be if not cleaned properly…yikes. The survey showed these results as well:

  • 20% of those polled think their bathroom may be perceived by the public as harboring bacteria. That’s 1 in 5 people.
  • Think the bathroom handles have the most bacteria camping out? Well, you’re not alone. 65% of the professionals polled believed this statistic as well. According to new information those are actually the CLEANEST areas in the bathroom. The most germ ridden area is actually the trash can for feminine hygiene products. Wow. Only 12% of the polled got that one right.
  • Folks consider cleaning for appearance harder than cleaning for safety and health.
  • This one is a little disturbing: A paltry 29% said they had their staff sanitizing bathroom surfaces often.

Ignoring Proper Training

Maintaining restroom cleanliness is a demanding job especially when 68% of employers admit that their employees may or may not know the difference between sanitizing, disinfecting, and cleaning. That’s a pretty big percentage.

Regarding means of education, those polled revealed:

  • 94% of the professionals polled admitted they allow their employees to be trained via product instructions.
  • 90% say they do use cleaning guidelines or protocols although 45% think the protocols should or could be improved.

All in all it would be fair to say there’s some significant work to be done when it comes to educating and equipping employees in charge of public restroom maintenance. In the meantime, keep your hand sanitizer with you.