It’s the duty that employees dread, but it must be done. Every business should care about restroom upkeep. It reflects on the company’s image and creates a better experience for everyone in the building. Food establishments need to take special care though, because their bathrooms will be frequented consistently by customers. Keeping your bathrooms in good shape is more a matter of planning and responsibility than anything else.
Set a Cleaning Schedule
One of the most common reasons why bathrooms are neglected is unclear workplace responsibilities. Team members should know who is responsible for cleaning the restrooms each shift and what that duty actually entails. Unless there’s a dedicated sanitation professional on staff, employees can rotate each day or week to spread out the responsibilities. Be sure to equip employees with proper supplies to quickly and effectively sanitize the room.
Respond to Complaints
Don’t just ignore customer or employee comments on the bathroom. These should be acted on quickly, whether it’s a running toilet, leaking faucet, or lack of tissue paper. It’s important to react quickly when there’s a serious problem that might impact customers. Employees should put up signs and start working on a solution immediately.
Don’t Wait for Repairs
It’s tempting to try to squeeze the most life and value out of everything that you can. Unfortunately, this attitude can really backfire when it comes to bathroom maintenance. That’s why you should call a reputable plumber, like Spartan Plumbing and Services, if there’s any sign of damage or a blockage that won’t budge. Minor problems are often cheap and easy to fix, but if you don’t fix them quick enough the cost and difficulty goes up exponentially.
Design for Efficiency
One of the most important ways to keep your restrooms clean and functional is to design them that way. Use fixtures, cabinets and flooring material that is easy to clean. This means it’s all made of one material, preferably one that can be bleached, with minimal grooves, seems, and nooks. Making it easy to clean means it will be cleaned more often. Also, moving towards motion sensing activation for toilets and paper towels means less movable parts that might break from over-use.
Restroom upkeep is probably not something you are passionate about, but it’s important for your business nonetheless. Take some time to apply these basic tips and develop a consistent plan to keep things under control. Customers will thank you!