The hygiene and functionality of commercial restrooms are under more scrutiny than ever, impacting today’s design guidelines. Are your restroom projects hitting all the right notes?
There’s no question that the pandemic has left a permanent mark on commercial restrooms. Seemingly overnight, the pandemic produced a new set of standards from which we, as end-users, now evaluate restrooms. These new criteria encompass everything from convenient, well-planned layouts to reliably easy access to touch-free tech and consumable products to the appearance of cleanliness — and many more factors.
The higher standard for restroom cleanliness remains elevated, notably as the public’s use of restrooms has continued, even amidst recurring COVID-19 outbreaks. More than 40% of Americans have used public restrooms as often as they did before COVID, according to the 2022 Healthy Handwashing Survey. Interestingly, 27% say they use them even more now than a few years ago.