Workplace sanitation is one of the most important factors to consider whether you’re working with a large group of people, or just a few. Many of us don’t stop to think about germs living on surfaces such as the sink, toilet or door handle, but it is becoming an ever increasing concern in this day and age with so many diseases out there. It seems that there is always something new popping up that medical scientists have yet to discover. A new strain of influenza, or even the common cold, is not unheard of ever summer. Thankfully, there are ways to combat germs in the workplace, starting with the kind of dispenser you use for your soap, toilet paper, and paper towels.

Soap Dispensers

Choosing the right soap dispenser might seem like an easy task at first, but there are things you have to consider. It’s not as easy as running to the store and buying something that you can stick on the wall. Do you want one that has a manual pump? Automatic? What about one that you can operate with your foot? Well, it depends on placement. Installing a hand soap dispenser means that you’re following the advice of the CDC, which states that washing hands is one of the best ways to guard against the spread of germs. In areas where employees hang out, especially in the washroom, a manual pump soap dispenser is good, as long as someone is cleaning and wiping it down on a daily basis. For customer washrooms, consider installing a touchless soap dispenser. Those are the ones that you just have to move your hand under to get the amount you need to wash up. When it comes to the field of healthcare, many exam rooms and surgical centers are equipped with foot operated soap dispensers, thus preventing them from ever being touched by human hands.

Consider the amount of traffic your workplace gets both from employees and customers, and you’ll do fine when it comes to choosing the right soap dispenser.

Toilet Paper Dispensers

When it comes to toilet paper dispensers in the workplace, covered is always best. Depending on the amount of customers and employees you have, going with a jumbo toilet paper dispenser is probably your best option. These can fit two large rolls perfectly, and the user never has to worry about touching the base of the roll because it is covered up, therefore lessening the chance of germs spreading all over the place. What you don’t want is one that is standard in the home. That’s fine for your family, but when you have ten to a hundred, or maybe even more, people using the bathroom each day, the chances of germs getting on to the paper and spreading is a high risk factor.

Are you a small business with not much action in your bathroom? Covered is still you best bet for a toilet paper dispenser, but perhaps you can think about reducing its size to one that just fits a regular roll. Just make sure you have someone checking the stock levels everyday so you don’t have to worry about people running out.

A good toilet paper Paper Towel Dispenser will run you anywhere from $20 to $40, so they are fairly inexpensive to install, but you can’t put a price on cleanliness, so go with what suits your needs best.

Paper Towel Dispensers

There’s nothing worse than going into a bathroom and seeing just a roll of paper towels sitting on the sink, all wet and grimy from being touched by many hands. This is where a paper towel dispenser is invaluable, as it shows that you care about people’s health and reducing the spread of germs.

Paper towel dispensers work so well because they require little to no effort on your part to refill, and the user does not have to touch what they don’t need. It’s as simple as pulling out a single sheet. May prefer the kind that has no pump handle because when people go to dry their hands, it means they are still wet. Touching a handle wet handle to get to the paper towel is not only unsanitary, but it’s messy and requires a lot of maintenance on your part. A simple, single fold or roll dispenser will do just fine, and will cost you anywhere between $10 and $40 depending on the model you choose.

Workplace dispensers help stop the spread of germs and give your business a professional appearance. You may not think so, but people pay attention to these things and a dispenser can go a long way toward improving your image and show your customers that you care about their health.