Facility Manager's Guide: Sensor or Manual Faucets for Commercial Use

How to reduce germs by choosing the right commercial faucet for your facility

 Blog Highlights

• Faucets are one of the top places for germs in bathrooms- primarily commercial restrooms
• How to choose a commercial faucet to help reduce germs and protect occupants
• Introduction to commercial faucets that help meet ADA compliance, high-traffic durability, germs reduction, and project considerations

They say a picture is worth 100,000 words, and this one from Senior Living tells a story of the germs found in commercial bathrooms. Many people would guess that the toilet would be the most germ-infested place in the bathroom – and they would be wrong. As you can see, the toilet paper dispenser has the highest amount of Colony Forming Units (CFU), with the commercial sink faucet coming in second place with over 3 million CFUs. Almost 90% of those bacteria being the type that makes us sick.

 Here are Two Issues to Consider When Renovating Public Restrooms

1. Traditional manual facets force visitors to retouch the handle after cleaning their hands to turn off the water, which makes washing hands in the first place completely pointless.
   
   Forcing visitors to use paper towels, or worse,  leave water running – are both incredibly wasteful and costly.
   
   
2. Many older commercial bathrooms counters, sinks, and faucets were not designed for ADA compliance.
   
   Involuntarily prohibiting use to all occupants by not taking extra consideration for those with special needs - watch or video below to learn more about ADA compliance.

Quick Guide To Help Facility Managers: 

Facility managers always have a lot on their hands. Now more than ever, they are responsible for the health and safety of building occupants. We have seen a surge in building management decision-makers prioritizing health- and- safety options to reduce bacteria and virus transfer in commercial building restrooms.

As a facility manager, you are responsible for deciding between manual and touchless faucets. Which style will keep your building occupants safer? It's a more complicated question than many think. Different factors such as budget, accessibility needs, and water usage control contribute to the ultimate answer.

This guide will show you the best available options for reducing germ transfer for touchless and manual faucets to help you decide what is best for your next restroom renovation.

Touch or Touchless Commercial Faucets?

Commercial faucets are covered in infectious pathogens; 34% of the bacteria found on a faucet is Enterobacteriaceae, the family of bacteria with Salmonella and E. coli. Finding the right commercial faucet to reduce touch is essential to minimize germ transfer in commercial restrooms.

Touchless Faucets are the Safest Option for Occupants

Touchless faucets or sensor-operated faucets are motion-activated. Sensors under the faucet's surface measure the human body's electricity, sensing when a hand is nearby. There is no need to touch anything to activate the water for use, reducing the read of germs making them the best choice for germ reduction. 

However, touchless faucets are not always the first choice for a commercial project. This affinity may stem from a previous bad experience with an early version touchless faucet (disclaimer – certainly not a Chicago Faucet), the facility type, or simply a preference for manual over touchless faucets. To protect the building's occupants from bacteria on manual faucets, you must reduce germ transfer; it is possible with a low-touch manual faucet design.

Benefits of Low-Touch Manual Faucets For Commercial Use

Low-touch faucets, such as easy-to-use single-handle faucets, are a great choice when necessary. Single-handled faucets are easier to operate for occupants with accessibility issues than a two-handled faucet.

A single lever faucet with an extended handle like Chicago Faucets' long-handled 410 or 420 manual faucets were designed to be ADA compliant. The handle extension in the design was created to require less effort to reach and the ability to operate without the need to grasp, pinch, or twist. 

A supplementary benefit of the long-handle is that it helps fight against the battle against bacteria by helping reduce the spread of germs. The long-handle can be turned on or off with an elbow to reduce manual touch, helping to minimize germ transfer.  As shown in the image below from the animated video on National Health Service's 12 steps to effective hand washing.

Manual faucets with antimicrobial handles decrease pathogen transfer thanks to Sureshield technology. In a 28-day dried fungal test, untreated handles showed significant fungal growth while Sureshield antimicrobial coated faucet handles had virtually no growth. Antimicrobial faucet handles are a budget-friendly choice for facilities with a tight budget for germ reduction upgrades.

Options  

Whether you prefer manual or touchless commercial faucets, there is always an option to reduce germ transfer.

Many facility managers prefer manual sink faucets. They're easy to understand and have fewer up-front costs than touchless counterparts. However, they harbor germs, users must re-handle to turn off the water, and long-term savings are more significant with electronic faucets.

When frequent handwashing is essential, and virus transfer is on everyone's minds - choosing the right faucet is critical. There is a reason that the popularity of sensor faucets is on the rise.

Don't worry; whatever your preference, Chicago Faucets have you covered for years to come. 

Why Facility Managers prefer Chicago Faucets' Electronic or Manual

• We offer the most comprehensive portfolio of touchless or manual faucets in the industry.
• Our faucets are easy to install with most major components above deck (i.e. - the counter).
• Easy maintenance and interchangeability- our parts are easy to replace when needed, keeping the faucet working longer.
• Chicago Faucets are long-lasting and durable; we have 50-year-old faucets still in use.
• TempShield^® is our proprietary built-in ASSE 1070 compliant scald protection.
• Eliminates the need to install a separate thermostatic mixing valve – for the industry's fastest and most fool-proof ASSE 1070 installation available- saving time and money.
• Our Long Term Power Solution (LTPS) offers maintenance free power for more then 15 years.
• Handheld applications, allowing facility managers to control the water flow timing, run a flush, or turn off the sensor during janitorial or maintenance work.  

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