It wasn’t so long ago that you would only expect to see a hand sanitiser dispenser if you were visiting a hospital or working in a clean room – now they are ubiquitous, with even the smallest of independent shops, bars and cafes having them prominently displayed. Even as we come out of pandemic times, businesses of all sizes can benefit from the increased hygiene levels afforded by providing these dispensers: here’s how.
Germ Spreading
Everybody is coming into contact with thousands of germs every single day, whether we like to think about it or not. Every time you touch a door handle, a pen, shake hands, press a lift button, make a coffee – you are accumulating and spreading germs around. For decades, we have all washed our hands, and that has been considered enough – but unfortunately it sometimes isn’t. Sharing a hand towel, touching the bathroom door after you have washed your hands (and someone else has not), pushing the dryer button when the previous user has made do with barely a rinse – all these things can re-contaminate your hands, and that’s before you have even got out of the bathroom.
Having a hand sanitiser dispenser station is a great solution – most sanitisers do not require you to dry your hands, as the high alcohol content causes the substance to evaporate extremely quickly, and with automatic sensors, your employees, visitors and customers do not even need to touch the unit. Make sure that anybody coming onto your site can easily and quickly sanitise their hands as they enter – that way, you are seriously limiting the amount of cross-contamination that can occur.
Flexible Location
Another fantastic benefit of dispenser stations is that you can put them anywhere. You do not need to plumb them into the water supply or power lines, so you can have them inside or outside, placed at your access points, in your staff room or dotted around the site with no issues whatsoever. The more conveniently your station is located, the more likely it is that people will actually choose to use it, and the more people that use it, the less likely your site is to be the centre of an infection or cold outbreak.
The Different Types
There are really only two main types of hand sanitiser dispenser – automatic and manual. Automatic ones dispense a predetermined amount of the sanitiser when the user puts their hand underneath a sensor, whereas manual ones will dispense when a lever or button is pushed. Both are very effective, as even though you need to make contact with the manual unit, you are immediately sanitising your hands afterwards.
Other, smaller variations include how they are installed – so you can fix them in place with a wall-mounted solution, or use a freestanding, stanchion-mounted station. This latter gives more flexibility, whereas the former ensures that the station cannot be removed from position.
Final Thoughts…
The key to effective hand sanitiser station deployment is to make sure that the unit is easily accessible and eye-catching, as well as making sure that it has enough sanitiser inside it. You can top the units up very quickly and easily, so make sure that you check on the levels at the start of the day as well as throughout your operating hours.
