The wrong washroom
June 1st 2007

Choosing the wrong washroom system can lead to flushing a fortune away down the loo.SCA Tissue Europe's Jenny Turner looks at real examples of how switching systems can result in huge savings for washroom managers

Many managers of away-from-home washrooms think equipping their washroom is a straightforward affair. If they are managing a basic washroom they simply opt for the cheapest loo rolls, hand towels and soaps they can find. If image is their top priority they look instead for the highest quality systems that they can afford.

But choosing washroom products is never that simple.A great deal depends on the location of the washroom; the type of people using it; how busy it is, how large it is and various other practical considerations.And if the wrong washroom system is supplied, the results can be very costly.

One of the cheapest toilet tissue solutions around is the conventional toilet roll.This involves no dispenser investment and loo rolls can easily be bought in bulk at the local cash 'n' carry.

But they can also work out to be surprisingly expensive.

Conventional loo rolls are still used in many pubs, clubs and campsites where they are often piled up on window sills for customers' use. Some inevitably fall to the floor and become soiled while others find their way into people's coat pockets or handbags.

In cases such as these, great savings can be made by switching to a system designed for these areas such as Tork Advanced mini jumbo rolls or Tork Advanced folded toilet paper.These come in lockable dispensers that prevent pilferage and waste due to spoilage.The mini jumbo system contains the equivalent of nine conventional toilet rolls and the folded system can be topped up at any time, so both systems save on money and maintenance.

Sometimes high capacity toilet tissue systems can also work out to be expensive.We once came across a washroom in a major international airport where a large jumbo roll system had been installed.Maintenance checks were only carried out once a day and during this check the jumbo roll in each cubicle was replaced.

In some cases the cleaner was throwing away rolls that were up to a third full and we estimated that more than100m of toilet tissue per roll was being discarded each day.

In cases such as these,we would suggest a switch to a system such as Tork Premium or Tork Advanced folded toilet paper coupled with more regular maintenance checks.These systems can easily be topped up at any time and avoid the issue of waste.

In some cases it is the positioning of a washroom system rather than the type of system installed that can cause a problem.

SCA Tissue Europe key account manager Tom Dudfield said he dramatically cut costs for a sweet manufacturer simply by changing the height of the dispensers. "The customer wanted to cut their washrooms costs while retaining the same quality," he said. "When I looked at the system they had in place I realised that the dispensers were much too high.Washroom users were having to reach up to take out a length of hand towel or loo roll, and as a result they were taking more out than they needed." New Tork hand towel and jumbo toilet roll dispensers were installed at heights of around 60cm lower than the previous systems. "The result was a big saving on the amount of paper being taken out," says Dudfield.

Portion control is a major factor in saving customers'money. End customer key account manager,Tom Pearson, says he cut one university's washroom bills by 25 per cent by introducing a portioncontrolled hand towel system.

"The university had installed a continuous roll system controlled by a lever,"he says. "The washroom user could stand there all day pushing down the lever and taking out an ever-increasing length of towel.

"We installed a zigzag-fold towel system in a dispenser designed to give out only one towel at a time.As a result we cut the university's hand towel bills by around £30,000 a year." Another way in which over-usage can be curbed is by changing the quality of a product – for the better. In one case a hospital customer cut its washroom hand towel bills by 15 per cent by switching from an abrasive towel to a softer, higher quality version.

Staff at the hospital were taking three or four of the cheaper towels out of the dispenser at a time to dry their hands, But when we replaced these with Tork Premium interfold hand towels, fewer were taken out by each user because the towel was more efficient.

Many factors have to be taken into account when installing a washroom system. It is not simply the initial cost that it is important – thought must also be given to extra costs incurred through washroom maintenance, wastage, pilferage and over-use.

Your washroom hygiene company will give you a list of options and help you decide which system works best for you. Expert advice can help you make a major financial saving in the washroom.

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