A user takes a tissue to cover the handle when opening the door. The disinfecting agent evaporates immediately, safely disinfecting the handle, Ames says.Īnother option is a wall-mounted tissue dispenser placed near the door. One product sprays an alcoholic mist on the door handle at pre-determined intervals. Some require patrons to still use the door handle to open the door while others do not. The type of products available differ in both features and use. The facility’s design forces managers into other door strategies to prevent against cross-contamination. However, a number of existing buildings are not designed for a door-less entrance because of space limitations, he says. ![]() The most ideal way to prevent against cross-contamination on the door handle is having no door at all, says Wientjes. Facility managers were concerned about having a healthy restroom, but it was a matter of finding a cost-effective solution, says Todd Muderlak, president, Milwaukee-based Purleve. Now users no longer have to use their shirt or towels to open the door, says Oscar Wientjes, president, Technical Concepts, Mundelein, Ill.įor a long time there has been no clear solution - other than a doorless restroom- to solve the dilemma of exiting the restroom without touching the door handle. ![]() Instead, manufacturers have created products that allow users to exit the restroom without coming into contact with a contaminated handle. To prevent cross-contamination on the door handle, facilities would need someone to disinfect the door handle a number of times a day. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that patrons should wash their hands vigorously for at least 20 seconds, scrubbing all areas of the hands, including the back of the hands, wrists, cuticles, fingernails and the spaces between their fingers.īy not washing their hands or not washing them for the recommended amount of time, patrons can transmit pathogens to others when they touch the restroom door handle. In the case of doors and door hardware, the cross-contamination facts speak for themselves: A report by the National Center for Infectious Diseases states that one out of three restroom users do not wash their hands.Įven some of the ones that do wash their hands do not wash them for the recommended amount of time, says Tim Ames, HEALTHMINDER Division, Sloan Valve Co., Franklin Park, Ill. Office buildings, industrial sites, medical clinics and hospitals, schools, restaurants and research facilities, among others all qualify for some type of touch-free hygiene strategy, but for some of these operations the motivation is more pressing and critical. The degree of incentive if you’re a facility product specifier for investing in this type of technology depends on the type of facility you’re safeguarding. Door handles, levers, touch plates and other door hardware that building occupants come into contact with can now be retrofitted with products that either disinfect hardware, protect against touching the door hardware or allow for a touch-free exit. ![]() ![]() More accurately, the device on the door that building occupants use to operate the door is now getting the focus of touch-free product development. The door is really the beginning and the end of any cross-contamination due diligence. Facility managers that have invested in touch-free technology - towel dispensers, urinals, toilets, faucets and soap dispensers - should consider one more critical touch-free application. When it comes to safeguarding against cross-contamination, the buck stops at the door, literally.
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