Eight Common Issues With Public Restrooms

Often Last On Your Mind Is First On Your Customer's Mind

If you own a commercial property your plumbing is likely used to the extreme. If you think about the volume of people that go through your restaurant, gas station, department store, hotel or other high traffic businesses you can imagine the strain on your plumbing. People tend to treat public restrooms differently than they would their own, which helps to explain some common issues.

How you maintain your restroom reflects a great deal upon your business. I have had many people tell me they refuse to eat at certain restaurants because of the condition of their restrooms. They used the facilities once and found them to be unsanitary or discovered a toilet that was not flushed. It left them with a lasting impression, and the business with one less customer.

You may be able to deal many of these issues yourself by using a plunger, wrench or simply by ignoring them (which I wouldn't suggest). But if they are a frequent problem, the issue may be more severe than you realize and lead to much more expensive repairs down the road.

1. Toilet Clogs Public restrooms tend to take a beating, partially as a result of high volume but also as a result of vandalism and childish pranks. People will often flush items in a public restroom that they would never flush at home. This can cause a toilet to flush improperly or even overflow. If your toilets plug frequently you may want to have a professional plumber inspect the system to make sure everything is working properly and there are no drain pipe blockages or other serious issues.
   
   
2. Hard to Flush Toilet Who wants to stand in a public restroom and flush a toilet several times to get everything to go down. How many will? Multiple flushes when one should do the trick will also add to your monthly water bill.
   
   
3. Running Toilets Do you have a toilet that runs constantly or flushes by itself periodically? This may seem like a minor issue, but it can result in greatly increased water bills. It may be caused by malfunctioning internal components or a faulty sensor on toilets equipped with auto flushing systems.
   
   
4. Broken Toilet Handles The toilet handle is usually pretty flimsy allowing for failures. Think about your customer and how embarrassed they may be to tell you that the toilet handle is broken and needs flushing. Will they even tell you? or will they leave it for a progression of customers to discover when they need to use your facilities. Installing motion sensor flushing units will eliminate much of these issues.
   
   
5. Slow Drains A slow drain can be very annoying for guests at hotels as they take a shower and end up standing in a tub full of water as the drain struggles to keep up with the flow of water.  A slow drain may be an indication of a partial blockage.
   
   
6. Water Temperature Problems Not a big deal for the sink in a public restroom, but I know I am impressed when I get hot water to wash my hands with. More importantly is the traveler at a hotel that is stuck taking a cold shower. You should have your commercial water heaters inspected quarterly to make sure they are working properly.
   
   
7. Low Water Pressure Low water pressure is caused by a variety of problems including leaks, burst pipes and excessive mineral deposits on the inside of the pipes. This one is best left to professionals to figure out.
   
   
8. Sewer Smell This is a serious and potentially dangerous problem as sewer gases can be toxic as well as unpleasant to smell. There may be a serious blockage or improperly vented stack. Call a professional plumber, like AEM Mechanical as soon as possible.

Remember, every impression your business makes on a customer counts. A visit to a poorly maintained restroom can scar their impression of you and your business forever.

For help protecting your business from public restroom failures,  call AEM Mechanical Services, Inc. at 320-587-0991.