A new norm: handwashing stations where below-floor drainage didn't exist!

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently shared best practices for reopening retail food establishments during the COVID-19 pandemic. Among several other guidelines, the FDA recommends placing handwashing stations throughout these facilities.

Handwashing stations can effectively safeguard workers and consumers against the spread of COVID-19, but many retail stores and other facilities face a serious obstacle: How do you create a handwashing station where conventional, below-floor drainage does not exist?

To overcome this drainage problem, retailers have opted for various solutions, such as renting portable sinks and hand-sanitizer stations.

But these solutions can be costly and ineffective for the following reasons:

1. A portable handwashing station could cost up to $300-$400 CDN or $230-$307 USD per month to rent, not to mention the fact that these portable sinks frequently need to be refilled with soap and water. They also include large-capacity grey water tanks that need to be emptied regularly. Employees are now tasked with refilling five-gallon water jugs multiple times daily, on top of their regular responsibilities.
2. Using hand sanitizer is not as effective as washing your hands with soap and water. Health experts agree that washing your hands with soap and water for 20 seconds is key. But how effective is hand sanitizer? According to the CDC, alcohol-based hand sanitizers can quickly reduce the number of microbes on hands in some situations, but sanitizers do not eliminate all types of germs. 

As we transition to the new normal, public facilities have found a sustainable, more hygienic solution to creating handwashing stations: Saniflo above-floor drain pumps.

Saniflo drain pumps:

A better solution to handwashing stations.

Saniflo’s above-floor drain pumps offer an affordable, sustainable solution for creating handwashing-station sinks that easily connect to a building’s existing sewer lines. Partnering with suppliers and vendors who provide automatic paper towel holders and soap dispensers, Saniflo Canada has provided traditional handwashing stations to grocery stores, ICU wards, daycares, and gyms during the pandemic.

The most popular Saniflo products for handwashing stations are the Saniswift, Sanicom 1, and Sanivite.

• The Saniswift drain pump is used to pump gray water away from a variety of fixtures in residential applications. The system can discharge the waste up to 14 vertical feet and/or 140 horizontal feet into a septic tank or municipal sewage system.
• The Sanivite drain pump is used to pump gray water away from a variety of fixtures in commercial and residential applications. The system is able to discharge the waste up to 16 feet vertically and/or 150 feet horizontally. This model was designed to sustain the toughest applications as it is capable of handling hot water and grease.
• Designed for both commercial and residential applications, the Sanicom 1 can discharge gray water away from a sink up to 25 feet vertically and/or 250 feet horizontally. Small enough to fit inside a small cabinet or under a small sink, the unit was designed to meet the toughest applications, including water temperatures up to 194°F. The FDA poses an important question to retailers when considering sanitation stations: Are your handwashing sinks functional and able to reach 100⁰F minimum?

Saniflo drain pumps offer lower maintenance and longevity.

Saniflo's drain pumps and handwashing stations can be installed in any public facility for under $1,500 CDN or $1,153 USD. What’s more, they demand little, if any, maintenance.

Besides a frequent cleaning for high-touch surfaces, the main features of the handwashing stations — the faucet, soap dispenser, or paper towel holder — operate automatically. These touchless surfaces can offer a sense of relief for both facility owners and customers, as we head into a new normal.

People want facilities like gyms and daycare centers to offer handwashing sinks throughout their public spaces. In ICU wards, many of the hallways don’t have handwashing stations. Consequently, numerous Canadian hospitals have installed Saniflo’s Sanivite drain pumps during the pandemic to solve this issue. 

On construction sites, you will find various versions of handwashing stations — usually makeshift units built in the cheapest way possible. In addition, they have zero PPE for employees: a very unsafe method of sanitation.

If you’re not convinced yet, Saniflo offers something a portable hand washing station or a hand-sanitizing station cannot: longevity.

Having handwashing stations throughout facilities used by employees and the general public is quickly becoming the new norm. Saniflo offers the safest, most effective, and sustainable solution in a post-pandemic society.

For more information about the product line, including new-product launches, contact Saniflo at 1-800-571-8191. Or visit the Saniflo website at www.saniflo.com.

For editorial assistance, including press information and photography, contact John O’Reilly c/o GreenHouse Digital + PR: 815-469-9100 or [email protected]