As businesses have scrambled to find the best ways to keep customers and employees healthy, numerous solutions have appeared. One of the most popular is the addition of hand sanitizing stations. When handwashing isn’t an option, hand sanitizer is an excellent alternative that many customers appreciate having.
Providing these stations can improve the overall safety of your business while making customers feel that they are in a place that values their health. Commercial hand sanitizer dispensers are a convenient, touch-free method of killing some of the germs that spread easily, including the 2019 coronavirus.
Why Should You Implement Hand Sanitizing Stations?
The most significant benefit to commercial hand sanitizer dispensers is that they reduce the number of germs that enter your establishment. Whether you run a grocery store, restaurant, gym, salon or any other business dealing with strict health standards, you could have customers coming in from all over, bringing their germs with them. They might touch doorknobs, products, carts, payment terminals and other frequently accessed areas and put other customers at risk.
Keep in mind that they aren’t always the customers you might expect. A person doesn’t need to be coughing and sneezing to spread damaging viruses. Fortunately, you can help your customers decrease the spread of viruses and ensure that your business is taking the proper steps to prevent the spread of illnesses.
Here are a few other reasons that hand sanitizer stations make a great addition to your business:
- Speed: People aren’t going to go to the bathroom to wash their hands every time they step into a store or restaurant. Without a sanitizing option, they’ll touch products and fixtures, possibly spreading germs far and wide. Having hand sanitizing stations makes it easy for them to avoid spreading germs without taking time out of their day to wash their hands.
- Motion sensors: What makes a hand sanitizer dispenser better than setting out a regular bottle with a pump? The touch-free nature of a hand sanitizer station makes them a much more attractive option. Guests don’t have to touch the same dirty pump handle that all your previous customers have touched.
- Positive display of response efforts: In addition to simple health benefits, customers appreciate the option of a commercial hand sanitizer dispenser. They don’t want to risk spreading germs, and they certainly don’t want to take any with them. A sanitizer station allows them to stop both. It shows that your company cares about their health and the cleanliness of your store. While it might seem like a minor detail, not having a place for hand sanitizer stations could contribute to sending customers to a competitor.
The Future of Hand Sanitizer Stations
While the COVID-19 pandemic dramatically increased the use of hand sanitizer, it also raised awareness about germs and how infectious illnesses are spread in public spaces. Consumers have gotten into the habit of sanitizing their hands every time they open a door or accept their change from a cashier, and the reward of staying healthy reinforces this habit. Some people are reporting better health than usual due to their improved hand hygiene.
Hand sanitizing has gone a long way to reduce the spread of COVID-19, but it’s also held other infectious viruses at bay. Researchers have noticed a decrease in influenza, enterovirus and all-cause pneumonia cases from proper hand hygiene and other safety measures. If consumers want to continue to enjoy a mild cold and flu season, they may come to rely on hand sanitizer stations as a permanent addition to their shopping routines.
Public spaces and retail stores are breeding grounds for germs. When people gather together, they bring their germs along and risk spreading them on everything they touch. Here are just a few of the germiest surfaces that could be infecting your customers:
- Door handles
- Fitting rooms
- Merchandise
- Money
- Shopping carts
- Payment screens
People collect germs on their hands from all of the contaminated surfaces they touch. Without proper sanitation, people risk spreading the germs to other surfaces or becoming sick themselves. Hand sanitizer is crucial to stop the spread of germs in public spaces. Businesses that provide automated hand sanitizer stations can stop germs at the door for a safer shopping experience. Motion sensor dispensers allow customers to clean their hands before they touch any other surfaces.
Touchless services have become the new way of life. Automatic doors have been around for a while, but tap-and-go credit cards and no contact delivery are the way of the future. A motion-activated hand sanitizer fits into this vision perfectly, making hand hygiene safe and convenient for your customers.
The pandemic has changed the way that people understand germs. Hand sanitizer stations are important now and will continue to be relevant for many years to come.
How Effective Is Hand Sanitizer?
There are many misconceptions about hand sanitizer and how well it works. Some think it’s just as good as handwashing while others don’t trust it. Claims of hand sanitizer killing almost 100% of germs can complicate the question, but even healthcare settings recommend it much of the time — so what gives?
What it comes down to is that handwashing is still the best way to get rid of germs, but hand sanitizer is an excellent alternative when handwashing is not easily accessible. Handwashing actually removes the germs and sends them down the drain, while the alcohol in hand sanitizers only kills them. Proper usage is essential, but sanitizer works well in a pinch, like when people don’t have time to run off to the bathroom every time they enter a store.
It’s so handy that healthcare workers are often advised to use it. The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) estimated that about an hour of an ICU nurse’s eight-hour shift could be saved with an alcohol-based rub instead of traditional handwashing. It is often effective against the kinds of germs they encounter and can be especially helpful in countries where clean water is tough to come by.
To be effective, hand sanitizer must be at least 60% alcohol or higher. The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends 75-85% ethanol, isopropanol, or n-propanol for optimal efficacy. Other possible ingredients in sanitizers, like benzalkonium chloride or triclosan, might not be effective against specific types of bacteria and may even contribute to bacterial resistance. Alcohol, on the other hand, is well-known to kill germs.
Proper Application
For hand sanitizer to be effective, it must be used correctly — something that many people don’t do. You may have to instruct your customers on the right way to use it if you want to get the most out of commercial hand sanitizer stations.
The CDC’s three-step method for applying hand sanitizer are as follows:
- Apply liberally.
- Rub palms together to cover all surfaces.
- Rub until hands are completely dry. This step is vital as it allows the alcohol to stay on your hands long enough to work. You can’t wipe any excess off after five seconds, and if your hands have dried after 10 seconds, you probably didn’t use enough sanitizer. Exposure time should be greater than 20 seconds.
The WHO even expanded on these instructions with a more detailed look at rubbing the sanitizer in, with steps that involve interlacing the fingers, rubbing the back of your fingers into the opposite palm and other specific instructions. They’re a little hard to visualize, but you can check out their diagram for a better understanding.
Placing Hand Sanitizing Stations
No one’s going to see a hand sanitizer station stuffed in the back of your building. Make sure you put commercial hand sanitizer stations front and center, where your customers will see them as they enter and exit your establishment. If you’re also offering cart wipes, it’s probably a good idea to pair up the two stations.
Remember the importance of the proper application. If your layout allows for it, you can improve the effectiveness of the station by putting signs up that inform people how to use hand sanitizer appropriately. Alternatively, you could also give it a label with bright colors, so people are attracted to it and don’t pass by.
With our hand sanitizer stations, you can customize the poster behind the container with whatever signage you like, whether that’s your logo, an informative diagram or something else. Custom hand sanitizer signage will encourage more customers to use the station and recognize your brand’s effort towards creating a clean and safe space.
Hand Sanitizer Stations From SpeedPro
At SpeedPro, we offer commercial hand sanitizer stations to help businesses protect their customers and employees from germs. They are durable and responsive, so customers can quickly and easily get the right amount of hand sanitizer as they enter your facility. Plus, they have a built-in space for signage, where you can draw attention to it or instruct people on proper usage.
Our commercial hand sanitizer stations can help businesses of all types do their part to prevent the spread of bacteria and viruses. To learn more about implementing them in your building, find your local studio today.
