How to refresh washrooms without breaking the bank

ignage and first impressions

One of the most striking changes you can make to your washroom is replacing the signage. Whether it’s the male/female icons on the outside of the door, or the push plates and handles within, this is the first thing users see when entering the washroom and can raise expectations of what’s inside - particularly in restaurants, cafes and foodservice businesses. Simple items like these can be fitted with great ease, often with just a few pilot holes and screws, and sometimes with a self-adhesive strip fixed to the back.

Replacing toilet seats

One of the most common replacements in commercial washrooms is the toilet seat. Many site managers and caretakers will no doubt keep one or two to hand for swift changeovers, reducing the time a toilet cubicle is out of service. If you are responsible for your own business washrooms and have little experience with small scale replacements, don't be intimidated as toilet seats can be installed very easily. The main issue involved with toilet seat replacement is getting the original, broken seat off the toilet pan. Old toilets often have rusted, or fused together metal nuts and bolts, making removal very difficult – especially in the fiddly confined space where they sit. However, once removed, the new seat can be fitted swiftly and many new models have plastic bolts, which remove the aforementioned problem of metal fusing together.

If you’re looking to freshen up the washroom as a whole, perhaps even give thought to changing the colour of the toilet seats throughout the facilities. This is a relatively low-cost way of changing the look and feel of a washroom and one of the best items to upgrade when doing low-cost redesigns.

Dispensers: Replacing and installing

Dispensers are another washroom item that can take a significant beating over the course of a year. Thankfully, these are also very easy to replace and if you don’t already have dispensers installed, their addition can improve the usability and hygiene of your washroom greatly. For high durability, look for stainless steel options like this 900ml brushed steel soap dispenser. You can also find matching paper towel dispensers, which are much more durable than plastic.

Changing taps? Invest in the upgrade

For an impressive upgrade to your existing facilities, sensor taps are a solid choice. The benefits to this style of tap, which is increasingly becoming the most common variety installed, are sevenfold.  Firstly, the user never needs to physically touch the tap, meaning the spread of bacteria and dirt is significantly reduced and as such, the hygiene of your facilities hugely improved. Sensor taps also emit a controlled burst of water, resulting in less water usage per person, and removes the risk of taps accidentally being left on. Compared to conventional twist taps, you could expect to see a reduction in water usage, and financial savings by way of lower bills.

Alternatively, you could choose to upgrade your taps to some push taps, which can come in cheaper than sensor taps, but still give you a controlled water flow and automatic shut-off. In schools and public washroom environments, these are an ideal choice.

Swollen cubicle doors?

There are several common ways in which cubicle doors get damaged. Swelling from ingress water is right at the top, an issue where moisture has penetrated between the laminated layers, or within the chipboard interior of the door, and pushes out. This not only looks bad but weakens the door and can prevent it from closing properly. Replacing a cubicle door, or even the partition walls, is a very easy process for anyone with basic DIY skills. To insure against this problem happening in the future, we recommend using solid grade laminate (SGL). This material is completely impervious to water and will never swell, delaminate, or weaken. SGL is used in many washrooms, as well as shower enclosures and wetroom wall cladding.

Even if your cubicle doors aren’t broken or swollen, replacing just the doors is a relatively cost-effective way to breathe new life and colour into your washroom. SGL comes in a huge range of colours, allowing you to tie the room into your company or school colours.

If you’d like more information on toilet cubicle materials, see our feature on Exploring Cubicle Options.

Hardware, locks and other accessories

Washrooms are damp, humid environments that see a tremendous footfall each and every day. As such, the small but integral items like locks, hooks and cubicle hardware can begin to rust, cease up, or generally just stop working. All of the above can be replaced quite easily and we have an extensive range to browse and choose from.

Our hardware packs include everything needed for a cubicle and come in aluminium and stainless steel options. We also offer powder-coated aluminium to further prevent damage from humidity and water.

So whether you’re looking to replace a few broken features in your washroom, or looking for some ideas to freshen it up without spending a fortune, there are ways to accomplish this without breaking the bank.

If you’d like advice on any of our products or would like to talk to us about your washroom refurbishment project, please get in touch on 01202 650900.