| Research has shown that the use of toilet paper and | | | | used. |
| paper towels in restrooms is the best option for | | | | - The possibilities for waste described earlier in this |
| good personal hygiene. Today, there are more | | | | article must be factored into overall cost. |
| choices than ever before when it comes to restroom | | | | - Folded towels (single-fold, center-fold, or multi-fold) |
| paper products and dispensers. This article lists ten | | | | are more portable than rolled towels. Some people |
| key factors with supporting rationale for the choices | | | | may take these folded products for use at home, |
| people make when buying toilet paper and paper | | | | adding cost for the organization paying for them. |
| towels. | | | | - Single roll toilet paper dispenser often requires an |
| 1) Environmentally friendly - Purchasing paper | | | | extra roll of paper to be left in the room. The extra |
| products made from post-consumer recycled material | | | | paper roll can become a free gift to some users |
| is becoming a very popular choice. | | | | willing to take it for their own personal use. |
| - Buying recycled products is the best option | | | | - The janitorial labor to fill folded towel dispensers is |
| considering the extreme alternative is either the | | | | often greater than the labor to fill roll towel |
| complete deforestation of the world's forest or the | | | | dispensers. |
| complete ban on toilet paper and paper towels | | | | - Retrofit cost to change the dispensers for an entire |
| favored by environmentalist. | | | | facility can be very costly. 7) Traffic - The frequency |
| - Studies show that the use of recycled paper | | | | of restroom use is an obvious consideration. |
| towels versus warm air dryers can actually reduces | | | | - Private offices with limited users can be treated |
| the bacteria left on hands by up to 254 percent while | | | | more like a home bathroom. |
| still saving our forest. 2) Availability - Universal | | | | - Public facilities serving all users that may pass |
| dispensers for either folded or rolled paper products | | | | through the area should have a duty cycle study |
| may be the better choice. | | | | done to aid the final choice of paper products and |
| - Many manufacturers sell proprietary dispensers with | | | | dispensers. 8) Volume - In addition to the traffic |
| special features. Once installed, these proprietary | | | | consideration above, the potential number of users at |
| dispensers force the facility to buy only the | | | | the same time and the desire to avoid lines must be |
| manufacturer's paper products. | | | | considered. |
| - Paper products and dispensers that are designed to | | | | - Public restrooms near sporting events, theaters, |
| universal standards for size and application can avoid | | | | train stations, etc where large volumes of users may |
| the potential shortages when a proprietary product | | | | often enter at the same time should be capable of |
| changes, goes out of production or has unexpected | | | | handling the peak volumes. |
| supply chain shortages. 3) Waste - The following | | | | - While time delays on paper dispensers make sense |
| product choices can cause increased waste. | | | | for reducing paper waste, these time delays may not |
| - Folded towels generate more waste than roll | | | | make the best sense at peak volumes. |
| towels because users tend to grab more than | | | | - Dual roll and/or jumbo roll toilet paper dispensers |
| needed and rarely unfold them to maximize use. | | | | can help to prevent running out of paper during a |
| - Toilet paper that is less expensive (narrow, small | | | | single event. 9) Sanitation - The hands-free paper |
| sheet size, single ply) often forces greater use than | | | | towel dispenser is quickly becoming a standard for |
| necessary per application. | | | | many facilities. |
| - Single roll toilet dispensers can result in waste when | | | | - Hands-free (also called touch-free) paper towel |
| partially used rolls are discarded during routine service. | | | | dispensers, both automatic and semi-automatic |
| 4) Quality - Because of the low profit margins in this | | | | (operated by forearm contact), have been on the |
| industry, the old saying "you get what you pay for" | | | | market for quite some time. High maintenance cost is |
| is very true. | | | | the only thing preventing hands-free dispenser |
| - Users care about toilet tissue more than all other | | | | application from expanding more rapidly. |
| janitorial products in a facility. They often complain | | | | - Caution should be taken not to move too fast in |
| about paper products which are too thin or too | | | | converting to hands-free dispensers. Many facilities |
| rough. | | | | have made the switch only to find they had to |
| - Lower quality paper products and dispensers can | | | | spend the extra cost to switch back for other |
| send the wrong message about the facility to the | | | | reasons. |
| ultimate users/customers. | | | | - Hands-free paper towel dispensers often come with |
| - Poor quality paper tends to lead to over use. People | | | | a time delay to prevent waste. However, if a user |
| use more of the product to compensate for the | | | | must stand and wait for another towel, they are |
| poor quality, which leads to more waste. 5) Quantity | | | | likely to walk away with wet hands. Wet hands |
| - The most popular restroom paper product is the | | | | spread 1000 times more bacteria than dry hands. 10) |
| jumbo roll. | | | | Aesthetic concerns - When trying to satisfy the |
| - The last thing people want is to find themselves in | | | | many choices, the typical buyer sometimes weighs |
| a restroom without toilet paper. | | | | aesthetics (size, shape, appearance) of the paper |
| - Running out of toilet paper is also a concern for | | | | products and dispensers disproportionally. |
| janitor. Too little can mean an angry customer | | | | - The function of restroom paper products and |
| creating a real mess. | | | | dispensers should always take precedence over |
| - The use of jumbo rolls reduces the time spent | | | | aesthetics. |
| changing paper, allowing the janitor more time to do | | | | - The usage of coreless roll products is an example |
| other restroom clean-up task. 6) Cost - Both product | | | | where both the function (quantity) and aesthetics |
| cost and maintenance cost can lead to the final | | | | (size) factor are often satisfied at the same time. |
| choice of the paper products and dispensers to be | | | | |