Here's why you should make hand sanitizer dispensers readily available
Article published on Mar 24, 2021When COVID-19 established its presence in the US, changing every aspect of American life from working to grocery shopping, the CDC spread the word about best practices for staying safe in public. For instance the CDC emphasized the strong benefit of simply washing ones hands with soap and water for a full 20 seconds, especially after touching ones face, blowing ones nose, coughing, etc.
Scientists believe our fingers can carry anywhere from 2 to 10 million bacteria. While our hands are not hospitable environments for most of these germs long term, they can survive for a few hours, passing from person to person. It's no surprise then that 80% of illness-causing germs are spread by our hands.
The good news is that proper hand washing can reduce respiratory infections (like corona virus) by as much as 20%. But what are patrons supposed to do when they can't wash their hands? After all, many establishments closed their restrooms to the public. (Keeping in mind the disturbing statistic that bacteria counts double after a visit to the restroom, this decision is likely a wise one.) But how should customers keep their hands clean without access to soap and water?
Hand Sanitizers For Proper Hygiene Amidst COVID-19
The CDC recognizes that in public settings, soap and water may not be readily available for hand washing. (Again, especially when establishments are keeping their public restrooms closed.)
This is why it's important for businesses, hospitals, cafes, airports, bus stations, and any other public facility to offer hand sanitizing stations throughout their premises.
Benefits of free standing hand sanitizer stations:
- Portability: Free standing hand sanitizers like those available for sale in Crowd Control Warehouse' social distancing collection are easily portable and can be positioned where they're most accessible, for instance at entrances and checkout lines.
- Mess-free design: These hand sanitizer dispenser posts often include trays or lips which extend beneath the dispenser to capture hand gel and prevent messes or slip and fall risks.
- Stability without interruption of foot traffic: This particular hand sanitizer design includes a flat steel base which provides stability without interrupting foot traffic, taking up floor space, or causing trip and fall risks.
Hand sanitizer variations:
When shopping for hand sanitizer stations, here are some of the product variations you might find.
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Wipe compatible vs dispenser compatible: Grocery stores may prefer sanitization stands which accommodate wipe dispensers so that customers can wipe off grocery carts and baskets. Hospitals or cafes on the other hand may want holders which accommodate hand sanitizer dispensers so that patrons can clean off their hands upon entry. Both options are available in our social distancing products collection.
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Free standing, stanchion topper, or wall mounted: Businesses without existing stanchions may benefit from free standing hand sanitizer dispenser posts or even wall mounted hand sanitizer wipe holders. However, facilities which already use retractable belt barriers for their checkout lines may find it especially useful to attach hand sanitizer dispensers directly on top of their existing retractable belt barrier stanchions.
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Signage: Some hand sanitizer stands also come with signs on top. This allows for important safety messaging.
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Multi-purpose sanitizer stations: Health clinics or other similar facilities may require something more involved for their sanitization stations. For instance instead of focusing on hand sanitizer alone, some facilities may want their sanitization stations to include personal protective equipment (PPE), such as rubber gloves or gowns. Our social distancing collection includes a wide variety of additional sanitizer station options, even for more extensive PPE.