Toilet Guide: Buying the Best Toilets for Your Building
Buyer’s Guide: Choosing the Best Toilets for Your Premises
One of the most common questions we’re asked by facilities managers and business owners is simply, ‘Which toilets are best for my building?’. There are multiple factors to consider, such as the use of your premises, clientele and expectant footfalls, not to mention aesthetics and the overall environment you want to create.
Talking toilets is what we do best, so here’s a quick guide to our best selling bogs and which venues they’re best suited to:
Stainless Steel Toilets
Due to their hardwearing nature, our range of stainless steel toilets are popular with pubs and nightclubs, as well as public buildings, such as bus and train stations.
We’ve also supplied army barracks, factories and sport stadiums with our stainless steel products, so if you anticipate heavy usage, these could be the right loos for you.
The material is inherently tough, making it virtually vandal-resistant, so if your venue is open to potential mischief (possibly after patrons have had one too many drinks) then we’d recommend a stainless steel close coupled WC suite, with no pipework on show between the cistern and pan.
Alternatively, you could opt for a stainless steel back to wall toilet, with the cistern and pipework concealed behind a false panel.
As the name suggests, ‘stainless’ steel means it’s relatively low maintenance, owing to a fine layer of chromium oxide on the surface, protecting the metallic body from exposure to oxygen. This makes it great value for money, but much care should still be taken when cleaning, avoiding the use of scouring pads at all costs, because these will damage the protective properties. Read more in our stainless steel cleaning guide.
The bold, silvery style is undeniably industrial in tone, so if you run an upmarket restaurant or corporate office suite, you may want to look elsewhere. However, if you’re looking for a durable solution that can stand the test of time, is low maintenance and cost-effective, stainless steel could be the perfect fit.
Vitreous China Toilets
We supply china toilets to multiple industry sectors, from hotels and shopping centres to office blocks, schools and universities.
The aesthetic is not as severe as stainless steel, allowing you more freedom to focus on complementary interior design that creates the right atmosphere for your premises.
However, the polished glass-like quality of china means it’s not as vandal-resistant, but we find this isn’t usually an issue for our customers; if you’re investing in high quality amenities, it’s unlikely your guests, staff or students will abuse them. Inevitably, you may encounter the odd spot of graffiti, but unfortunately all public toilets are vulnerable to these ‘artistic’ displays.
If looks are important to you, and you expect a low-to-medium level of usage, a product like our china back to wall WC pan would fit the bill. If you have a high footfall, such as at a shopping centre, it’s likely you also have a regular cleaning and maintenance schedule in place, which should limit the risk of vandalism, leaving you with fantastic facilities that enjoy a healthy lifespan.
Disabled Toilets
Under section five of governmental guidance on access to and the use of buildings, it states that at least one wheelchair-accessible unisex toilet must be provided in buildings where sanitary facilities are provided for the use of customers, visitors and staff.
Furthermore, at least one WC cubicle must be provided for the use of ambulant disabled people in separate-sex amenities, and where there are four or more individual cubicles, at least one must be enlarged for those requiring extra space.
Our Contour 21 raised height and projection toilet in white vitreous china is a popular choice for many venues, providing back support for disabled patrons. However, if the hardwearing qualities of stainless steel are important to you, you may prefer our durable Bariatric toilet.
It’s imperative that accessible facilities are designed and finished to the same quality as other amenities, so take care to fulfil your obligations and make adequate provisions for all.
Unisex Toilets & General Guidelines
In recent years, it’s become increasingly common for venues to incorporate gender neutral facilities into their designs. You can read more about the practicalities and considerations of this in our guide to unisex toilets, but one of the key things to bear in mind is HSE advice for the recommended number of toilets per person for mixed use (or women only):
|
Number of people |
Number of toilets |
Number of washbasins |
|
1-5 |
1 |
1 |
|
6-25 |
2 |
2 |
|
26-50 |
3 |
3 |
|
51-75 |
4 |
4 |
|
76-100 |
5 |
5 |
For men, the guidance is as follows:
|
Number of men |
Number of toilets |
Number of urinals |
|
1-15 |
1 |
1 |
|
16-30 |
2 |
1 |
|
31-45 |
2 |
2 |
|
46-60 |
3 |
2 |
|
61-75 |
3 |
3 |
|
76-90 |
4 |
3 |
|
91-100 |
4 |
4 |
You may also be interested in reading our guide to choosing the right urinal for your venue, and for more detailed information on issues surrounding school toilet regulations, please read our guide to planning a school washroom.
The Washware Essentials team is ready to answer any questions you have and offer expert insight into your sanitary ware needs. Whether you’re looking for high-end installations to make your customers smile, or something more basic and durable, we can deliver solutions that will make you flush with excitement.
Give us a call today on 01275 390603 or email enquiries@washwareessentials.co.uk.