The coronavirus pandemic has changed how we think, feel, and act in public spaces, especially in germ-prone areas like public restrooms. Because of COVID-19, no-touch services such as contactless payment systems, curbside pick-up, and increased online services are all new-normal ways of conducting business in 2021. Some brick and mortar facilities cannot move services online, and must now adapt to how the pandemic has changed people’s expectations of hygiene. People judge a facility by the cleanliness of its restrooms, resulting in a positive or negative impression.
Now, when you enter a restroom and have to touch a surface, you’re probably thinking about how many unwashed hands have touched that door handle, the last time the flush valve handle was sanitized, and how exactly you’re going to use your elbow to turn off the faucet after you’re done washing your hands. And you probably save your paper towel to use it to open the door without touching the handle too.
The fact of the matter is, no one wants to touch surfaces in a public restroom anymore. Making the restrooms throughout your facility as touch-free as possible is not only comforting to patrons, but also preferred and somewhat expected. This is especially true at businesses like hotels, restaurants, schools, hospitals, and universities. Creating a no-touch restroom experience shows visitors that you care about their health and comfort.
Decrease the Need to Sanitize
Beyond improving your patron’s experience in your facility, fewer touch points in high-traffic areas also lowers the need for constant sanitizing and cleaning. This means less janitorial tasks and reduced costs for you and your maintenance crew.
Reduce Water Consumption
Touchless fixtures like electronic faucets and flushometers also reduce water consumption. You are probably familiar with dual-flush flushometers, which execute the reduced flush when patrons are in front of the fixture for shorter periods of time. These flushometers can usually be identified by the green and black true mechanical override buttons located on the top or side of the flush valve. But did you know that there are flushometers that have smart sense technology, which senses when there is a long line in front of a urinal, and as a result, only flushes after every fifth user?
The Latest Technology
Equiparts is at the forefront of all the new technology that comes out regularly for commercial fixtures. We can inform you of all the options available so that you can decide what features are important to you and will work best in your facility.
Some of the newest technologies allow facilities to digitally monitor the water usage of their fixtures. Sloan’s new Bluetooth faucets let you perform maintenance remotely by adjusting the faucet’s settings through Sloan’s Connect App. One of the newest and most exciting technologies for large-scale facilities is Sloan’s Programmed Water Technologies (PWT) systems. This smart system gives you the power to learn more about how your fixtures are used throughout all of your buildings and increase uptime by quickly identifying malfunctions, vandalism, or other irregularities in water flow. PWT can greatly improve efficiency and lower maintenance costs in facilities such as prisons, schools, hospitals, and others.
Educated and Experienced
Restroom fixtures with handles and push bars are one of the biggest breeding grounds for germs and bacteria within your facility. Begin the conversion to touch-free restrooms by calling Equiparts today! You’ll be connected to one of our Sensor product experts who will walk you through everything you need to know for a quick and easy conversion process. We have sales reps and support personnel that have been providing sensor-operated solutions to customers for 20 and 30 years. We have strong relationships with manufacturers that produce touchless faucets, sensor flushometers, hands-free soap dispensers, sensor bottle fillers, and touch-free paper towel dispensers and hand dryers. We also work with companies that make hands-free accessories and antimicrobial products. We’ll help you update your fixtures, decrease your maintenance costs, and create a safer, smarter, and more hygienic facility for your employees and patrons.
Toll-Free: 800-442-6622
Pittsburgh: 412-781-9100
Phone Hours: Mon-Fri 8:00AM – 4:00PM EST
View our Hands-Free Catalog that shares our most popular sensor-operated fixtures and accessories.
Water sits inside two chambers in the valve body – the upper and lower chambers. When a flushometer is idle, the pressure in the upper chamber is greater than the pressure in the lower chamber due to its greater surface area. This keeps the diaphragm pushed down against the valve seat, and prevents any water from flowing down into the valve. When the handle is pulled, a plunger inside the handle assembly pushes against the bottom part of the relief valve stem. This causes the relief valve to push the diaphragm up and release the pressure. As a result, the water in the chambers flows down into the valve and then into the toilet or urinal. The volume of water that is released is determined by the type of diaphragm assembly in the valve. Once the flush is initiated and water flows out of the valve, water from the supply line begins to fill the valve chambers again. A small bypass hole in the diaphragm allows that water to flow into the upper chamber. As the water pressure in the upper chamber begins to build, it gradually pushes the diaphragm back down onto the valve seat. Once the diaphragm lowers back onto the valve seat and the upper chamber is sealed, the flow of water from the inlet stops. The valve is now ready for the next flush.
The job of the Vacuum Breaker is to make sure all of the water is eliminated from the tube during a flush, and prevent water from flowing back up the pipe and contaminating the water supply. During a flush, water flows down through the black rubber part of the vacuum breaker. But if the water were to flow back up the tube, the design of the rubber part closes off and doesn’t allow water to flow through it in the opposite direction of the flush. To prevent water from staying in the tube, there are vent holes at the top that allow air to flow into the tube. This breaks the vacuum and lets all of the water flow out of the tube into the fixture. Over time, the rubber part of the vacuum breaker will deteriorate, and you will notice water leaking out of the tube from the vent holes under the nut. When this happens, it’s time to get a Vacuum Breaker Repair Kit. For Royal, order 
