Public restrooms come in all shapes and sizes.
Providing a public restroom as a part of your business requires careful planning and ongoing care. Health, safety and convenient access for all customers will be essential considerations for final approval of your facility. The North American Restroom Association was founded in 2004 in solidarity with the World Toilet Organization efforts to encourage ongoing development of public restroom standards worldwide. Review of their work will ensure that your public restroom is not only up to code but also state-of-the-art.
Instructions
1. Evaluate your customer base to determine the level of traffic your restroom will serve. Will the facility be permanent or temporary? Will traffic flow be intermittent and steady or will there be periodic rushes of group use during event intermissions? How many people will use the restroom during an average hour? Answers to these questions will help you choose how many stalls to provide, design entry and exit features and decide how often the restroom will need to be cleaned.
2. Review your state zoning laws as well as the national Occupational Health and Safety Administration (OSHA) regulations. As a public facility, your restroom must comply with these guidelines. This research will so help you make design decisions based on acceptable standards.
3. Read the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) requirements for public restrooms. Your state regulations may be based in whole or in part on this document, but a review of the material will serve as a double-check for details that will make your restroom safe and comfortable for every visitor.
4. Draw formal plans of your public restroom. Whether you are designing an entirely new building that includes a bathroom facility or renovating an existing space for public use, detailed plans should be created that display stall dimensions, partition heights, sink and plumbing placement and accurate square footage for the room. If your restroom is already built and in compliance with zoning, health and safety and ADA requirements, this step will help clear your entire business for provision of the service.
5. Renovate, build or install facilities. Depending on your state laws and municipal requirements, major changes to an existing bathroom might require a building permit. A restroom that is part of a bigger construction project will need to meet zoning regulations before a permit for the whole project can be issued.
6. Stock your public restroom with all necessary supplies. Each stall and each sink will require an individual set up of restroom necessities. Sanitary hand dryers will also be necessary to accommodate projected restroom traffic.
7. Hire or assign staff to keep the facility clean. Your public restroom may be offered as a convenience or may be a requirement for the operation of your business. Either way, the experience your customers have in the restroom will dictate their overall impression of your business. Keeping the room clean and well stocked should be a top priority.
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