Almost any bathroom is going to need a few supplies to stay more or less constantly in stock. Soap is essential for proper handwashing, which helps to prevent the spread of germs and illnesses. Toilet paper and paper towels help to keep customers clean and dry. Garbage needs to go somewhere. The specifics can vary somewhat by the needs of a space, but there’s always going to be someproducts you can’t do without in your office bathroom.
Our Office Bathroom Restock Guide
The supplies you need for restocking an office bathroom can vary depending on the people working in an office, the hours they keep, and how much traffic a space sees. However, some of the most common items that need to be restocked regularly include the following:
1. Soap
Soap is a bathroom essential. Using a restroom is one of the dirtiest activities humans engage in regularly. It’s something that we need to do but can expose us to a myriad of germs, many of which have the potential to make us sick. Soap helps to greatly reduce the chance that we accidentally bring those germs around with us or allow them to reach vulnerable entry points into the body, like our mouths.
With the possible exception of toilet paper, soap might be the most important item for a bathroom to keep stocked. While people may debate the best type of soap to stock in a bathroom, it’s pretty much universally agreed upon by experts that people can’t use the restroom hygienically without soap.
2. Toilet Paper
A restroom without toilet paper is essentially non-functional (unless the bathroom offers an alternative solution like a bidet, but Americans almost exclusively use toilet paper, at least in public restrooms). If someone uses a restroom and needs toilet paper only for it not to be there, they’re basically stranded or may need to leave without wiping, which is very unsanitary.
Thankfully, this bathroom essential will generally dwindle at a very predictable rate. After a few months of operation, you will have a rough idea of how much toilet paper a given group of employees tend to go through over a period of time.
This can vary a bit more if a bathroom sees public traffic or the number of people working at a location often waxes and wanes, but it’s still usually something you can prepare for. When in doubt, err on the side of caution and overorder rather than underorder. A business will go through the paper it orders eventually.
3. Paper Towels
Paper towels are a convenient, hygienic way to dry your hands. Many people prefer them to other solutions, like air dryers. They’re also pretty versatile.
The restroom is often the first place a person who needs to dry a surface will look for supplies. When a spill happens, people often head to the restroom to grab paper towels. When cleaning up a mess, it’s best that a person can find a solution quickly and without hassle.
Like with toilet paper, paper towel use is generally going to be relatively consistent unless the traffic going through a restroom frequently varies. While less important to keep stocked than toilet paper or soap, a restroom basically needs a drying solution if you expect people to wash their hands (which you should).
4. Surface Cleaners
A bathroom is almost always going to be one of the dirtiest places in an office, but surface cleaners can help to keep things looking and smelling nice. These cleaners also kill germs, helping to prevent their spread and reducing the time they have to breed on any surfaces they touch.
Surface cleaners are pretty critical if a business wants its bathrooms to stay hygienic and presentable. This is important in any case, but it’s especially important if clients or customers might use a restroom, as many will view the state of a restroom as a reflection of how well a company can take care of basic tasks. If the restroom smells or looks dirty, it doesn’t inspire confidence in the business.
5. Menstrual Products
Menstruation is a normal biological function yet many businesses ignore this fact. By stocking an office bathroom with menstrual products, like pads and tampons, a business shows that it cares about the women in the office. Seemingly small steps like this can matter a lot to both employees and customers.
6. Hand Sanitizer
Hand sanitizer can’t replace soap, but it can supplement a cleaning routine and further reduce the spread of bacteria and viruses. It’s also something many people want after the COVID-19 pandemic. Many people have become hyper aware and (understandably) paranoid about the spread of germs, and hand sanitizer is one way to potentially reduce that anxiety.
7. Garbage Bags
Restrooms need garbage receptacles, which typically means they’ll also need garbage bags. Some people will just throw garbage on the ground if a bag is full, and bathroom-related garbage can be some of the germiest and smelliest garbage. Always ensure you have a full stock of garbage bags, so trash bins can be regularly emptied and replaced.
Alsco Uniforms Facility Services
Fundamentally, an office restroom needs to stay stocked with whatever supplies see regular use and anything that might be needed in an emergency. Obviously, a business should adapt its restocking list based on its specific needs. The goal of this article is to highlight what most businesses are going to want to keep stocked year-round to keep things clean and to give workers anything they’re likely to need in their day-to-day functioning.
At Alsco Uniforms, one of our specialties is helping companies equip, maintain, and regularly restock restrooms. If you’d like help keeping your facilities clean and ready without hassle, regardless of the scale of your business, we hope you’ll check out what we can offer and contact our team with any questions you might have. We’re ready to take the headache out of bathroom restocking for you.
References
Hand Sanitizers: A Review of Ingredients, Mechanisms of Action, Modes of Delivery, and Efficacy Against Coronaviruses. (September 2020). American Journal of Infection Control.
Keep That Toilet Tidy. Americans Choose Businesses Based on Restroom Cleanliness, Survey Says. (March 2019). Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.