Make Your Bathroom Fixtures Last Longer with These Tips

Tired of constantly repairing or replacing your bathroom fixtures? If so, you’re likely not incorporating the right materials. As with cheap toilet partitions, some faucet fixtures may boast cheaper prices and flashier styles but may not last long. With these methods helping to guide your next bathroom fixture choices you’ll be able to keep your faucets looking better and lasting longer.

Forged Brass Faucets

One of the longest lasting metal materials used in plumbing, forged brass will keep your pipes from cracking for years to come. Their dense design keeps them from leaking as often as other metal fixtures while also giving off a smooth design. Like with all metal fixtures, please be careful of the amount of lead that can build up in resting water and make sure your material supplier keeps the lead count low.

Nickel Finish

Most modern faucets come in stainless steel or chrome finishes, but nickel offers a unique advantage with its matte surface. It reduces the need for frequent cleaning to remove fingerprints and smudges, resulting in less use of harsh chemicals. In turn, this prolongs the life of the finish by keeping the chemicals from corroding the material over time.

Ceramic Parts

Oftentimes the small, moving parts inside the bathroom features need constant attention or replacement due to wear and tear. Even though steel and plastic can be cheap and efficient, they don’t last long. Ceramic parts are more expensive but are more durable and last longer than their cheap counterparts.

Range of Motion

Homeowners, particularly those with kids, often replace faucets due to leaks caused by worn moving parts. Modern designs can make it difficult to gauge the faucet's full range of motion. Adding a detail indicating the range of motion can prevent strain and prolong faucet lifespan.

With these tips in mind any aspiring self-plumber or bathroom designer will be able to keep their faucets and fixtures running longer with less time repairing or replacing worn-down parts.

 

 

 

October 27, 2019
Wayne Foreman

No one likes restroom odor. Having an unpleasant smell defeats the purpose of feeling comfortable while resting to do what you need to do or as nature intends. The average visitor will use 4 of, his or her, 5 senses (sight, hearing, taste, touch, smell)  to determine the quality of the bathroom visit. When building any business, the savvy business owner must make sure to consider every last detail. For example, choosing the wrong toilet partition for your office may leave your employees discussing around the water cooler what that permanent stink is coming from the restrooms.

If remodeling or building your bathroom for the first time, the most important thing to consider is maintaining value for years to come. Protection against stress and damages will leave longer-lasting bathroom partitions. All Fast Partitions bathroom partitions (Solid Plastic, Stainless Steel, and Powder Coated Metal) are made with quality craftsmanship with durability in mind.

Air Fresheners

The standard air freshener is handy to help freshen the smell of your bathroom facilities. Now you as a business owner can purchase revolutionary automatic air fresheners.

The new air fresheners out today are long lasting and continuously spray the smell you’ve bought.

The standard plug-in air freshener will spray throughout the day. Motion detected air fresheners spray only when someone is walking by.

Air fresheners offer a cost-effective solution for eliminating restroom odors.

Add Plants

Surprising as it may sound, there are quite a few plants that can actually live healthily in the windowless environment of a bathroom. Especially when crafting more luxurious bathroom environments, you should consider plants as a natural alternative to air freshener which often contain artificial scents. This has the added benefit of improving the bathroom's appearance.

Clean Between the Cracks

The age of your bathroom may cause bad odors from the caulk and sealant between tiles. The smell you're searching for might be from the seal in your tile joints, depending on your bathroom's configuration and age.

The only way to replace this material is by using a sharp knife or razor blade to remove the original caulk.

Replace Your Stalls

One of the first non-obvious things to consider to replace is your bathroom partitions.

Depending on the material, you may find over time the smell can absorb into the stalls.

This is the problem for the outdated wooden stalls you do not find on the shelves of Fast Partitions. Identifying the problem isn't always easy, but your bathroom partitions might be to blame.

Deodorizers

Applying a coat of deodorizer is often one of the easiest methods to achieve bathroom freshness.

The vast bathroom deodorizer market offers gels, sprays, oils, and various other methods to combat odors.

While using a deodorizer isn't a permanent fix, it helps alleviate odors caused by underlying issues in the restroom area.

Combine these tools for a fresh-smelling bathroom experience that will impress your visitors.

Aesthetics and quality are equally important in bathroom design.

Many of us have had one too many borderline-traumatic experiences with murky, vandalized, odorous public restrooms and know that all these problems are tied back to what types of materials are used, especially when installing toilet partitions. The era of luxurious, full height toilet partitions is arriving.

To celebrate the pursuit of better bathrooms, we've compiled America's finest public restrooms, selected via Cintas' America's Best Restroom Contest 2014.

Longwood Gardens—Philadelphia, PA

Talk about being dedicated to the Green Movement. These hidden away bathroom stalls are part of the most visited public garden in the country and are integrated into the longest green wall in all of North America. With special translucent glass installed within each to bring in natural light and reduce the costs of electricity, these one-of-a-kind installations will make you reevaluate your stance on public restrooms once and for all. While pricey, glass toilet partitions are among the best you can get.

American Girl Place—Chicago, IL

Decorated to the hilt with child-sized installations, bright colors and doll holders inside each of the bathroom stalls, the American Girl customer restroom is anything but ordinary and turns something considered not so desirable into something fun.

Bowl Plaza—Lucas, KS

The Bowl Plaza resembles a toilet with a fountain-like structure serving as the bowl in its design for a public restroom.

El Centro—Washington D.C.

Public restroom are, in many cases, places of social interaction, and this couldn't be more literal than in the popular Mexican restaurant in D.C.'s Georgetown area. The Prohibition-style décor—there are actual metal washbasins—is only the tip of the iceberg. Instead of a mirror behind the sinks, there's a window into the opposite bathroom, creating a watering hole vibe for hand-washing.

The Fabulous Fox Theatre—St. Louis, Missouri

The ritzy restrooms at the Missouri theatre blend stately lounges evoking a timeless ambiance.

Mai Kai—Ft. Lauderdale, Florida

Tucked away inside a tiki-themed restaurant in Florida, the Mai Kai restrooms shine above most others—literally. The gold-gilded walls and décor give the posh bathrooms the feel of a palace throne room, rather than the porcelain kind. It even comes complete with nightly attendants ready to serve customers at a moment's notice. It gives a whole new meaning to the term "royal flush."

Plums Café—Costa Mesa, California

This Pacific Coast café earns its esteem from taking a symbolic approach to its decorating strategy. The public restroom mimics a tropical oasis with beach-like walls and floors, providing an escape that makes you forget you're in a bathroom.

The Grove—Los Angeles, California

The L.A. shopping center bathrooms, primarily for restrooms, feature opulent touches like floor-to-ceiling marble and dark wood finishing.

Tiki Lounge—Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
This Amazonian-style bathroom features stone encrusted walls and seashell wash basins sourced from Bali, Indonesia. Local artists meticulously crafted it, dedicating over 200 hours to perfecting every detail. The best part? The sinks are actual built-in waterfalls.

Trail Restroom—Austin, Texas
The eco-friendly restroom, nestled within a nature trail, serves as both a restroom facility and an art installation. Its minimalist design harnesses natural light and energy, conserving park resources and raising awareness for visitors.

Solid Plastic vs. Stainless Steel vs Powder Coated Metal

When building a public or commercial bathroom, the partition material is typically one of the most overlooked elements. At first sight, the only purpose of toilet partitions is to provide privacy, making the visual appeal the only thing you must consider. By default, the majority of our customers choose stainless steel partitions, but are you confident this is the best bathroom partition material for the job?

 

When assessing bathroom partition options, consider each material's strengths, durability, and maintenance.

Strength and Durability

When building a bathroom, you want a durable bathroom partition to maintain value for years to come with any stress thrown at them. This amount includes holding up against scratches, dents or any impacts hazards. The longer the partitions can withstand these damages, the longer they will last.

Stainless steel bathroom partitions sure look great. However, one of the downsides of a stainless steel partition is they are known to dent and scratch easier than other options, such as solid plastic. Stainless steel bathroom partition materials are highly flame and smoke retardant. Fast Partitions' stainless steel partitions maintain a high-quality appearance thanks to their durable materials

When looking specifically for bathroom partitions that will hold up against scratches, our solid plastic or powder coated metal partitions have the superiority over stainless steel bathroom partitions.

Upkeep and Cleaning

Stainless steel partitions are resistant to the damages of chemical cleaners which helps promotes a sanitary bathroom environment for high and low volume traffic. Stainless steel caters well for public restrooms as well as high-end offices or commercial buildings.

Our solid plastic bathroom partitions are perfect for high-volume buildings such as schools. Fast Partition's solid plastic partitions, durable and damage-proof, resist scratching, impacts, and environmental extremes, maintaining odor and rust resistance. They outlast counterparts with a variety of color options to match any bathroom scheme.

Fast Partition’s powder coated metal not only guarantee variety but quality craftsmanship and durability. Powder coated metal offer an easy installation, and easy reparability for minor scratches and defacements while staying environmentally friendly. Our powder coated metal partitions are mainly fire and rust resistant, ideal for low-traffic environments such as churches, restaurants, and businesses.

Fire Code Considerations

Within the United States, standards pertaining to fire safety and construction are regulated by the National Fire Protection Agency (NFPA) and the International Code Council (ICC). These considerations are not mandatory until adopted by your specific county, state, city, and federal governmental jurisdictions. While not completely mandatory, adherence to these codes are critical within the United States, many corporations require compliance regardless of governmental policy.

Relating to bathroom partitions, the most relevant and mentionable building codes are the International Fire Code (IFC) and International Building Code (IBC). Others include the NFPA 101, NFPA Fire Code, as well as the Life Safety Code. Despite changing jurisdictions, wise architects and specifiers still adhere to these standards, which may not apply universally within the United States.

Architects, specifiers and interior designers should always request complete test compliance documents from partition manufacturers for a proper and responsible build.

Building Code Considerations

Without considering anything else, the building code can provide somewhat of a baseline for choosing your suitable bathroom partition material. These considerations will be based on the facility is a heavy-traffic building, a standard-use building, or a prestige building.

Heavy traffic buildings include K-12 schools, recreational facilities, transportation centers, shopping malls, and amusement parks. Material durability and ease of cleaning are crucial for these buildings' restrooms.

Standard-use buildings include healthcare centers, hospitals, manufacturing plants, and commercial office facilities. Standard-use buildings will typically see moderate to heavy foot traffic and may see vandalism. Durability, ease of maintenance and cost are especially important when considering bathroom partitions for standard-use buildings.

Prestige buildings are those including class-A offices, major universities, civic centers, and corporate headquarters. Bathrooms in prestige buildings will typically see moderate to low traffic. In prestige buildings, architectural design and material quality can be prioritized.

 

 

 

January 14, 2018
Wayne Foreman

Innovative Public Facility Design: Planning for Safety and Security

The concept of “desperate times calling for desperate measures” has always been somewhat of a social more throughout history, and has, more modernly, become the theme of the hour in most current events news related to public facility design.

By definition, the popular idiom mandates that when faced with dire circumstances, taking equally dire action is necessary to survive. It also insinuates an improvised reaction to something unexpected and extreme, rather than freezing up and panicking in the face of adversity.

Given our unpredictable world, preparing for all tragedies like mass shootings is impossible at all times and places.

Thinking About Security & Restrooms

Sure, it’s been expert-proven that threat assessment and public facility design can drastically decrease the element of surprise and, as a direct result, the number of casualties usually involved in these circumstances. But what happens when it’s 2 a.m. on a run-of-the-mill Sunday morning and everyone has their guards down at a venue where the point is to try and escape the stress of reality?

During extreme violence like at Orlando’s Pulse nightclub and the Parisian Bataclan, instinctive responses with limited resources often prove ineffective against assault weapons.

So, in cases like these, what’s a person to do to survive?

Choosing Fight Or Flight

Experts recommend fleeing, sheltering, and possibly defending during a mass attack.

“Your options are run, hide or fight,” Washington D.C. Police Chief Cathy Lanier said on an episode of 60 Minutes aired in November 2015 shortly after the deadly Paris attacks, echoing the United States Department of Homeland Security’s 2013 funded message of “Run, Hide, Fight.”

“I always say if you can get out, getting out’s your first option, your best option... If you’re in a position to try and take the gunman down, to take the gunman out, it’s the best option for saving lives before police can get there.”

Overpowering an attacker with a gun is often not feasible, particularly in one-on-one situations. Fleeing is the best option, but exits can be dangerous once the gunman is inside.

Severe bottlenecking increases the risk of getting wounded while fleeing through crowded exits. This leaves a third--and more common--option, which is to take cover and keep from being seen.

While experts like J. Pete Blair, the executive director of the Advanced Law Enforcement Rapid Response Training Center at Texas State University and co-author of Active Shooter: Events and Response, warily calls hiding a “passive action,” it is, more often than not, the only available and safe solution.

Anyone who studies the matter will tell you that buying time is the key to successful hiding; you want to give yourself enough time to clear your head and assess the situation and your available options.

Time To Find A Safe Place During An Emergency

Hiding requires finding a spot to stay unseen and gain time to strategize or wait for police. Time is crucial during an attack with one or more assailants. Identifying a location that allows for quick reactions is key to improving outcomes.

Nightclubs, restaurants, and concert venues lack heavy objects for cover, making hiding under tables insufficient for safety. Active shooters commonly look for higher casualties and less effort. The more barricaded you are, the better.

Which is why in cases such as the Paris attack and, more prevalently, during the Orlando shooting, people seeking refuge in bathroom stalls is a go-to instinct, especially when these are often the only accessible places in which to find a split second of reprieve when exits are being blocked and access to other rooms isn’t an option.

Implementing Safety Tactics

Experts advise against seeking alternative exits in public facility design due to potential dead ends. Toilet partitions can be advantageous in emergencies. They’ve even started implementing bathroom safety tactics in places like preschools, instructing young children on how to properly hide in a bathroom during a lockdown procedure in the event they can’t manage to get anywhere else.

Even so, it is important to take this material with a grain of salt. This article isn't a comprehensive guide to surviving a large-scale attack and shouldn't be treated as one. Past experience and strategic reasoning suggest that public bathrooms are not ideal places to seek refuge during an attack due to limited escape routes. However, it's crucial to understand the available options.

Not all toilet partitions are made equally, and some of the flimsier materials won’t offer the same type of aid the more sturdy bathroom partitions installation can afford. The amount of success you’ll have utilizing stalls as a tool in an emergency comes down to elements of design and manufacturing.

Difference Between Cover & Concealment

In a previous article written to break down the viability of commercial door protection against an active shooter, we highlighted the integral difference between cover and concealment when seeking shelter as described by Shooting Illustrated. Simply put, cover protects, concealment hides. Knowing the difference between the two is eminent in how you proceed after hiding, specifically in bathroom stalls.

Bathroom stalls typically provide little protection against bullets. Manufacturers often use powder-coated metal for partitions, which are unlikely to stop or slow bullets from any weapon. More solid materials like stainless steel may stave off some of the impact, which might be enough to evade major damage or fatal contact, but none will provide a complete block to ammo. Concealment and a few precious moments of added time are what a bathroom stall has the capacity to offer you.

Single Occupancy Vs Toilet Stalls

While single occupancy stalls and full-height doors and walls are becoming much more popular  public restroom designs for privacy concerns, many venues still have and continue to install standard-height powder coated metal partitions to save on cost and increase efficiency. These are more conveniently installed, but are much more accessible to an intruder. This is the type of stall design the Orlando victims sought refuge within. Successful hiders position themselves to avoid being seen through gaps in the stall.

Crouching on a toilet and minimizing your profile makes you harder to detect by an active shooter prioritizing easy targets.

An example of this strategy in action comes from the night of the Pulse nightclub shooting when Orlando, a 52-year-old patron of the club, crammed himself on top of a toilet in a separate, smaller stall so the shooter couldn’t see his feet. He managed to survive the attack. This tactic and separating from the crowd bought Orlando extra time until police arrived.

Crouching on the toilet and minimizing your profile reduces the risk of being a target during gunfire.

Partition materials don't withstand rapid fire, highlighting the need for safe stall design and installation.

Overlap With Privacy Concerns

Design elements concealing individuals in shootings overlap with privacy reforms from transgender bathroom debates, aiding restroom safety.

Single occupancy stalls with solid walls and secure locks are ideal during active shooter situations. Commercial wood doors slow bullets, reducing injury risk. Strong locks and privacy deter shooters from entering.

Full Height Stalls

Full-height stalls in multiuser bathrooms offer solid doors, locks, and thick walls, providing some protection against bullets. The more enclosed and secure the stall, the more people can hide inside without drawing attention.

In Orlando, an overcrowded handicap stall attracted the assailant's attention, resulting in more fatalities and a hostage situation. However, to an outside observer, multiple people crammed into a fully enclosed stall may not appear different from one person hiding. If everyone stays silent and turns off their cell phones, this can be an effective but last-resort method to protect. If the shooter fires at stall doors, a crowded stall raises the risk of serious injury.

Upgrade standard partitions for more privacy and reduced visibility when full-height stalls aren't available. Partition distributors often offer elite grade panels and hardware that increase the height of side and door panels while also making the gaps between the door and side panel virtually nonexistent. The full-length door makes it harder for a shooter to see if someone is on the toilet seat.

 

 

 

Jan 3, 2018
Wayne Foreman

 

Do you want to enjoy a luxurious lifestyle? If you’ve ever visited a hotel bathroom (most of us), you likely felt pampered and spoiled by the luxurious design.

What makes a hotel luxurious go beyond the aesthetics and hospitality? Underlying high-tech gadgets are paving the way in the hotels and can be found in the rooms and restrooms of your high-end, 5-star hotels.

Surprising Luxury Bathroom Features

Many hotels build commercial bathrooms that are go outside of the box and exceed customers’ expectations. Great hotels go great lengths to impress their guests. They want them to come back. More and more leading hotels are implementing fun and fascinating tech gadgets to their room and commercial bathrooms. This makes what would be an ordinary experience, rather exciting for visitors.

We present you with the best gadgets you’ll likely find in the luxurious bathrooms of your most-enjoyed hotels. These cool gadgets set the tone of your stay and make you want to come back.

Check these out for some fun and great ideas that you could even try in your own restroom!

Automatic Heating and Cooling

Many 5-star hotels have installed body temperature detection systems in their commercial bathrooms. Once you step into the shower, the temperature system adjusts to find the perfect and comfortable settings for your body. It runs on automatic control, so you don’t have to adjust it manually.

Smart Glass

Can a shower glass be smart? Yes! With a simple switch, a transparent shower glass wall becomes opaque. Just the fun of trying it to check the effect leaves a memorable experience. It provides you with the privacy you deserve. Glass toilet partitions like this exist as well, however we recommend sticking with permanently opaque enameled glass rather than switchable glass in this case.

Heated Floors That Warm Your Feet ( and heart)

This tech gadget will make you forget your hotel slippers when you visit a luxurious hotel bathroom. A heated bathroom will make you forget and escape that chilly first step into a bathroom. As usual, a five-star hotel bathroom sets it to a comfortable level. It is rather warm and inviting, making you more relaxed.

In-Mirror TV

Who could have thought it possible to watch a movie or show on a mirror while soaked away in the bathtub in any commercial bathroom? Well, with the futuristic TV screens that are integrated into mirrors, you can watch anything in the mirror. The TV is totally invisible when it is turned off, allowing guest the complete mirror function. This tech is an out-of-this world idea for maximum bathroom enjoyment.

Heated Toilet Seats

Luxurious bathrooms in Japan where the first to implement the heated toilet seats and bidet toilets. If you’ve never used it before, it might sound stupid, but after the first trial, you would definitely love it. This water spraying bidet toilets and heated toilet seats are common in Tokyo but trust me, American 5-star hotels have it too.

You don’t get to spoil yourself lavishly in luxurious hotels all the time, but when the chance comes, enjoy it to the fullest. Discover the finest tech gadgets and features that will make you forget your stress. For hotels that want to attain the luxurious status, it’s time to go off the wall and impress their guests.

 

 

 

 

November 15, 2018
Wayne Foreman

Shared Spaces & Bathroom Etiquette

We’ve all been in a situation where we’re in a shared restroom at the office and we notice no bathroom etiquette, a person hogging the urinal seemingly forever, and encountering a habitual toilet clogger.

This is why at Fast Partitions, we take great pride in offering only the best bathroom partitions for a wide variety of customers, ensuring optimal bathroom etiquette. If you have an office, restaurant, school, or similar establishment, you’ll want to check out all of our offerings!

For these scenarios, and more, it’s important to establish a proper bathroom etiquette for yourself and your employees. Whether you’re a startup, or a telecom group  you’ll find the following etiquette, techniques, and methods to be helpful in harboring a productive and friendly work environment.

What is something that you look at for long periods of time but probably give no thought to? If you guessed bathroom partitions, then it’s only because you’re on this website because it’s the one thing that most people take for granted but has the opportunity to change the perspective of a company in pretty sneaky ways.

I say sneaky because no one ever thinks of partitions, but it’s part of human experience to have to sit there and stare at them. While a some scribbled naughty lines on a bathroom stall might cause us to giggle it often gives us a poor impression.

If you’ve ever been on a road trip, what’s the thing you pray for? Clean restrooms. It’s such a desire that even savvy business owners will often advertise that they have clean restrooms from billboards. Nothing says, “clean” like new (new bathroom partitions that is!). New bathroom partitions tell send a message, even if it’s subliminal that the bathroom is clean. It doesn’t matter whether your restaurant is in Davenport Florida on the way to Disney or if it’s in Orange County, California, new says “clean” to those that see it.

3 Types Of People Affected By Bathroom Partitions

People are in and out of the bathroom all day long, but there are 3 categories or types of people that tend use them the most. There are those special people whose first impression is very valuable, even more so over casual customers. These are your business associates and/or people you’re interviewing.

Then there is your employees and staff, followed closely by your customers. This list isn’t necessarily a priority list but rather just a grouping.

Business Associates (and Interviewees)

Business associates and interviewees arrive at your place of business with hopes of a new deal or new job. When these kind of people enter an office building for example, the first place they often go is the bathroom. Whether you’re a tenant or the landlord, that person is forming a first impression of your company in that restroom. Is it clean? How is it designed? Does it look like a truck stop or a spa?

Employees & Staff

If you’re a business owner, your employees are in and out of the restrooms all day. Looking at those partitions. Every time they go in, they are reminded of how upscale and clean (or not) the place is. We already mentioned how new bathroom partitions can make the place feel clean but did you know that they also come in different colors.

You can get specifically colored partitions that match your brand and give you a professional image. If professionally matched colors isn’t your style then choosing “soothing” color might make the bathroom feel more like a spa and less like a port-a-john.

Customers

Customers are in virtually every commercial space that will use the restroom. Unclean restrooms sends a message that the business might not care about other things. Like customer service. This is true in office building, retail space and even warehouse spaces.

With warranties of 5 years or more these partitions are an easy investment to give a better overall impression of your business to customers, employees and business associates alike.

It might be time to look at those old partitions as more than just an eye sore and start leveraging the power of having a clean, professional look!

Flush Quickly

It’s only right and respectable to flush the toilet after a particularly strong-odored bowel movement. Studies have shown when you flush as soon as possible after defecation, the resulting odor will be virtually non-existent for passing bathroom guests.

This is also a benefit for yourself, as who actually wants to waft in their own unpleasant odor?

Courtesy Flush

The infamous “courtesy flush” has long been discussed as bathroom etiquette 101 by many individuals for many years, yet there are as many who choose to not do so. This is mainly a superficial etiquette technique.

However, it’s important to note that if there are remainders of fecal matter in the toilet bowl for extended periods of time, it can cause potentially dangerous, bacterial overgrowth.

Additionally, it can prove to be much more difficult to clean for the custodial staff, so why not make their job easier with a simple courtesy flush?

Clean the Seat After Use

Nothing is worse than going to sit on the toilet and feeling a strange, foreign liquid upon being seated.

This is why it’s nice to pay it forward and have the common decency to wipe the seat after your use if there happens to be any remnants of your session. Be a decent human being and do the right thing.

Use the Toilet Stall if There a Limited Number of Urinals

Out of consideration for those with bathroom anxiety, use the toilet stall if someone is at the urinal.

Nobody likes to be standing next to somebody else when they’re in a vulnerable, open-aired environment, urinating. Be the nice person you strive to be every day and use the toilet stall to urinate.

You’ll not only have saved your co-worker from some anxiety; you’ll have much more room to urinate with the added privacy of an enclosed toilet partition.

Feel free to contact us for a quote and we’ll respond within 24 hours. We look forward to hearing from you soon!

 

 

 

 

September 29, 2017
Wayne Foreman

A Comfortable Bathroom Environment

As we further progress as a society, our technology expands, our outreach capabilities expand, and our general capability to complete previously difficult tasks expands as well. The only thing which has not seemed to have expanded is bathroom partitions.

When people are presented the option to choose a larger, more spacious bathroom stall to take care of business, they’ll often go for that environment over the smaller option. People will sometimes even avoid going to the bathroom if they know they’re in for a cramped, uncomfortable experience. This is why with Fast Partitions, we always analyze the space provided to ensure all restroom users (and plumbers) have adequate space and a comfortable environment when using a toilet within a stall.

 

Bathroom Anxiety Causing Health Issues?

We all have been told it’s not healthy whatsoever to “hold it”, yet some individuals will often choose to forego restroom relief in favor of waiting until they locate a more comfortable environment to conduct their bathroom business. When this scenario becomes a habit, gastrointestinal issues can arise and lead to a host of health problems you wouldn’t wish on your worst enemy.

We believe all bathroom users should have a comfortable, spacious, and easily accessible environment. This will have a chain-reaction effect of sorts and lead to an overall greater health of your employees, customers, and/or the general users of your bathrooms.

 

Preventing Constipation with an Inviting Bathroom Stall

Studies have shown when human beings are using the bathroom, they’ll often have anxiety-induced constipation as well as difficulty urinating due to a “stage-fright” of sorts.

This may go back to our cavemen days of our bodies preventing us from relieving ourselves in high-strung, tense situations as to prevent harm or injury in a vulnerable position. With our partitions, we want all of the users to feel privacy, safe, comfortable, and invited to take part in a daily ritual we all enjoy. When constipation is reduced, there are a number of benefits:

 

• Reduced Headaches
• Reduced Acne Breakouts
• Increased Appetite
• Reduced Hemorrhoids
• Reduced Bad Breath

 

You definitely want to avoid the above-listed symptoms and start enjoying your life to fullest. With our partitions, your users will experience peace, serenity, and a sense of calmness no other partition can provide. We truly care about the user and are always researching new ways to better our products and technology. We always welcome feedback as well, so feel free to reach out to us if we can be of service in any way.

Privacy level is an essential factor to be considered when designing any bathroom.

Bathrooms windows are the first step to provide privacy and to allow natural lighting through. However, without proper planning you're making a bigger issue by pursing that fantastic lighting.

The most common problem is using huge windows that are plain, and are midway up the wall. Without the right tweaks and add-ons, this can violate your restroom privacy, leaving the insides exposed. Bathroom windows go a long way in creating privacy if they’re treated as needed.

Fortunately, there are several great ways to treat your windows to secure adequate privacy without compromising the enjoyable natural lighting.

Public Bathrooms and Anxiety

Public restrooms are sources of anxiety for many people who don’t feel safe making themselves so vulnerable in a public place. It’s arguments like this one that have fueled much of the debate against transgender rights in terms of gender divided restrooms. Since going to the bathroom involves vulnerable exposure, the inherent desire to feel safe and secure clouds all other thoughts where public restrooms are concerned.

So, what aspects of a public restroom commonly give way to such fear or dread of using them?

Sure, it’s easy to blame a distaste for the public restroom on basic complaints of uncleanliness, but the question of sanitation is not enough--for the majority of people who have made an argument against public bathrooms, these issues boil down to how bathroom partitions and even (albeit to a lesser degree) urinal screens are designed, installed and manufactured.

Privacy

If we were all to picture a classic public bathroom set-up in our minds, it would probably involve cheaply produced materials bolted together with wide gaps between door and wall partitions and excessive space from the floor to the bottom of the material.

These stalls lack privacy and can be easily viewed if not assembled correctly. Today's social climate emphasizes privacy issues in restroom design.

Truth be told, with the way many public restrooms are fashioned these days, it’s no wonder that there are so many people with a strong distaste for them altogether.

Solutions

The good news is, there are solutions to the looming issue of public bathroom privacy that don’t involve choosing one side over another or ignoring the needs of those who have expressed them; in fact, there are ways to make public restrooms more secure and discrete environments that might, with time and application, even help bridge the current divide.

In order to make this a possibility, it is important to note that, in this circumstance, design reform is the answer. Building owners and contractors who have a large hand in how bathrooms are designed and what types of materials are ordered and installed can make conscious choices to shift toward a more privacy-centered layout, most of the time doing so at a budget-friendly price.

Reforming public restroom design for privacy often involves implementing more single-occupancy bathrooms. These designs are popular alternatives to standard multi-stall layouts in high-traffic areas.

Gender Division

Not only do single occupancy restrooms eliminate the issue of bathroom shyness, they’re also comfortable solutions for gender division. Individual restrooms are often universally designed, meaning that if a building does have gender-specific single occupant bathrooms, they’re more than likely nearly identical in layout, eliminating the technical need for specification.

While, perhaps, these units appear less cost and space efficient up front, creating completely privatized spaces where individuals do not have to worry about a breach in their privacy will pay for themselves in the long run, especially as the issue of bathroom privacy continues to grow more and more heated.

However, there are ways to implement more privacy and improve the restroom climate that don’t involve the spacing and resources necessary to install multiple single occupancy bathrooms. Single occupancy rooms may be a worthy solution in public places with moderate or fluctuating volumes of people, but larger venues like stadiums or arenas that cater to hundreds or thousands at any given time require a set-up more conducive to heavy, frequent traffic. For these environments, full height privacy stalls make for a great option.

Design

This design offers close-to-enclosed privacy with a crowd-friendly aesthetic. Floor-to-ceiling partitions and sturdy doors provide privacy similar to individual bathrooms.

While this concept has been a point of contention in terms of mixed gender bathroom privacy, the major problem doesn’t come from the bathrooms themselves, but the standard toilet partition sizing that doesn’t offer optimal privacy--unlike stalls without any breachable gaps.

Public places are already taking advantage of the benefits that a unisex restroom with completely concealed stalls offer. Architect Matt Nardella addresses privacy issues in restroom design, making it safer and cost-efficient. This design promotes safety and reduces gender-based restroom inequalities while ensuring privacy.

Durability

This design balances safety, privacy, and gender inclusion without controversy. Full-length partitions cost more initially but require less maintenance over time. Installing a commercial door instead of partition material ensures durability against wear, tear, and vandalism.

Despite the fact that public bathroom design is moving much more frequently toward single occupancy and full height stalls complete with solid doors, there are still options available to improve regular bathroom partitions and increase the privacy of units already in place.

Our commercial toilet partitions can include Elite hardware to eliminate door gaps, ensuring complete privacy. Although gaps exist, Elite hardware makes it difficult to peek into stalls accidentally or intentionally.

This hardware can be used on any of our partition materials (stainless steel, powder coated metal or solid plastic) and makes all the difference in helping to improve the public restroom experience--even if it’s only scratching the surface.

As a nation founded on equality and human rights, it's our responsibility to ensure everyone feels safe. Simple design changes and quality improvements can enhance privacy and comfort significantly.

Adding Privacy: Frost the Windows

Frosted window films are an affordable and simple way to add privacy to your bathroom. Depending on your taste, there is a huge range of beautiful designs available, making it a decorative as well as a practical solution. The patterns are computer cut and look like etched glass. The frosted region murk the view while still allowing sufficient amount of light to enter.

Select Textured Glass

Here, there is a combination of dimpled glass bricks and plain glass that replaces the traditional textured glass. The dimpled glazing optimizes privacy as the clear glazing ensure proper lightning.

Drape Curtains

It is not a popular option for a bathroom. However, if well designed, it can be a great solution to privacy issues. Choosing a light fabric that is moisture-resistant is great for any bathroom. Avoid silk because it can rot or anything that soaks quickly. Finally, pick a curtain that can easily be removed and washed.

Go Sheer

Sheer fabrics are good for curtain because they make a romantic integration to your bathroom. Sheer curtains filter strong sunlight while creating privacy and still letting a lot of light in.

 Roller Blind

You don’t want neighbors to know what brand of soap you use. Therefore, installing something that will obscure the inside view is essential. A discreet roller blind installed gingerly against the ceiling will provide the privacy when needed and can fold up neatly when not needed.

Start at the Bottom

Privacy doesn’t entail putting a blind across the entire window. Check how much covering you need, then hang a roller shade across the area and leave the upper region uncovered. This is a perfect solution for windows that are curved at the top.

Use Louver Blinds

Simple louver blinds offer good lighting, and even when open, offer a good degree of privacy. When the lights are on at night, just swivel them shut to ensure no one can see in.

Choose an Outdoor Screen

An outdoor screen is a creative design that protects the bather’s modesty, allows in light and also offers peeps of the outside world. A laser-cut screen on the outside or a slatted wooden screen would have a dappled effect.

Set Windows High

A blend of slot windows and skylights will allow plenty of light into a bathroom while also keeping wall space clear for a nice shower or bath, ideal in a small room. Any peeper will have to use a ladder to spy on you in the bathroom.

Privacy is something we all have rights to whether you identify as transgender or not. Implementing any of these window treatments as great home improvement will go a long way to ensure safe bathrooms while creating privacy.

Make Needed Repairs

Check our blog post on how to clean bathroom partitions for some great tips on restoration and repair of existing partitions to make them last even longer.

It’s Time to Make Your Bathroom Better

Bathrooms are a crucial part of any brick-and-mortar business and you’ll want to present the best to your customers, clients, and staff. There are even bathroom review sites solely dedicated to providing the best restrooms in your vicinity.

With all of the hype surrounding a clean, inviting, and comfortable restroom experience, it’s about time you reward your business with only the best; Fast Partitions! Feel free to contact us and we’ll happily provide a quote and/or response to your inquiry. Looking forward to hearing from you soon!