These days, the majority of Americans are so averse to coming into contact with germs in public restrooms that they go out of their way to avoid surfaces and touchpoints in these shared spaces.
According to the Healthy Handwashing Survey from Bradley Corp., 62% of Americans use a paper towel as a barrier to avoid touching flushers, faucets, and doors. Women are even more likely to use the “paper towel as a glove” approach, with 67% taking this evasive measure.
Others employ sheer physicality to steer clear of germs. Forty-three percent of Americans use their foot to flush toilets, 31% hover over the toilet seat, and 27% open and close doors with their backside in hopes of avoiding germy contact. Women are significantly more likely than men to employ these actions, according to the survey.
“For many Americans, restrooms carry a certain ‘ick factor’ that impacts how they view—and use—these public facilities,” said Jon Dommisse, Bradley’s VP of marketing and corporate communication. “Understandably, people don’t want to touch things after somebody else touched them, especially right after they used the toilet.”
High Demand for Touchless Fixtures in Restrooms
With so much effort going into avoiding germs, it’s no wonder that 82% of Americans believe it is important to have touchless fixtures in a public restroom—a percentage that has remained high in the survey since the onset of the pandemic in 2020.
In fact, half of Americans say they would feel safer from germs in public restrooms if they were equipped with touch-free technology. As for the most desired restroom improvements, having touchless fixtures is once again among the topmost requests, along with keeping restrooms cleaner and better stocked, and always providing paper towels, even if there are hand dryers.
“Touchless fixtures minimize cross contamination of germs in restrooms, improve restrooms’ cleanliness and hygiene, and make people feel more comfortable using these spaces,” Dommisse said. “Since 60% are more likely to return to a business that offers no-touch capabilities in its restrooms, touchless fixtures also appear to boost a business’ image and profitability.”
The survey found that the restroom features considered most important to be touchless are faucets, flushers, soap dispensers, and paper towel dispensers—in that order.
Adjusting to New Public Restroom Expectations
Germ trepidation in public bathrooms and demand for touchless fixtures have likely been intensified by COVID-19. The 2023 survey found that three in four Americans continue to be in an elevated state of germ consciousness, triggered by the pandemic. Specifically, Americans are most concerned about germs in stores (48%), medical facilities (44%), gas stations (37%), restaurants (34%), and schools (25%).
“For 14 years, our survey has consistently shown that people have always placed importance on clean restrooms, but now there’s elevated and ongoing demand for increased hygiene and the use of touchless fixtures,” said Dommisse. “Similar to how the iPod changed music and 9/11 changed air travel, COVID has forever changed public bathroom expectations and design.”
For more information, visit www.bradleycorp.com/handwashing.