Sloan, a world-leading manufacturer of commercial plumbing systems, has launched its ‘Sinks Beyond the Restroom’ concept. The innovation explores space modifications to integrate handwashing as a permanent part of design infrastructure in commercial spaces.

Working alongside a leading architectural firm, Sloan’s new concept addresses the public’s increased awareness of hand hygiene with a shift from hand sanitizing stations back to traditional handwashing.

“With society increasingly focused on hand hygiene, an opportunity exists to rethink hand sanitation with a return to the basics of soap and water by integrating handwashing into the public spaces we engage with in our daily routine,” said Kim Darke, Sloan senior manager of strategic accounts. “Sloan’s ‘Sinks Beyond the Restroom’ concept will help make this opportunity a reality across commercial applications of all types in an effort to promote increased handwashing.”

Sloan gathered dozens of experts across the country specializing in various markets to determine how to best implement this new concept across a wide range of applications, including:

• Office Buildings – Office lobbies present three critical moments where guests can benefit from a range of handwashing options as they enter and exit the building: directly adjacent to the entry, integrated with the reception desk, and the area adjacent to the elevators—an especially important area as it is near high-touch surfaces like elevator buttons.
• Public Transportation – Public handwashing stations in airports can provide useful travel information on monitors above the sink, listing flight departure and arrival information, digital airport maps, city highlights, and more.
• Retail & Hospitality – Restrooms are typically tucked away behind the bar of the kitchen in restaurants. Double-sided wash stations help bridge the space between the entry and lounge areas, as guests who check in with the host can then wash their hands while waiting for their table.
• Sports Stadiums – Sink stations throughout a stadium’s concourse deliver convenient and easy access opportunities for fans to wash their hands without waiting in long lines at halftime or during breaks. Integrated with digital screens, these sink stations can keep the entertainment going with team-themed media and count down a 20-second handwash.
• Schools – Implementing handwashing outlets throughout school corridors is a chance to reinforce learnings in the classroom through a series of fun and teachable moments that develop healthy lifelong habits. Educational possibilities include 20-second song lyrics to guide handwashing, plumbing and physics information, and historical quotes.

Sloan’s efforts to take hand hygiene outside the restroom began in 2020 with the launch of its Mobile Handwashing Stations, a touch-free innovation designed to be placed anywhere inside or outside buildings where hygiene is essential.