The Cheyenne Mountain Zoo in Colorado Springs, Colo., America’s Mountain Zoo, is perched at an elevation of 6,714 feet (2,046 m) above sea level. Ranked the 6th best zoo in North America by USA Today in 2019, the zoo is home to animals from all over the globe. 

In support of its mission to provide guests unforgettable experiences 365 days per year, the zoo has been renovating many of its existing buildings and constructing a number of exciting new exhibits. Hands-on opportunities involve animals, such as hand-feeding the zoo’s large herd of giraffes. 

With thousands of patrons feeding and petting animals daily, eating messy foods like melting ice cream cones and using the restrooms, the zoo’s handwashing fixtures are important in keeping hands clean and germ-free. Moreover, the sinks must help keep the newly remodeled restrooms clean and well-maintained, attractive and inviting, and easy to access and use for all ages. 

The design team at Cheyenne Mountain Zoo evaluated several handwashing systems for the busy public restrooms near the zoo’s main entrance; one quickly rose to the top of their list. Bradley’s all-in-one handwashing system — the WashBar — combines touch-free soap, faucet and dryer in one sleek fixture. 

The product guides users with LED lighting plus intuitive icons and utilizes smart-sensor technology for reliable activation. The dryer is engineered to work in tandem with the bowl to contain water and eliminate dripping or splashing on the floor, wall or user. Its all-in-one design keeps washroom spaces cleaner, dryer, slip-free and safer. 

Healthy Handwashing

According to Cheyenne Mountain Zoo, the concept has proven to be a winner for the zoo. The zoo is adding two more units to the restrooms near the hippo/penguin exhibit and two fixtures for the aquatics building. Staff reports that the restrooms have been much cleaner with the addition of the new fixtures, and note that there is no more paper towel litter scattered on the floor.

“Not only is the basin and fixture easy for our grounds crew to wipe down and keep clean, but its streamlined design also promotes an overall sense of neatness and tidiness in the restroom we haven’t had before,” a zoo design team member said. “Our remodeled bathrooms look great.” 

Further, the fixtures support the zoo’s conservation and green building initiatives. “We chose the WashBar’s 0.35 gallons/minute faucet to limit the amount of water dispensed,” the team member explains. “The timed sensor technology also eliminates the problem we used to have when the old manual faucets were left running.” 

Bradley’s annual Healthy Handwashing Survey — the latest results were released in January — found that adult handwashing has decreased 25 percent since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. 

However, the survey found that 79 percent of parents take some sort of action to encourage their children to suds up: 44 percent say they regularly ask their young ones to wash their hands, and 26 percent have added it to their children’s routine.