Post Covid-19 Bathroom Trends

While the phrase "the new normal" has certainly been overused in the past two months, this recent virus crisis will certainly impact our future for many years to come. We've already begun to establish new expectations about what it will take to maintain healthy environments in our homes, offices, and schools.  And we may even want to make some changes to our own hygiene habits to improve our the health and safety of our families. 

Over the weekend we found this news story on Fast Company - The Rebuilders, "We may have to rethink the toilet seat altogether'; How the coronavirus could change bathrooms for the better".  We discovered a few new trends that local Illinois home and business owners may want to give some thought to when considering new bathroom designs for 2020 and beyond:

1. Toilet Seat Lids: The article above goes into some scary details about the "plumes" of bacteria that happen with each toilet flush.  While it's common to find toilet seat lids in most residential bathrooms, are they being utilized consistently to reduce viral contamination? Will commercial bathroom facilities begin to upgrade to provide more effective means to prevent the effects of these plumes?   Expect to see improvements in commercial bathroom facilities in the future to reduce contamination. 

2. Splash Reduced Sinks:  According to our partners at American Standard, they are anticipating an increase in sales of deeper bathroom sinks with steeper basin walls. You will commonly see these used in medical facilities and surgical centers where essential workers scrub-up before procedures.  The deeper well most ensure that water doesn't splash back or create bacteria puddles on surrounding surfaces. 

3. Copper and Silver: One of the surprising aspects of the COVID-19 virus is the discovery that it can survive on a smooth surface, like stainless steel, for up to three days. As a result of these recent findings, we expect that our residential and commercial customers will begin to explore other more naturally antimicrobial materials.  According to many studies going back 100 years or more, copper represents once of the best antimicrobial surfaces for those highly concerned with the most hygienic surfaces. 

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