Commercial washrooms usually consist of toilets and vanity units. However, there are some instances where your building may also require a shower either for insurance purposes or to simply provide convenience to your patrons.
Showers are handy for keeping clean, making them suited for many commercial environment types. Plus compared with a bath, a shower is much easier to factor in health and safety elements such as disabled access and ease of cleaning. Showers also take up much less space, meaning they can be built even in smaller washrooms.
If you’re considering whether adding a shower would work for your washroom, here is an overview to guide you.
Shower Usage In Commercial Washrooms
- Sports facilities
- Medical environments
- Hotels
- Prisons
- Offices
- Schools
Showers have a wide usage range within many different industries. On a basic level, they can offer convenience to office workers, especially those who cycle to work or if you have a gym facility on-site.
However, within a medical environment showers are needed so that staff can maintain hygiene levels, given the nature of what their work may involve. Otherwise, the staff member could be at risk of disease or infection, in addition to facing lost hours at work which would disrupt patients.
Having a shower is also a legal requirement for environments where staff may be exposed to toxic or harmful substances. In such an instance, a shower may also be a form of first aid to help neutralise any dangerous chemicals.
Check out this blog on how much a wet room costs.
Commercial Shower Considerations
- Usage requirements
- Shower type
- Showerhead type
- Shower tray or floor
- Disabled access
- Ease of cleaning
Explore the different types of showerheads here.
The above list might seem a lot to think about, but it will give you a great starting point when it comes to selecting the right shower system for your needs.
Starting with the usage requirements, and the environment the shower will be placed in will have an impact on the suitability of each particular model. Depending on your existing plumbing it may be possible to install an all-in-one shower unit if recessed pipework is not an option. On the luxury end of the scale, a commercial shower is ideal for environments where the risk of vandalism is very low.
You’ll also need to think about whether you plan on building a shower tray or want the shower incorporated into a wetroom. Either way, the building may require some adaptations to be able to fit the shower in or convert its usage type.
For disabled users, it’s possible to gear the shower with various features to minimise the risk of injury. Accessibility is always a consideration of any washroom and is something we’ve helped various companies with over the years within our installations.
Also, don’t forget the ease of cleaning! The idea of a shower is to get clean, but this in itself is pointless if the shower cannot be thoroughly sanitised. As an example, tiles can be difficult to keep clean as the grout can harbour mould or bacteria. Therefore, you need to consider the washroom environment as a whole.
Is A Commercial Shower Right For My Building?
When installing or redesigning a commercial washroom, the choice to add a shower or not is a big one. Having a shower on-site is hugely convenient for staff, though you will need to consider the practicalities including making sure your shower is well maintained and having it regularly cleaned. That doesn’t mean to say it’s not worth doing, in fact far from it - but as with anything, being well-informed will ensure the best user satisfaction.
Our best advice would be to contact us and describe your needs in as great detail as possible. In addition to a site visit, this is the best way to determine if a commercial shower is right for your building and what the possible options could be.
Commercial Shower Installation UK
Are you interested in learning more about commercial shower installation, or commercial washrooms in general? Inspired Washrooms installs commercial washrooms across the UK.
For help and advice with anything we’ve mentioned above, please get in touch on 0115 118 4242 and our friendly team will get back to you.