The Benefits of Having Hand Sanitizer Available in Your Workplace
If the COVID-19 pandemic has taught us anything, it is that the lifestyles we led before the outbreak of the coronavirus were unsanitary. Yet, even today when the virus prevails in all parts of the country, many employers have failed to implement effective preventive measures in their workplaces.
Of the few who managed to install some form of protection, such as sanitizer dispensers, most of the other measures they adopted offer very little protection against exposure to the virus.
Like other viral respiratory infections, the coronavirus spreads mainly through respiratory droplets; although recent studies suggest that it can also be transmitted through contact with contaminated surfaces.
Thus, the risk of contracting COVID-19 is significantly higher in densely populated areas, especially areas involving frequent or prolonged contact with people. Therefore, employers must install efficient personal protective equipment (PPE) in strategic places all around their workstations.
How Can Employers Make their Workplaces Safer?
In offices where there is a high influx of people, social distancing may be difficult to observe. Even with everyone wearing a face mask, there is still the problem of contaminated surfaces to worry about.
As several studies have shown, the coronavirus is a highly contagious virus, capable of surviving on steel, plastic, and synthetic surfaces for as long as three to seven days. Although there have been countless debates concerning whether or not contaminated surfaces are a viable means of transmission, it never hurts to be extra careful.
One way to maintain a healthy working environment in your office is to provide your employees (and customers) with quality hand sanitizers.
A hand sanitizer is an antiseptic solution, usually in liquid, foam, or gel form, which one can use to safeguard oneself against various pathogens, especially at times when there are no water and soap to wash one’s hands with.
Types of Hand Sanitizers
Hand sanitizers come in many sized and coloured variants. However, depending on their active ingredient, they can be classified into two distinct groups: alcohol-based sanitizers and non-alcohol sanitizers.
1. Alcohol-based sanitizers
Alcohol-based sanitizers contain between 60 and 90 percent concentration of alcohol. Usually, this alcohol is either ethanol, isopropanol, or n-propanol. Owing to their concentrated amounts of alcohol, alcohol-based sanitizers are much more effective in killing several bacteria, like E. Coli, and several viruses, such as the novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2).
2. Non-alcohol sanitizers
Instead of an active alcohol ingredient, non-alcohol sanitizers contain high amounts of an ammonium compound disinfectant (such as benzalkonium chloride). This disinfectant may not be as effective as the alcohol in alcohol-based sanitizers, but it can still kill a wide range of microbes.
Sanitizer Bottles or Sanitizer Pump Dispensers: Which is More Sanitary?
The only way you can use a sanitizer bottle is by holding the bottle (with your dirty hands? There MUST be a better way!), then applying the sanitizer ingredient on your hands, before finally shutting the contaminated bottle with the same hands you had just sanitized. So you see that, as ironic as it sounds, sanitizer bottles can facilitate the spread of the coronavirus in the office.
Even if you install a pump bottle, instead of the traditional sanitizer bottle, you, along with everyone else in the office, would still be required to touch it before you can use it. And the more people touch the bottle and pass it from one person to another, the higher the risk of their exposure to the virus.
Another factor to consider is that sanitizer bottles—both the traditional kind and even the pump bottle—do not dispense a fixed dosage of the sanitizer ingredient. In the case of pump bottles, the amount of the sanitizer ingredient dispensed largely depends on how much pressure is exerted on the pump. Although, over time, the pump bottle may become clogged, causing it to dispense a smaller dosage of the sanitizer ingredient than is required.
Why you Should Replace Traditional Sanitizer Bottles with Contactless Pump Dispensers in your Office
Of the many advantages that contactless sanitizer pump dispensers have over traditional sanitizer bottles, here are four benefits that are worth noting:
1. Completely contactless
The most common way for traditional sanitizer bottles to facilitate the spread of the coronavirus is frequent contact of the bottles, which is something contactless sanitizer dispensers avoid altogether. Being equipped with motion sensors, the contactless sanitizer dispenser is designed to detect the hand and then dispense a moderate dose of the sanitizer ingredient on it.
2. Sufficient dosage
Traditional sanitizer bottles also make it difficult to know if the dosage of sanitizer applied is exactly, less than, or more than the recommended dosage. Contrarily, contactless sanitizer dispensers have an automated system that allows them to dispense the ideal amount of sanitizer, resulting in the thorough and complete sanitization of the hands.
3. Larger storage capacity
Contactless sanitizer dispensers come in a wide variety of sizes, most of which are larger than even the largest sanitizer bottles. Their large storage capacity helps you avoid the stress of refilling them after every few days, making them the ideal choice for crowded offices where there is heavy foot traffic.
Even when it is almost time for a refill, you need not worry about running out of sanitizer; Pure Environmental’s safety supply shop has a surplus stock on hand of sanitizers, any of which can be delivered to your office in no time.
4. Ideal for the office
Aside from their having a large storage capacity, another thing that makes contactless sanitizer dispensers ideal for work environments is their sleek and functional designs. Some dispenser models are well adapted for mounting on the wall, while others are better suited for office desks.
The strongest safeguard strategy against the coronavirus in the office is usually one that combines both models, and install them in strategic locations, such as restrooms, corridors, entrances, exits, cafeterias, and elevators.
Some Trusted Sanitizer Dispensers you can Buy:
The following hand sanitizer dispensers meet the coronavirus safety guidelines and are available for purchase in Canada:
1. Purell Contactless Sanitizer Dispenser
Purell is a hand sanitizer dispenser that offers excellent protection against microbial activities at an affordable cost. In densely populated offices, Purell allows for healthier business operations and safer hygiene amongst employees and customers.
2. Steryll Automatic Sanitizer Dispenser
Like Purell sanitizer dispenser, Steryll automatic sanitizer dispensers are completely contactless and very easy to maintain. They also boast of a large storage capacity, which can hold and dispense as many as 1,000 doses of sanitizer before needing another refill.
3. SC Johnson Professional Sanitizer Dispenser
Although the aforementioned sanitizer dispensers are affordable, they can still be quite expensive for someone who is on a tight budget. In such situations, SC Johnson Professional sanitizer dispenser is another great option to consider.
This dispenser has a sturdy frame and, like most other sanitizer dispensers, it is very easy to install. However, it may not be ideal for densely populated offices, as it has a push-button, rather than a contactless functionality.
Availability of Sanitizer Products in Ontario:
Pure Environmental Restoration Services, based in Simcoe, Ontario offers a variety of sanitizer and sanitizer dispensers from their safety supply store. Buy online or at their office location:
Pure Environmental
173 Hillcrest Rd, Simcoe, ON N3Y 4K5
(519) 410-4722