How School Restroom Technology Keeps Kids Healthier and Safer

A school’s main job is to educate students in a safe and healthy environment. While most schools do well in all these areas, there is always room for improvement—and restroom technology can help.

Here’s a closer look at how American schools are implementing improvements for healthier and safer learning environments.

Restroom Technology That Reduces the Spread of Germs

It’s cold and flu season, and kids are a prime disease vector. A European study found a 51.9% disease transmission between primary schoolers, meaning that more than half the children who come into contact with a sick child will get sick themselves.¹

Handwashing is effective at reducing the spread of germs—but not all handwashing is created equal. A major classroom study found that faucet handles were among the surfaces most contaminated with both bacteria and viruses. Influenza A virus was detected on up to 50% and norovirus on up to 22% of surfaces.²

Since viruses and bacteria thrive on classroom and restroom surfaces, touchless restroom products may be better than hands-on products at reducing the spread of disease. That’s why, at Sloan, all our faucets are sensor-operated (along with all our soap dispensers and more than 200 flushometer models).

Other germ-fighting Sloan restroom technologies include:

• Touchless, HEPA-filtered hand dryers that help hands stay cleaner and remove 99% of bacteria at 0.3 microns.
• BASYS® Guided Handwashing Faucets that teach kids proper hygiene through a step-by-step process.
• SloanTec® Hydrophobic Glaze that inhibits bacteria growth on toilets’ surfaces.

Healthier Hydration and School Environment

Parents and school districts increasingly recognize the importance of clean, filtered water in schools. In Michigan, for example, where significant water quality issues have come to light over the past decade, regulators have mandated all schools install filters to reduce lead on consumption fixtures and sample filtered water.³ As water quality issues become a greater concern, other states are in the process of taking similar measures.

Sloan can help schools make cleaner water available to schoolchildren:

• Sloan DropSpot™ Bottle Fillers and Water Coolers promote sustainable drinking practices with every sip.
• Our NSF-61 Certified Faucets go beyond industry standards to ensure safe drinking water.

Many schools also understand the value of raising the overall wellness of the entire facility. Sloan can help you achieve a WELL Building Standard by meeting guidelines that keep students healthy and productive. We even offer a WELL Calculator to help you identify WELL-eligible Sloan products. 

Discouraging Vandalism in School Restrooms

In 2021, the viral “Devious Lick” TikTok trend triggered a rash of school restroom vandalism, all captured on video and shared across the Internet.⁴ Nationwide, more than half of all middle and high schools reported incidents of vandalism in school year 2021-22. Rates of vandalism were consistent across cities, suburbs, and rural environments.⁵

Given those numbers, it’s no surprise many schools are focusing on vandal-proofing their restrooms along with other anti-violence measures. Sloan can help:

• Solid Surface SloanStone® Sinks have durable, solid molded surfaces and integrated fixtures that are hard to access to deter vandalism.
• The ESD-360 Top-fill Soap Dispenser has a secure soap reservoir that’s easy for facility management to access while secured so students cannot access or vandalize it.
• Sloan Sensor-operated Faucets prevent kids from leaving the tap running, also known as water run-off vandalism.
• Touchless flushometers (such as our ECOS and G2 lines) have no handles for vandals to break off.

More School Restroom Safety from Sloan

When it comes to keeping kids safe in school, Sloan knows every detail counts.

For instance, children can suffer severe burns in cases of cold water failure. Our Optimix™ Anti-scald Faucets offer hot water shut-off technology that can help prevent hot water burns.

Also, smaller kids can get hurt trying to reach standard-height sinks or may decide to skip handwashing altogether. That’s why we offer SloanStone Waterfall Sinks that provide dual heights for complete accessibility—and also comply with ADA and Texas Accessibility Standards.

Keeping your school’s restrooms hygienic and safe is more important today than ever. For more ideas on making school restrooms safe, attractive, and water-efficient, contact Sloan!

Notes:                 
¹ News Medical, “Study finds school-household network key to understanding disease transmission in children”
² The Journal of School Nursing, “Occurrence of Bacteria and Viruses on Elementary Classroom Surfaces and the Potential Role of Classroom Hygiene in the Spread of Infectious Diseases”
³ Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy, “Filter First”
⁴ Education Week, “‘Devious Lick’ TikTok Trend Creates Chaos in Schools Nationwide,” September 2021
⁵ Institute of Education Sciences, “Crime, Violence, Discipline, and Safety in U.S. Public Schools,” January 2024