Major Shopping Centre

Urinal blockages and persistent odour cleared at a major shopping centre

Facilities managers and the operations supervisors of cleaning companies all have a similar issue at the top of their list of problem areas – blockages and persistent odour around men’s urinals. And lingering odour is also a problem around high-traffic areas and drains in washrooms generally. Because a positive ‘amenity experience’ aims to leave a positive experience with patrons, shopping centre administrations stipulate presentation and odour management in their cleaning tenders. As a number of well-documented case studies will show, a simple biological cleaning approach is the sustainable answer to addressing these irritations.

Chronic blockages and stubborn odour

In desperation, a long-standing client contacted Sanitaire Bio-Products following several complaints from the operations manager of a major shopping centre about blocked urinals and pervasive odour in the men’s washrooms. They reported that the service of a plumber was required almost every two weeks to deal with the problem. And because of the constant blockages, water from the urinals was actually leaking into the wall-recess behind them. Their goal was to eliminate the odour problem, reduce soaring plumbing costs, and to stop long-term damage to the pipes and drains. Whilst management didn’t recognise what caused their problems, they were open to look at the whole picture.

Implementing biological cleaning solutions

The solutions presented by Sanitaire Bio-Products were both simple to implement, addressed the issues immediately, and provided ongoing protection against odour-causing bacteria. The client was introduced to the six characteristic principles of holistic biological cleaning solutions, namely:

  • odour management at the source,
  • maximising water savings,
  • lower chemical usage,
  • environmentally sustainable,
  • asset protection, and
  • reduced overall cost.

Fundamentally, it’s about changing the way we do things; besides solving everyday cleaning headaches.

A dilution of one part Sanitaire Bio-Cleaner™ to five parts water was employed to treat the entire area in the wall recess behind the urinals. This remediated the odour straightaway. It also became apparent that years’ of treating blockages with acid and other harsh chemicals have damaged the pipes and fittings.

So how do you prevent blockages and resultant odour in the first place? This can only be achieved by using a combination of Sanitaire Bio-Blocks™ and Sanitaire Bio-Drain Solution™ to treat and condition the plumbing works, and Sanitaire Bio-Cleaner™ to treat the urinals, floor surfaces and walls. The results are instantaneous and provide long-term results.

In twelve months, after going fully ‘biological’, only two blockages were recorded by the cleaning staff. The centre’s infrastructure manager wasn’t aware of biological cleaning solutions beforehand, but the introduction of two-or-three products to target a range of cleaning tasks left a positive impression.

Other benefits

Another noteworthy aside is that the urinals at this particular high-traffic shopping centre are all of the sensor activated low-flush type. Because the cleaners were using a biological cleaning approach in harmony with the manufacturer’s instructions for this type of low water volume urinal; notwithstanding solving the blockage and odour problems; measurable water savings were also realised.

Facilities managers taking note

The success of this particular case study is not unique. This example and others; some that have been successfully in place for three years; have been noticed by the management of other shopping centres looking to re-negotiate their cleaning contracts. And this success story has also been replicated at busy train stations, airport terminals and major sports stadiums around the country. In fact, any high-traffic washroom that is plagued by constant odour and blockages, including entertainment venues, office buildings, hotels, resorts, educational institutions, hospitals, government buildings and theme parks, will benefit from simple biological cleaning solutions.

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