Cubicles are a mainstay of the modern office. They’re used to create many individual offices for staff, reducing noise and providing privacy at a relatively low cost. Cubicles are often used in other areas, as well. And you may not realize how often they’re used in the bathroom and all the ways they can be utilized.
Changing Areas
Cubicles are an affordable, practical and stylish way to protect your employee’s privacy when they are in a changing room. They are more willing to change in and out of uniform if they can do so in privacy. And cubicles allow them to change clothes without being seen by others. Conversely, cubicles can be set up in public bathrooms to create changing rooms for babies and toddlers. Then visitors changing clothes or putting on makeup don’t see or smell a toddler’s diaper mess.
Mother’s Rooms
Cubicles allow you to turn a corner of the bathroom into a mother’s room. It could be outfitted with a recliner, mini-fridge and other equipment nursing mothers need. More importantly, it prevents a backup in the bathroom because the mother will otherwise choose to do so in a meeting room or bathroom stall. A side benefit for your business is that you’ll get points for being parent friendly.
Toilet Stalls
Toilets should be as private as possible for the sake of employee privacy and safety. However, there are many different options on the market. Here are a few tips on how to choose the right toilet cubicle for your business. First, choose stalls that protect privacy. The walls need to be high enough that someone in the next stall can’t look down on someone else changing clothes or using the toilet. Second, choose designs that minimize potential maintenance issues. For example, stalls with modest gaps at the top and bottom maximize air flow in the bathroom, helping to improve ventilation and control odors. On the flipside, stalls with enough space below the doors and between cubicles improves drainage if there is an overflow, assuming there are drains in the floor.
Don’t forget to consider the door to the toilet cubicle itself. It should lock securely for employee and visitor privacy. Yet you may need to undo the lock because someone passed out inside or refuses to come out for some other reason. Depending on the location, you may want the door to have controlled access, such as when you have pay toilets. On the flipside, cubicle walls around urinals may not need a door at all to provide more privacy than the average public restroom.
If the bathroom is open to the public, then you may want to choose bathroom panels that improve the appearance of the bathroom. For example, vanity units will hide the pipes under the sinks while duct panels hide the pipework behind toilets and urinals. You create a uniform, clean look in the bathroom. That makes your business appear to have addressed every little detail.
Cubicles can also be used to create family bathrooms and unisex bathrooms. For example, setting up several large cubicles allows a parent to take two children into the stall instead of leaving them wandering around the bathroom. The doors in these cases need to keep children in without being impossible for them to exit on their own. When providing unisex bathroom stalls, tall walls to protect everyone’s privacy is key.