By Jeff Wardon, Jr., Assistant Editor

In healthcare environments, restrooms are mission-critical spaces that operate under constant pressure. High traffic, strict infection-control requirements and limited maintenance resources leave little room for failure — yet even minor disruptions can quickly undermine hygiene, safety and trust. 

In this manufacturer roundtable, Healthcare Facilities Today spoke with restroom fixture manufacturers about where they see the biggest operational challenges today — and the opportunities to simplify maintenance, improve consistency and build smarter, more resilient restroom systems for the future. 

What operational challenges do healthcare facilities most often encounter in restrooms, and where do you see opportunities for the industry to better support long-term maintenance and reliability? 

“Healthcare restrooms operate under constant and intense demand, which often leads to maintenance challenges related to downtime, restocking and component wear and tear. Seemingly minor disruptions — such as empty soap and towel dispensers or out-of-service sinks — can have major impacts on hygiene and user experience and trust. Maintenance teams are also under pressure to service restrooms efficiently with limited staff and minimal disruption to clinical operations. 

Opportunities exist to better support long-term reliability through restroom designs that reduce maintenance touchpoints and simplify servicing. For example, centralized or top-fill, multi-feed soap systems can reduce refill frequency and help ensure consistent soap availability across multiple sinks. All-in-one handwashing systems that integrate touch-free soap, faucet and dryer into a single, coordinated unit can also streamline cleaning and maintenance while reducing clutter and hard-to-reach areas. These approaches help facilities move toward more proactive, predictable maintenance rather than reactive fixes.” 

— Cassie Keeler, product manager of handwashing products, Bradley Company 

“One of the most persistent challenges is managing large, decentralized restroom inventories coupled with limited staff resources. Manual flushing routines, parts inventory, inconsistent documentation and difficulty accessing concealed components can strain maintenance teams and introduce variability into system performance. 

Maintenance teams are stretched thin, and many processes were never designed for the scale or complexity of modern healthcare facilities. There’s growing recognition that consistency and documentation shouldn’t depend on how many rounds someone can complete in a day. Opportunities exist for the industry to support more predictable, standardized maintenance workflows, helping facilities reduce reactive interventions and focus on long-term reliability. Given the financial and clinical impact of waterborne disease events, even incremental improvements in prevention and consistency can deliver meaningful value over the life of a facility.” 

— Greg Hunt, commercial product manager, Chicago Faucets   

“Evolving regulations and infection-control standards continue to shape how restrooms in hospitals and clinics are planned and equipped. Much of the focus centers on working to meet Facility Guidelines Institute (FGI) hand washing recommendations to reduce splashing, along with plumbing system design standards to reduce water stagnation and improved temperature control. These basic design considerations to promote regular flow of fresh chlorinated water are now built into the majority of water management plans, which are now a cornerstone of healthcare safety programs. As a result, we're seeing a design move toward materials and internal components that withstand disinfectants, thermal treatments, and chemically aggressive water conditions. As healthcare plumbing systems undergo more frequent high-temperature or chemically enhanced line flush protocols, fixtures must align with these operational realities. 

Touchless technology is increasingly viewed as a baseline expectation to limit surface contact and reduce the spread of pathogens. Above and beyond that, more facilities are actively looking for systems that support programmable or automated line flushing to help them mitigate biofilm formation in low-use areas and ensure consistent water turnover throughout their plumbing systems. 

These shifts are driving restroom environments that are more hygienic, smarter and more resilient under rigorous infection-control protocols.” 

— Dan Danowski, product manager, Zurn Elkay 

“The greatest operational challenges are fixture downtime, high labor costs for maintenance and the reactive nature of repairs. Facilities struggle with the constant cycle of identifying a problem, dispatching staff and sourcing parts, all of which impacts patient access and satisfaction. The key opportunity for the industry is to embed smart technology directly into fixtures, transforming maintenance from a reactive to a proactive model. By providing real-time diagnostics, usage data and remote management capabilities, we can empower facilities to anticipate needs, reduce repair times and ensure unparalleled reliability.” 

— Morgan Kish, director of product management, Sloan 

Jeff Wardon, Jr., is the assistant editor of the facilities market.