Fighting bacteria and water waste

Hand washing and disinfection has always been a major concern. And then came the corona pandemic that clearly showed how important it really is. Since then, sanitary facilities in hotels, restaurants, cafes and bars, as well as mass kitchens, have (rightly) paid even more attention to it.

Maximum attention to hygiene and non-contact solutions are in high demand. We want to avoid the transmission of bacteria. This pervasive attention does come with one drawback, namely high water and energy consumption. "That is why it is more necessary than ever to install sanitary products that meet the requirements of public spaces," Delabie echoes. "We have been offering solutions for hand washing and disinfection in public areas and professional kitchens for decades. Electronic taps, soap dispensers, self-closing and mechanical taps: they all meet the highest hygiene requirements. Take electronic taps that close automatically a few seconds after activation. No manual contact required and maximum hygiene assured."

Electronic taps have an additional advantage. If a tap is not used for a long time due to closed plumbing, a remote location, an unoccupied hotel room, etc., an automatic flush takes place every 24 hours via the periodic flushing function. The water then circulates in the tap and in the pipes, thus limiting the spread of bacteria. "Some taps we can equip with our patented anti-stagnation electrovalves," indicates Svea Wagemans of Delabie. "End filters are also a preventive or curative solution to guarantee bacteria-free water. This brings us to another essential step in hand hygiene: the risk of transmitting bacteria is increased on wet skin. So drying hands is very important. This is why you will find many models of towel dispensers and holders made of bacteriostatic stainless steel in our range. Additional advantage, they are easy to clean."

The frequency of hand washing has roughly tripled since the covid pandemic, washing time doubled. From a hygiene point of view, this is obviously a good thing. "Lathering the hands takes about 40-50 seconds for a good hand wash," Wagemans knows. "So while lathering, the user sees some litres of water flowing away. Overconsumption of hot and cold water has risen sharply to sometimes as much as 60 litres of water per day per person. We therefore think it is high time to systematically install taps in all public places that not only guarantee maximum hygiene, but also significant water savings. Our solutions can save up to 90 per cent water by phased use, which means that the tap closes automatically after wetting and rinsing hands, and by limiting the flow rate to three litres per minute instead of the usual nine litres per minute. The performance of our electronic and self-closing taps allows for the best levels of existing environmental features. And that is a must in new construction or renovation of buildings."