Photo courtesy of U.S. News & World Report

What is the latest styles in commercial restrooms? Upscale restrooms that contain high-end materials, commercial bathrooms that feel more like home, and design influences that match the environment around them are three trends you can expect.
Added sophistication – The words luxurious and sophisticated are rarely associated with public restrooms, until now. High end materials such as granite and stainless steel are making their way from the kitchen into the bathroom. This trend is not limited to residential applications. Hotels and other high end facilities are looking for ways to add that same level of sophistication to their public bathrooms. Materials like granite and stainless steel, or surfaces that look like granite and stainless, provide that luxurious feel they are looking for. Check out our designer, mosaic and metallic color series combined with our contour or rotary brushed textures and REGAL™ hinge to add some luxury and sophistication to your next bathroom project.

There’s no place like home – There is no place like your own private bathroom when it comes to “nature calling.” But, let’s face it, when you have to go, you have to go, even when you are far from home. A recent trend is creating a spa-like bathroom at home complete with a garden tub, massaging shower and soft lighting. Similar elements can make commercial restrooms feel more like home. In addition to using high-end materials, designers are replacing bright, fluorescent light fixtures with softer incandescent down lighting to create that spa-like atmosphere. They are also incorporating privacy features such as taller doors and privacy hinges. Try our zero sight continuous brackets, hinges and strikes to add privacy to your next restroom project.

Common theme all around – Designers are taking elements from the building’s interior design or the surrounding environment and carrying it into the restroom. This goes beyond the simple themed bathroom that pays homage to an era, famous person or pop culture icon. Examples include the public restroom in Bryant Park, New York that mimics the design of the nearby New York Public Library, the restrooms at Santa Monica Pier, California (pictured) that feature an undulating roof evoking thoughts of a vintage wooden roller coaster or the nearby ocean waves, or the bathroom at The Muse Hotel, New York that allows visitors to choose if they are feeling envious, passionate, glamorous, rebellious, macho or vain. What they all have in common is a uniqueness that is personal. To add uniqueness to your next project, ask for our custom embossing – perfect for a school mascot, company logo, or any other personalized detail.

New strains of MRSA, a drug-resistant bacteria, are emerging nationwide, causing hundreds of thousands of infections annually according to federal data, reports and academic studies. Though cases once were confined to hospitals, they are now showing up regularly in schools and gym locker rooms.

Formally known as methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, MRSA typically causes skin infections, from small pimples to painful boils, that usually can be treated effectively by doctors. In some cases, the infections advance, destroying tissue and causing large abscesses that can require hospitalization. And when staph enters the bloodstream or attacks the lungs as bacterial pneumonia, it becomes especially dangerous — often fatal. Federal data suggest that nearly 23,000 people die each year with MRSA infections.

Locker rooms are an ideal living environment for bacteria. Warm, humid, and moist environments encourage their growth and reproduction – See more here.

The CDC urges MRSA education and routine cleaning and disinfecting is recommended for lockers.

Tufftec athletic gym lockers are made of HDPE solid plastic which is a naturally germ resistant material. In addition, they are power washable and steam cleanable so there is no risk of rust or delamination therefore leaving a healthier environment for students. Because the material is a solid color throughout and not painted, a wide variety of cleaning solutions can be applied to the HDPE surface.

According to Sports Turf Northwest,, there are two ways to kill bacteria lurking on surfaces in a gym locker room that can cause MRSA and Staph. Harsh and toxic chemicals can be used, but will need to be used at least once a day with particular attention to sanitizing every locker room surface. A simpler and less toxic solution is ultra violet light technology (also called germicidal UVC). UVC is a special wavelength of light not visible to the human eye that penetrates the cell walls of microorganisms and destroys their ability to reproduce. Applying this light to your locker room surfaces is made easy with the miniZapr, made by Greensgroomer Worldwide. The miniZapr offers everything you need to eliminate harmful bacteria in locker rooms, on gym equipment, or community mats and other sports items. The miniZapr can be used just like a vacuum cleaner on floors or comes with a pull away germicidal UVC wand to sanitize tough to reach surfaces and small spaces. It is powered by either a small generator or you can plug it right into a wall outlet. Anyone can use the miniZapr, and it poses no health risk, unlike toxic chemicals, to patrons or staff. – See more here

Scranton Products has also tested their Tufftec athletic gym lockers with SiTU Bioscinces LLC by the ISO 22196 methods. The test results showed that after 24 hours, MRSA bacterial died off the surface of HDPE plastic without the use of any cleaning solutions.