Smart Washrooms-Tissues

Smart Washrooms – Tissues

Abhay Kulkarni,
Marketing Manager
Kimberly-Clark Hygiene Products Pvt. Ltd, Pune

 

Washrooms in India have undergone a facelift in the last two decades with increase in purchasing power, exposure to modern facilities and entry of global brands in sanitary wares and fittings. Though the washroom scenario is fast changing in individual households, hygiene standards in public washrooms are yet to see the required improvement.

On the drawing board, a smart washroom looks like a hi-tech private place which saves you the queasy feeing of touching things that don’t belong to you and promises you an experience that you don’t run away from. Washing hands after a visit to the toilet but equally important is the act of drying hands. The ubiquitous cloth towel is a breeding ground for bacteria with all the wet spots. It contaminates the hand again. As per the CDC guidelines, one should wash hands with soap and water and dry it with a clean towel. Single use tissue based products can play an important role. Tissues are widely used as hand tissues, body tissues, toilet tissues, face tissues and paper napkins. The acceptance of these products is inhibited by cultural practices but the argument in their favour is that they reduce water consumption and importantly gives a hygienic experience to the user. They ensure that the floors and toilet seats are not left wet and messy after use, leaving the washroom clean for the next user.

Tissue has wide ranging applications and can be broadly categorised into:

• Hands tissues
• Body tissues
• Toilet tissues
• Face tissues
• Paper napkins

Types
When we talk of tissues, it normally means soft tissues. Tissues could be virgin grade which is made from pure pulp, the source of which could be either hardwood or softwood. Hardwood is a term applied to trees like maple, oaks, eucalyptus, etc., which have broad or blade-like leaves. These are deciduous and provide the short fibres used for making tissues. Softwood is a term applied to trees which are usually coniferous like Pine and Cedars and have needle-like leaves. They are source of relatively long and strong fibres. Tissues could also be of recycled grade which are obtained indirectly from the original raw material by using recycling technology to break down previously formed paper product (wastepaper) for fibre recovery. Main attributes of tissues can be listed as – absorbency, softness and strength (both wet and dry). Today, UCTAD technology helps provide a better absorbent and a high performance product compared to a product made by wet creping technology.

Environment

Customers usually think that all tissue products are eco-friendly as these are, by nature, completely biodegradable. However, tissue can be certified as eco friendly only if the company uses the pulp from certified forestry and has in possession certificates from agencies like Forest Stewardship Council. It also matters what processes and chemicals are used (or rather not used) in making the pulp into paper. The new norms for environment friendliness can be best served by a proper mix of recycle fibre and virgin fibre which can help ensure that both usage and wastage is minimised with better absorbency, thereby reducing environment damage. This is what is made available with patented UCTAD technology products.

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Award for E-toilet

The Delight e-toilet developed by Eram Scientific Solutions in collaboration with the Technopark-based Rain Concert Technologies recently bagged the Public Choice Award. The E-toilets surpassed five competing nominations comprising solutions from leading companies in the health sector. The nominations were screened and submitted online for the public to vote. The e-toilets from Delight came in top in e-Health. The award has been jointly instituted by the Centre for Science, Development, and Media Studies; the Department of Information Technology (DIT), Ministry of Communications and Information Technology; and the Department of Science and Technology, Government of India.

The automatic e-toilet was designed to ensure easy maintenance with the minimum of manual intervention, and substantial energy and water savings. The insertion of a coin opens the door for the user, switches on the light – thus saving energy – and even directs the user with audio commands.
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Arun Jatia,
Director
Pudumjee Hygiene Products Ltd

A washroom that provides total hygiene, convenience and comfortable ambience in a compact zone and is self sufficient to take care of unavoidable mess is something that everyone looks forward ideally. A tissue in the washroom ensures that the user leaves it in a condition that he/she would like to enter and use! Another product that provides personal safety to the user in a public washroom is toilet seat covers. The covers are large sheets of pre-punched tissue paper for commode seats that gets pulled down when flushed.

Facial tissues placed in a dispenser on the washbasins come in two or three ply virgin tissues which should not shred on the skin.

Dustbins are a must with paper towels. These will ensure that the user dries his hands and disposes it in a dustbin and not in the washroom commodes.
Paper Towels are thick, extra strong sheets available in C-fold or M-fold type. The M-fold type is convenient as the next tissue sheet shows when the first one is pulled out.

Toilet rolls should be provided in a covered dispenser to prevent them from getting moist and avoid water drops making the rolls soggy and unusable. Toilet roll tissues are soft – two ply or three ply tissues – and they disintegrate in the bowl when flushed or else it can clog the drainage pipes.

In the present scenario, the highest volume use is in paper towels category followed by toilet rolls.

Due to increased hygiene awareness, people expect tissues to be made available at all public places. However, the lack of appropriate dispensers leads to loss of tissues as they get damaged or wasted. Also, pilferage of tissue sheets is rampant. Incorrect disposal methods by users like a paper towel thrown in a WC also lead to plumbing problems. Tissues are ideal for offices, airports, railways, hotels, hospitals, industrial and manufacturing sectors, retail malls, hypermarkets, cash n carry stores and places where there is a need for hygiene.

As the tissues touch the skin frequently, a chlorine-free tissue ensures 100% safe experience for the users. Bio-degradable tissues are 100% recyclable and eco-friendly. Also, 100% natural recycled tissues are available which are made from recycled fibres sourced from high grade waste paper. Pudumjee Hygiene markets Greenlime – Ecoline range of 100% recycled towels and has ISO 14000 certification for its environment safety management systems.

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Gurgaon hospital wins WHO hygiene award

Gurgaon based Artemis Health Institute recently won the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) award for hand hygiene. The hospital was chosen for having best hand hygiene practices from among three international finalists for the Asia Pacific Hand Hygiene Excellence award 2010. The doctors and nurses have implemented and followed the set of guidelines and protocols to maintain hand hygiene standards in the hospital.

The other two finalists were from Hue in Vietnam, and Melbourne in Australia.

The winner was declared on the basis of an expert review panel to the nominated hospitals, using the WHO self-assessment framework that emphasised on hand hygiene practices among the hospital staff and services.

The mystery of the missing toilet

A team of Australian road diggers returning to work after the weekend were dismayed to discover their only potable toilet had been stolen. The bright yellow and turquoise portaloo had mysteriously disappeared from the men’s work site in northern Queensland.

The workers working for the highway project would have to wait for a new portable toilet to be delivered. In the meantime workers are compelled to travel about one kilometre to the nearest restroom.

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