Category Archives: Janitorial and Maintenance

Maintenance and upkeep is important to help your business run smoothly and avoid the high cost that comes with repairs. Deelat Industrial offers a wide selection of ladders to help you clean or build in hard to reach places as well as sweeping brooms and wet/dry vacuums for floor care. Our Janitorial and Maintenance items will help you clean, organize, and maintain your home or working environment.

5 Tips for a Successful Restroom Renovation

Whether you’ve just bought a business, or you’ve managed a commercial building for years, proper upkeep of your property’s restrooms is important. Are you considering remodeling the restrooms in your business? If so, you know the process can be frustrating and time consuming. There are many considerations to make, from hiring a contractor, to the costs of materials.

Fortunately, with proper planning commercial restroom renovations can run on-time and on-budget, helping to keep your business running without a hitch. So where can you start? As a building material supplier, Deelat has helped many business owners and property managers purchase affordable, durable supplies for their remodels. In helping our customers, we’ve come to understand how to successfully plan for a restroom renovation. Here are a few tips:

Consider Budgeting and Scheduling

All renovations start with setting a budget. This should happen before you consider colors, the hardware you need, or hiring a contractor. Once you’ve set a budget, you will have a solid idea of how much you can afford to spend. But be aware that sometimes contractors do go over budget. To protect against this, take 10 percent off your total for the project, and this will be the budget you tell your contractor you’re willing to spend. But do be prepared to spend the entire amount.
Secondly, since you’re running a business, be sure to consider the timing that you need construction to be accomplished by. If your establishment has two restrooms, it might be possible to have one closed, while the other is under-construction. If not, you should prepare for having your restroom out of service.

West Building Restroom Renovation _3

Select and Purchase Materials

Commercial restroom remodels require a range of supplies. Often, your contractor will help you purchase some of the supplies, like toilets, sinks and stall partitions. Yet, there are many other small pieces of hardware you will likely need, and it will help to find a supplier who stocks affordable, durable supplies. One tip: Purchasing hardware from a single supplier can help to limit the costs of shipping and reduce your overall materials spending. Additional pieces you might need for a commercial restroom include:

  • Soap Dispensers
  • Paper Towel Dispensers and Hand Dryers
  • Toilet Tissue and Seat Cover Dispenser
  • Baby Changing Tables
  • And Deodorizers and Urinal Screens

Hire A Contractor

There are some tasks that you can do yourself, like installing paper towel dispensers and urinal screens. But if something falls outside of your expertise – say plumbing – hire an experienced contractor. Look for a reputable business that has experience in commercial restroom renovation, and remember the most affordable isn’t always the best. An established contractor with references and a portfolio of work will save you the headache of having to finish or revise improperly installed hardware or unreliable plumbing.

 

Purchase High-Quality, Durable Materials

 The restrooms at many businesses are highly trafficked, and that means the hardware must be durable enough to withstand daily wear-and-tear. To protect yourself, choose an industrial supply company that’s established and that has responsive customer service. If a piece of hardware is defective, chances are the company will be willing to work with you on a solution. Additionally, electronic devices – like hand dryers, or automatic soap dispensers – are like many pieces of technology; they can become obsolete. That’s why buying modern technology that’s built-to-last can save you additional costs down the road.

West Building Restroom Renovation _5

Consider Local Ordinances

In many states and cities, restrooms must meet local, state or federal ordinances for persons with disabilities, as well as other laws and requirements. In the U.S., for example, the Americans With Disabilities Act set requirements for commercial restrooms. Some properties are exempt from these codes, while others must get up-to-date when they renovate. Before you begin your remodel, be sure the restroom will be in compliance with local building codes.

 

Shop for commercial restroom hardware on Deelat.com. We offer a wide selection of renovation supplies that are durable and shipped quickly. Shop with us and save when you renovate the restrooms in your business.

 

Don’t Forget to Shovel Your Walk This Winter!

Winter is in full swing, and with it comes the inevitable wintertime chore: Shoveling snow. If you don’t yet have a solid snow shovel, you better hurry up and buy one before the snow starts falling more frequently.

snow shovelling

Shoveling your sidewalks isn’t just a neighborly good deed. In many cities, it’s required by law. Failing to shovel your walk may result in fines. But that’s not the only reason you should make it a habit to shovel snow from the walkways in front of your house following a winter storm. Here are four top reasons you should shovel your walk this winter:

  1. Fines for Failing to Shovel

As mentioned above, many cities and municipalities require citizens to shovel their walks. If not, you might get fined, and fines for not shoveling can be costly. In New York City, for instance, possible fines can run up to $150 and repeat offenders might face jail time up to 10 days. That’s right: Not shoveling your walk in New York could land you in jail! The easiest way to avoid fines is to shovel your driveway relatively quickly following a storm. In many cities, homeowners have a specific amount of time to remove the snow before they can face a fine; be sure you know your local ordinances.

  1. Neighborhood Courtesy

Even if you aren’t required by law to shovel your walk, it’s a small chore that will keep you in the good graces of your neighbors. Whether your neighbors walk their dogs each day, or they jog after work, you don’t want to be remembered as the neighbor who doesn’t shovel his sidewalks. Also, the mail carrier and delivery drivers will love you as well.

  1. Ice from Melting Snow

As the weather heats up following a storm, the snow will begin to melt. Yet at night when the temperatures drop, this moisture can freeze, with a sheet of ice developing under the snow. This can be very dangerous for people walking by. Because the ice is hidden behind the snow, people are much more likely to slip, fall and hurt themselves. By shoveling your sidewalks in a timely fashion after a storm, you’re much more likely to develop an ice problem.

  1. Potential Lawsuits

If you fail to keep your walkways safe, you could be on the hook if a pedestrian slips on your property and hurts himself. A judge may find you liable if snow was cleared from public walkways, and lawsuits can get very expensive. Many homeowners have liability insurance to defend themselves against this. But buying an affordable snow shovel is a much more cost-effective solution.

Don’t be caught without a snow shovel this winter. Buy a new shovel today on Deelat.com. We offer great prices and fast shipping. Shop today and save.

Hand Dryers and Blowers: What to Consider When Buying

Restaurants, entertainment venues, and retail locations all benefit from installing blowing hand dryers in their restrooms. For starters, hand blowers save money over the long-term. A restaurant might spend $1,000 per year on paper towels; an energy-efficient hand dryer, though, might cost just $100 per year in running costs.

Standrad Low Speed Automatic Hand Dryer
Standrad Low Speed Automatic Hand Dryer

Additionally, hand dryers with activation sensors are more hygienic; they require less maintenance, as there’s no need to restock them; and they’re much improved. Today’s hand dryers are designed to dry hands in 10-15 seconds. When purchasing restroom hand dryers, though, it can be difficult to gauge which styles dry hands the faster, use the least amount of energy, and blow at low volumes. Here are a few things contractors should consider when purchasing hand drying units for commercial restrooms:

 

High-Speed Dryers vs. Standard Dryers

High-speed dryers produce a stream of air that is more powerful, greatly decreasing the time needed to dry hands thoroughly. This increases the efficiency of the unit, because they run for much less time. For example, an 1800-watt high-speed dryer might produce an airstream of 60 meters/second and require 8-10 seconds to dry hands, while an 800-watt dryer produces an airstream of 6 meters/second and more than 60 seconds to dry the hands. The trade-off: Higher speed dryers are louder and usually more costly, but the performance is far superior.

Eco Jet High Speed Hand Dryer
Eco Jet High Speed Hand Dryer

 

Automatic Sensors

Today, the majority of restroom hand dryers are built with infrared sensors that activate the dryer. There are push-button dryers available, but these aren’t as common as they once were. The benefits of sensor-activated dryers: They’re more hygienic, because you don’t have to touch as surface to activate them, and are more energy efficient, because they stop running after set times.

 

Low-Energy Restroom Hand Dryers

Typically, hand dryers consume between 800 and 3,000 watts of electricity when in use. Yet, “low-energy” can be deceiving. As noted, low-energy dryers typically take longer to dry the hands properly, ultimately consuming an equal or greater amount of electricity. While high-speed dryers typically consume more electricity, they run for much shorter periods of time, resulting in energy savings over the long term. The benefits of low-energy dryers: They’re quieter. This is important in environments where noisy hand dryers can disrupt patrons, like theaters and quiet restaurants.

 

Single Jet vs. Multi-Jet Hand Dryers

There are traditionally two main styles of automatic hand dryers on the market: Single-stream and multi-stream. Multi-stream dryers have separate dryers for each hand, while single-stream dryers produce a single-stream of air for both hands. Multi-stream dryers are more costly, but they provide the best performance of any dryer on the market.

 

Shop for low-cost restroom hand drying units on Deelat.com. We offer a range of standard and high-speed dryers at the best prices, with fast shipping available.