Sometimes, opting for the less expensive option might seem like a smart choice in the short term, but it can end up costing more in the long run. While initial savings can be appealing, the true value often lies in making thoughtful investments in quality, which can save money and frustration over time.
In challenging economic times, it’s important to balance cost with lasting value to ensure the best outcome for both your budget and your peace of mind.
As a procurement manager, facilities manager, or anyone tasked with purchasing decisions, the struggle to balance a limited budget with meeting your employees’ and visitors’ needs is real. It’s a delicate act, and one misstep could lead to increased expenses in the long run.
At Initial, we specialise in providing hygiene solutions for businesses that are tailored to suit your budget while maintaining exceptional standards. Here’s how cutting corners on essential bathroom hygiene services could ultimately cost you more
1. Soaps: A Critical Hygiene Staple
Choosing cheap soap options like bar soaps might seem like a cost-saving measure, but they are often unhygienic and impractical. Bar soaps accumulate bacteria and create messy residues, while off-the-shelf liquid soaps often lead to overuse, frequent replacements, and higher expenses.
Rather invest in a hygiene company that can offer you a soap dispenser (or hand sanitiser, if you prefer) with sealed refills and a measured amount dispensed at each use. You can be assured that the contents are not contaminated. There will be no need for decanting and therefore no mess or wastage. It frees up time, allowing your staff to focus on other work demands instead of decanting soap, shopping and cleaning. Your absenteeism rate could decrease as there would be reduced cross-contamination. That in itself is a huge saving to the your bottom line.
2. Towels: Cloth Towels vs. Modern Solutions
Cloth hand towels are positively cringeworthy. As with soap bars, everybody uses them and deposits their germs on them, and with towels remaining damp, they are an ideal breeding ground for bacteria to thrive.
Drying your hands on your clothing or flicking the water off until they are dry leaving splashes of water for the next unsuspecting user to slip on) is not an option either. It is also a proven fact that bacteria thrive on hands that are not dried properly.
If you are guilty of providing cloth towels in your workplace, there is a better alternative. An alternative would be to invest in a good electric hand dryer or a paper towel dispenser. It may even cost less than laundering your towels every week and will go a long way in keeping your staff happy and reduce germ causing bacteria from spreading.
3. Deep Cleaning: Going Beyond Surface-Level Cleanliness
Your daily cleaner cleans your bathrooms and he or she does a really great job. The bathrooms are always clean and fresh smelling when you walk in the mornings. Come midday, it may not be as cheerful to use the facilities. The reason for this is that most cleaning agents simply mask the odours and only clean the surface. They do not reach the root cause of malodour, which is the bacteria hiding in the hard to reach areas of the bathroom sanitaryware, fittings and fixtures.
You may disagree that a deep clean service is essential, or argue that your cleaner uses a toilet brush and specific cloths to clean, but is he or she getting right up under the flush rims, into the pipework and outlet drains? I think not.
At Initial, deep cleaning (or ablution hygiene treatments as we like to call them) is one of our flagship services. Our technicians get to the hard to reach areas with special tools and custom bio-enzyme cleaning agents which are environmentally friendly. They get rid of the root cause of the odours, to ensure your bathroom facilities are properly cleaned.
We leave a supply of environmentally friendly cleaning agents and a totally disinfected bathroom. This, at a fraction of the cost that you would spend on ammonia and various other cleaning agents for your cleaner to use every day and not to mention the cross-contamination of the same person having to clean your bathroom, your kitchen and your desk.
4. Air Fresheners: Eliminating, Not Masking, Odours
Air fresheners in various fragrances, such as strawberries and cream, vanilla, and orange blossom, are common in many bathrooms. However, these products often fall short of effectively addressing odours, merely masking them rather than eliminating the root cause.
Canned air fresheners often fail to address the source of odours, leaving behind an artificial and ineffective cover-up. What your bathrooms need are tamper-proof air fresheners designed to neutralise odours at their source.
5. Entrance Mats: Safety and Savings Combined
While these may seem pricey, they are an essential part of any establishment. Who needs to buy them when they can be rented and maintained on your behalf? Read our blog post about Initial’s range of mats for various areas in your business from front entrance mats to mats for your kitchen and workshops.
Entrance mats may seem unnecessary, but they are essential for preventing slips, trips, and falls, especially during South Africa’s rainy season. Renting and maintaining mats is far more cost-effective than purchasing and replacing them frequently.
6. Indoor Plants: Beauty with Benefits
How often have business owners or managers said, “I’ll just pop over to the nursery and buy a few plants myself”? And how many times a year have they actually had to do that for a second or third time as no-one took care of them correctly?
Interior plants definitely enhance your workplace, improve the well being of your employees, and create a pleasant interior for your visitors. Because plants need the correct lighting conditions, we at Ambius choose the best plants for your particular area and look after them for you.
So for a fraction of the cost of purchasing new plants every few months, why not inquire about a rental and maintenance offers from Ambius. The only thing you and your staff need to do is admire the display, we’ll take care of the rest. And if it’s time for a change, we can revamp your look.
Hygiene solutions for businesses
At Initial, we’ve listened to our customers and can provide customised solutions to suit your business and your pocket. If you still think soliciting the services of a good hygiene company is too expensive, think about how much you would pay for a good cup of coffee and then compare that to the value good hygiene practices add to your workplace or leisure facility, and think again.
If you would like a copy of this checklist (with a little something extra) we’ll be happy to send you a copy.
