Washroom Checklist for New Churches

Whether your church is big or small, your religious facility’s bathrooms will get a lot of traffic on certain days of the week.

You don’t want a traffic snarl or mishap in the bathroom, but especially not during religious services. The congregation shouldn’t have to worry about access or supplies in your church bathroom.

If you’re building a new church or renovating an existing house of worship, consider drafting a bathroom checklist. It’s important to get the leadership of the church to understand the challenge because making changes later can be costly.

An important consideration is the future growth of the church. While a house of worship may have enough pews to accommodate the growth of the congregation, sometimes church elders neglect to account for the impact on church bathrooms.

A line for the bathroom before services isn’t conducive to spiritual worship. What’s more, they can make your congregation uncomfortable and lead to delays.

With those thoughts in mind, consider this checklist as a starting point for discussions with church members. It’s likely they have strong opinions about the subject and it pays to listen closely.

•Count peak times. For many churches, Sundays are the most crowded and bathrooms must be able to accommodate that traffic. No one wants to stand in line for the bathroom at church.
•Include growth projections. If you are budgeting for a 5% growth in the congregation, for example, consider taking that into account when you design the bathroom. Will there be enough toilets and sinks to accommodate the increased number of people? Newton Distributing can help you design a bathroom floor plan that will include future expansion.
•Remember your older parishioners. They will appreciate stainless-steel commercial grab bars and Newton Distributing offers many different styles and sizes. Emergencies should be top-of-mind too: Philips automated external defibrillators are the industry standard with products such as OnSite and FRx.
•Welcome families with young children. Baby changing stations should be located in both women and men’s bathrooms. The baby diaper-changing stations come in a wide variety of colors and finishes.
•Comply with the law. The Americans with Disabilities Act has been the law since 1990 and design must incorporate accessibility for those with disabilities.
•Keep your church smelling clean with air fresheners and refills. Newton uses the highest-quality air fresheners and refills for a clean fresh scent that lasts.
•Control the spread of germs. During winter months when colds are prevalent, consider hand sanitizers and refills. Encourage church members to use them every time they come to worship.
•Swap out a high-tech hand dryer such for messy paper towels. The XLERATOR automatic hand dryer dries hands in eight seconds and saves 95% of the cost of paper towels. What’s more your church janitorial staff will appreciate the fact that they won’t have to clean up the paper towels that invariably fall on the floor and your parishioners won’t be annoyed when the dispenser is empty.

Newton Distributing can help any congregation figure out how to design and equip a bathroom that will accommodate the needs of worshippers on the busiest days. Call 877-837-7745 and let one of Newton Distributing’s trained experts guide you through your church bathroom project.