Clean, well-maintained restrooms play a bigger role in a student’s perception of a school as a whole than one may think.
According to Bradley Corporation’s new Healthy Hand Washing Survey of 9th to 12th graders, 68% of students say school restrooms that are poorly maintained or unclean show the school doesn’t care about its students, reflects poor school management, and lowers their overall opinion of the school. 19% of the students surveyed say they never frequent school bathrooms, in part because they are dirty, smelly, or have broken or old toilets, sinks, and doors.
Students’ top request for how to improve the restrooms is more privacy; they want taller stall doors and to eliminate gaps between stall panels. Their second request is for cleaner facilities, with more air fresheners as the third request. Foul odors tops the list of what bothers them most about school restrooms. When confronted with a dirty bathroom, over half of the students say they leave without using it, and 39% say they try to avoid using that bathroom in the future.
The top reasons students skipped washing their hands after using the bathroom are: no soap or paper towels, the sinks are dirty or don’t work, not enough time, and they just didn’t feel like it. While most school’s don’t post hand washing reminders in their bathrooms (only 34% of schools say they do), 57% of students say they’d be more likely to wash if there was a sign.
Related Stories
Multifamily Housing | Oct 16, 2019
A new study wonders how many retiring adults will be able to afford housing
Harvard’s Joint Center for Housing Studies focuses on growing income disparities among people 50 or older.
Market Data | Oct 9, 2019
Two ULI reports foresee a solid real estate market through 2021
Market watchers, though, caution about a “surfeit” of investment creating a bubble.
Market Data | Oct 4, 2019
Global construction output growth will decline to 2.7% in 2019
It will be the slowest pace of growth in a decade, according to GlobalData.
Market Data | Oct 2, 2019
Spending on nonresidential construction takes a step back in August
Office, healthcare, and public safety are among the fastest-growing sectors, according to the U.S. Census Bureau's latest report.
Market Data | Sep 27, 2019
The global hotel construction pipeline ascends to new record highs
With the exception of Latin America, all regions of the globe either continued to set record high pipeline counts or have already settled into topping-out formations amidst concerns of a worldwide economic slowdown.
Market Data | Sep 25, 2019
Senate introduces The School Safety Clearinghouse Act
Legislation would create a federally funded and housed informational resource on safer school designs.
Market Data | Sep 18, 2019
Substantial decline in Architecture Billings
August report suggests greatest weakness in design activity in several years.
Market Data | Sep 17, 2019
ABC’s Construction Backlog Indicator inches lower in July
Backlog in the heavy industrial category increased by 2.3 months and now stands at its highest level in the history of the CBI series.
Market Data | Sep 13, 2019
Spending on megaprojects, already on the rise, could spike hard in the coming years
A new FMI report anticipates that megaprojects will account for one-fifth of annual construction spending within the next decade.
Architects | Sep 11, 2019
Buoyed by construction activity, architect compensation continues to see healthy gains
The latest AIA report breaks down its survey data by 44 positions and 28 metros.