You've got the keys to a new premises. Or you've just taken over facilities management for a building that hasn't had a proper washroom review in years. Either way, you're standing in front of a washroom that needs sorting out — and you want to get it right without overbuying or underspending.
This guide walks through the entire process, step by step. From auditing what you've got to choosing the right products for your specific business type, fitting everything properly, and setting up a restock routine that actually works.
No fluff. No generic "buy quality products" advice. Just practical decisions, matched to real scenarios.
Step 1: Assess Your Space and Footfall
Before you order a single product, you need to know three things about your washroom.
How many cubicles and basins do you have? This determines the quantity of dispensers, bins, and consumables you'll need. A single-cubicle staff washroom is a fundamentally different setup from a four-cubicle public facility in a restaurant.
What's your estimated daily footfall? This is the single biggest variable. A small agency with 12 staff might see 30–40 washroom visits per day. A high-street cafe with 150 covers: 200+. A pub on a match day: 500. The products that work at 40 visits are completely wrong at 400.
Who are your visitors? Staff-only washrooms differ from public-facing ones. Clinical settings have specific hygiene requirements. Hotels and restaurants have guest expectations beyond basic compliance. Knowing your audience shapes every product choice.
Scenario: You manage a boutique hotel with 30 rooms and a ground-floor restaurant. Your washroom setup includes 2 guest washrooms near the restaurant (2 cubicles each, mixed gender), 4 en-suite bathrooms per floor (120 total), and 1 staff washroom. That's three completely different washroom types under one roof — each needing a different product approach.
Step 2: Build Your Washroom Essentials List
Every commercial washroom in the UK, regardless of business type, needs the same core categories covered. The specific products within each category change depending on your situation — but the categories don't.
Toilet paper. The format matters more than the brand. Standard rolls work in low-footfall staff washrooms. Jumbo rolls are better for anything public-facing or with more than 50 daily visits — they last longer, reduce restocking time, and work with controlled-dispensing housings that cut waste. Mini jumbo rolls sit in between and suit medium-footfall sites well.
Paper hand towels. Folded hand towels — Z-fold or interfold — are the most hygienic single-use option for commercial washrooms. They dispense one at a time, which controls usage. Centrefeed rolls work well for kitchen areas and back-of-house but aren't ideal for public washrooms because users tend to pull more than they need. Whichever format you choose, make sure the dispenser matches — a mismatch between towel size and dispenser slot is the fastest way to create waste and frustration.
Soap or sanitiser. Wall-mounted soap dispensers keep the basin area tidy. Refillable models are more cost-effective than cartridge systems over time. In clinical settings, add alcohol-based hand sanitiser dispensers at the entrance and exit.
Bins. Every cubicle needs a bin with a lid — full stop. Pedal-operated is ideal because it's hands-free. In any washroom used by women, a dedicated sanitary disposal bin is a legal requirement under the Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992. For public washrooms, add a general waste bin near the hand-drying area.
Signage. Handwashing signs are a legal expectation in food-handling environments and best practice everywhere else. Keep them simple: wet, soap, scrub, rinse, dry. Laminated, at eye level above the basin. Surprisingly often missing.
Step 3: Match Products to Your Business Type
This is where generic advice falls apart and scenario-based planning takes over. A clinic and a cafe have completely different washroom demands, even if they have the same number of cubicles.
The table below maps the essentials to five common business types. Use it as a starting checklist, then adjust for your specific footfall and layout.
| Product Category | Small Office (up to 30 staff) | Cafe / Restaurant | Clinic / Salon | Boutique Hotel | Pub / Bar |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Toilet paper | Standard 2-ply rolls | Mini jumbo or jumbo rolls | Standard 2-ply rolls | Premium 3-ply (en-suite), jumbo (public) | Jumbo rolls |
| Hand towels | Z-fold or interfold | Z-fold in dispenser | Interfold (clinical hygiene) | Interfold or guest towels (en-suite) | Z-fold in dispenser |
| Soap / sanitiser | Refillable soap dispenser | Soap dispenser + sanitiser at entrance | Clinical soap + alcohol sanitiser | Premium soap (en-suite), standard (public) | Soap dispenser |
| Bins | Pedal bin + sanitary bin | Pedal bin + sanitary bin | Clinical waste bin + pedal bin | Pedal bin per en-suite + sanitary bins | Wall-mounted bin + sanitary bin |
| Couch rolls | Not needed | Not needed | Yes — treatment beds | Spa only | Not needed |
| Toilet seat covers | Optional | Recommended (public-facing) | Recommended | Recommended (public washrooms) | Optional |
| Signage | Handwashing sign | Handwashing sign (legal for food) | Handwashing + infection control | Discreet branded signage | Handwashing sign |
Step 4: Choose the Right Dispensers
The dispenser controls how much product gets used per visit, how often you restock, and how tidy the washroom stays between cleans. Getting this wrong is one of the most common — and expensive — washroom mistakes.
For toilet paper: Standard roll holders work in low-footfall staff washrooms. For anything public-facing or above 50 visits per day, jumbo roll housings pay for themselves within weeks through less waste and fewer changes. Lockable units prevent theft — a real issue in pubs and leisure centres. For more on choosing durable washroom hardware, see our guide to stainless steel washroom accessories.
For hand towels: Wall-mounted folded towel dispensers are the most reliable option. One towel at a time, dry and protected, minimal wall space. For high-footfall sites, choose a larger-capacity unit (400+ towels) to reduce refill frequency.
For soap: Refillable bulk-fill dispensers are more economical than cartridge systems. For most settings outside healthcare, a quality refillable dispenser cleaned regularly is perfectly adequate.
Compatibility note: Always check consumable-to-dispenser fit before ordering in bulk. Z-fold towels won't sit in an interfold dispenser. A 76mm-core jumbo roll won't fit a 60mm housing. Start with one case, test the fit, then commit.
Step 5: Walk Through a Real Setup — The 3-Cubicle Pub Washroom
Let's make this concrete. You've just taken on a pub with a public washroom: 3 cubicles (2 in the women's, 1 in the men's), 2 basins, and a Friday night footfall of around 300 visits.
Toilet paper. With 300 visits on a busy night, standard rolls would need changing constantly. Jumbo rolls are the only practical option here. You need 3 jumbo roll dispensers (one per cubicle), wall-mounted and lockable. A single jumbo roll can serve roughly 200–300 visits depending on the product, so you might go through one roll per cubicle on a peak night.
Hand towels. Z-fold paper hand towels in a wall-mounted dispenser, one per basin area. At 300 visits you'll go through 400–600 towels in an evening. A 250-towel dispenser needs one refill during the shift. Keep a spare pack in the cleaning cupboard.
Bins. One pedal bin per cubicle. Sanitary disposal bins in both cubicles of the women's washroom — non-negotiable. A larger bin near the basins for used hand towels.
Soap. One refillable soap dispenser per basin. Check levels before the Friday rush — topped up at 5pm prevents the empty-dispenser problem at 10pm.
Total setup: 3 jumbo roll dispensers, 2 hand towel dispensers, 2 soap dispensers, 3 pedal bins, 2 sanitary bins, 1 general waste bin, and signage. For consumables, start with one case of each — jumbo rolls, Z-fold hand towels, bulk soap. See how long each lasts across a typical week before ordering in quantity.
Step 6: Plan for Clinical and Salon Settings
Clinics, dental practices, physiotherapy studios, and beauty salons have hygiene expectations above standard commercial washrooms. Four things change.
Couch rolls. Treatment beds need disposable couch rolls — one sheet per patient, tear off and replace. A salon seeing 25 clients a day across 3 treatment beds burns through rolls quickly. Order in bulk once you know your weekly rate.
Hands-free bins. Pedal-operated bins are essential, not optional. Staff moving between patients cannot be touching bin lids. A foot-operated pedal bin with a liner in every treatment room and washroom cubicle.
Hand sanitiser stations. Wall-mounted alcohol sanitiser dispensers at the entrance, at each treatment station, and in the washroom. These supplement — not replace — proper handwashing.
Paper hand towels over air dryers. Single-use paper towels physically remove bacteria during drying. Air dryers do not, and some older models circulate airborne particles. For infection control, paper wins.
Step 7: The Details That Get Missed
Toilet seat covers. In public-facing washrooms, disposable seat covers are a small touch visitors notice. A wall-mounted dispenser per cubicle. Low cost, high perception value.
Sanitary products. Hotels and premium venues are increasingly offering complimentary sanitary products. It's a hospitality decision, not a compliance one — but it reflects well.
Ventilation and lighting. A well-ventilated washroom needs less artificial fragrance. And a clean, well-lit mirror above the basin makes the entire space feel better maintained. If your lighting is dim or your mirror stained, fixing those two things has more impact than any product upgrade. Make sure your setup also meets current legal requirements -- our UK hygiene regulations 2025 guide covers what's changed.
Step 8: Set Up a Restock Routine That Actually Works
The best washroom setup in the world falls apart without a restocking routine. And "we check when it looks empty" is not a routine — it's a gamble.
Here's a simple system that works for most commercial settings.
Daily checks — morning and evening. Before the business opens and at end of day, one named person walks the washroom with a checklist. Toilet paper loaded? Hand towels stocked? Soap dispensers above half? Bins emptied? Signage in place? This takes five minutes and prevents 90% of washroom complaints.
Mid-day check for high-footfall sites. Restaurants, pubs, and leisure centres with 100+ daily visits need a lunchtime top-up. Morning stock runs out; afternoon visitors arrive. A quick check at 1pm avoids the 3pm empty-dispenser problem.
Weekly stock count. Count storeroom supplies once a week. Compare against last week's usage. After four weeks, you'll have a reliable consumption pattern and can order with confidence.
Monthly review. Are you using the right products? Has footfall changed? Is anything running out before the next delivery? Fine-tune based on actual data, not guesswork.
Practical tip: Print your daily checklist and laminate it. Pin it inside the cleaning cupboard door. Tick it off with a dry-wipe marker. It sounds old-fashioned, but it works better than any app — because the person doing the restocking can see the checklist exactly where they need it.
Getting Started Without Overcommitting
The most common mistake: over-ordering before you know your actual consumption. You work out what you need, order three months' worth on day one, then discover the jumbo rolls don't fit your dispenser or your footfall is half what you estimated.
Better approach: start with one case of each consumable. Use them for two to three weeks. Track how fast each runs out. Then order in quantity — right products, right amounts.
At Tisha, every product is available by the case — no contracts, no minimum orders, no lock-in. If you're setting up a washroom from scratch or reviewing an existing one, we can help you match products to your specific business type and footfall. Tell us what you've got — number of cubicles, type of business, approximate visitor numbers — and we'll suggest a starting setup that makes sense.
One case. One washroom. Get it right, then scale.
