Chemicals To-go: Using Preportioned Packets

Sometimes, despite a distributor’s best efforts to identify an appropriate location for a wall-mounted proportioner, the building’s layout or lack of space may force customers to consider alternatives, such as preportioned chemical packets.

Engoren has a customer whose storage area and mixing station are a great distance from the majority of areas that needed to be cleaned. In this instance, preportioned packets were a convenient and cost-effective alternative to a chemical dispenser.

“Imagine two or three floors in a building, and every floor is 100,000 square feet, and the supply closet is in a corner somewhere by the loading dock,” he says. “The janitor has to go from one end of the building to the other, take an elevator, etc., and along the way he may decide to take a break or use the restroom. The situation causes him to lose focus and the ability to do his work in a timely manner. So it becomes cost-effective to have the concentrate in a packet and mix it with water from a nearby restroom instead of going all the way back to the storage area.”

Distributors also recommend preportioned packets in place of wall-mounted proportioners in older buildings where space is limited and water may be absent altogether.

“If they don’t have any wall space, that’s where the packets are a good option,” says Bergholtz. “If you’re calling on an older style college, for example, they might not even have slop sinks or janitor closets, so there’s no good water source for you to mix chemicals. That’s where you might have to use a kitchen sink to fill a bucket and then pour the preportioned chemical into your mop bucket.”

Preportioned packets are also convenient in buildings that don’t have elevators.

“Sometimes you have an older building without an elevator, and the janitor’s closet or storage area is in the basement,” says Bergholtz. “How do you get the mop bucket and wringer up and down all the floors? That’s another instance where packets might be a good option.”

Whether customers opt for wall-mounted units, preportioned packets, or a combination of both, distributors can help them determine the best setup for housing and mixing chemicals to ensure worker safety and productivity. 


Kassandra Kania is a freelance writer based in Charlotte, N.C. She is a frequent contributor to Sanitary Maintenance.