Seiche Sanders' portraitIn recent years, water conservation has quickly ascended the list of major priorities for facility managers. Your customers know how precious a commodity water is, and how quickly water from leaky faucets or running toilets overwhelms budget dollars.

I recently walked into a restroom stall at an area shopping mall and the toilet flushed immediately. It flushed twice more before I left the stall. If each restroom user at the mall is consuming three times the amount of water necessary, the facility is flushing its dollars down the toilet.

Preventing auto-flush water waste is relatively easy, as freelance writer Kassandra Kania points out in her article, “Taking Care of Touch-Free Washrooms.” Usually, getting the flush frequency just right on touchless fixtures involves just a few minor tweaks to the units’ auto sensors.

Fact is, many facility managers are out of touch when it comes to how touchless fixtures operate. Yes, touchless technology reduces the labor needed to maintain restrooms, but maintenance and upkeep are still crucial. Kania’s article delves into some of the ways distributors can help their customers keep touch-free washrooms operating economically.

• • •

This month’s cover story, “Boxed In?” examines the influence of “big-box” retailers on the traditional janitorial supply marketplace. Many distributors are feeling the pinch as customers migrate to well known retailers for lower supply prices. If you’re one of the lucky few who has avoided big-box competition, take note: the “boxes” are aggressively focusing on ways to increase their jan/san-product market share.