Despite the best efforts of nursing homes to assist residents and to ensure their rooms and bathrooms are clean and sanitary, a common perception among visitors is that germs are pervasive in the bathrooms and toilets. The facilities are not to blame. Rather, the general public's awareness of germs and how they are transmitted has increased, their fears fuelled by widely publicized reports of new viruses, such as SARS and virulent strains of the flu. Increasingly, people are avoiding contact with anything in any bathroom away from home, including the most spotless restrooms. Their suspicions are likely to be greater in bathrooms used by people who are incontinent, sick, or incapable of proper hygiene.
Friends and relatives are naturally going to feel more comfortable visiting a long-term care facility with toilets that are sanitary and designed to promote cleanliness and accommodate easy maintenance. This preference is especially true of families searching for a permanent home for a parent or grandparent.
Discovering that resident and guest bathrooms are fitted with touch-free automatic taps, automatic flushers, and possibly other automatic devices could contribute to their selection of a long-term care facility. Just knowing that a family member will have the convenience and luxury of automation will help make them satisfied with their decision.
There are several surveys that have discovered that among people who do use public toilets; nearly 66% employ a variety of manoeuvres to avoid touching anything: using elbows to open doors, feet to flush, and paper towels to touch taps and the door on their way out.