Urinals can say a lot about the quality of your restaurant.
If you have ever been in the men’s restroom in a restaurant you have seen the ugly sloppy caulking running around the urinal. It’s impossible to avoid since you literally can’t avoid looking at it. Men’s urinals have always been a caulking nightmare and it has always surprised me how many businesses ignore this impressionable piece of their business. I get it, they are dirty, often smell and nobody wants to clean them. Unfortunately, a bad caulking job provides a fantastic environment for germs, grime, and other icky stuff we don’t want to think about.
Why is a tight, smooth, waterproof seal important? First of all, it is required by the health department.
Secondly, it is a representation of your business and shows what you care about. If the urinals and bathrooms are nasty what is your kitchen like? Let’s face it, the cleanliness of your restrooms is an impression on your business’ cleanliness overall.
One of the problems with urinals is that they need to be occasionally removed from the wall to repair and/or clean out any blockage. Therefore, the lucky person that’s fixing the urinal also must reapply the caulk. Rarely do both jobs get completed professionally and it’s usually the caulking that gets the least attention. In fact, you can tell by this photo that this person either didn’t know how or didn’t care about what the caulking looked like. (This is a photo of an actual restaurant urinal – eek!)
Urinals and most plumbing fixtures are unique in that the porcelain surfaces are very “hydrophobic” which means it repels water, the same as most caulking. Which is why plumbers use caulk to seal the gap around the fixture and keep moisture from getting behind the urinal. Here’s the catch, caulk degrades over time needing to be replaced often, and if it isn’t applied smoothly, germs and bacteria will thrive in the open spaces, like in the picture. InstaTrim is mold and mildew resistant, creates the perfect seal between the urinal and the wall, and is super easy to install.
The process of using our peel and stick InstaTrim is very simple, but you do have to remove all the old silicone caulk, and any built up residue from cleaning products that contain any wax or oils. To do this, cut off as much of the old silicone as possible with a razor blade and then clean the surface with acetone and a scrubbing pad or soft bristle brush. Once remove and properly cleaned, apply your InstaTrim with the ends terminating at the bottom where you can’t see the seam. Add a drop of permanent glue to the seam to ensure it stays in place for many years. There you go, great looking trim that will keep the nasty stuff from collecting and growing more nasty stuff, and you’re also enhancing the public’s perception of your restaurant.
Keep a few kits of InstaTrim in the supply closet, literally anyone can apply our self-adhesive caulking and it always looks perfect and professional.
