It seemed as though a new era of cleanliness was dawning, with the Covid pandemic serving as a catalyst for heightened awareness about hygiene. Hand-washing became a ritual, and hand-sanitiser dispensers popped up in nearly every public space. But as the pandemic eased, so too did our commitment to maintaining the hygiene standards we had embraced. A casual disregard for keeping soap and sanitiser dispensers stocked has since emerged, and the consequences are dire.
Nowhere is this more evident than with opaque dispensers. These are the ones that hide their contents behind an impenetrable surface, leaving users in the dark about whether they’re empty or full. This becomes a real issue when you approach a dispenser, press down, and find that it’s dry. Not only are your hands still dirty, but now they are even more contaminated than before, having touched a surface that is constantly handled by others with unwashed hands. It’s an utterly frustrating experience, like driving to a petrol station with the fuel light flashing, only to discover they’ve run out of gas. You’ve wasted time and effort, only to be left with an even more urgent need.
The situation gets worse when you’re in a public bathroom, desperately trying to clean your hands. I’ve often found myself in this scenario, where multiple sinks are available, but none of the soap dispensers work. After fruitlessly trying several, I’ve watched people give up entirely, walking straight out of the bathroom without washing their hands at all. It’s as if they consider hand-washing as unnecessary as wearing a necktie. To make matters worse, these same individuals then open the bathroom door with their unwashed hands, setting a trap for the next person to touch the germ-infested handle. These experiences stick with me, haunting my every public restroom visit.
In these moments, I find myself searching for an alternative. I’ve left friends mid-meal, rushing to find a working soap dispenser in a nearby pub or restaurant, all because the one in the venue I was in was out of soap or sanitiser. These little inconveniences add up, but they also highlight a bigger problem: the lack of responsibility for maintaining these essential hygiene stations.
The pandemic era, with its widespread installation of sanitiser stations, offered a brief glimpse into a more hygienic society. But instead of solidifying these habits, it seems we’ve taken a giant step backward. The proliferation of opaque dispensers, combined with the lack of attention given to keeping them stocked, signals a return to complacency in hygiene practices.
Until we develop technology that can let us see into these dispensers with X-ray vision, opaque dispensers should be banned. The importance of visible, reliable soap and sanitiser stations cannot be overstated. They are not just a convenience they are a necessity for public health. By allowing dispensers to remain opaque or empty, we risk undermining the very hygiene standards that were so hard-earned during the pandemic. The least we can do is ensure that these dispensers are consistently filled and easy to use. It’s a small act of responsibility that can make a big difference in keeping our public spaces cleaner and safer for everyone.
