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Buying Guide: Portable Sinks for Classrooms

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By Ozark River Manufacturing

March 1, 2024

Buying Guide: Portable Sinks for Classrooms

Hand-washing stations are critical for classrooms to ensure proper hygiene and prevent the spread of germs. Portable classroom sinks are an ideal solution to hand-washing dilemmas in schools because they’re a turnkey solution, are easy to install and require no plumbing. They’re available at accessible heights for easy use by students and come with on-demand accessories, like soap dispensers and storage compartments, to boost their usability. Selecting the right portable classroom sink enhances students’ hand-washing experience, making it easier for young ones to grasp this essential skill. The best option depends on numerous factors, including whether the sinks will be installed outside or inside and the general height of the students it’ll be serving. This article explores the benefits to look for in a portable hand-washing station, the perfect height for different classrooms and accessories you can add.

Benefits of Portable Sinks for Classrooms

Portable sinks have many benefits that your school and students can enjoy. Some of these include:
  • NSF-certified: Portable hand-washing sinks for classrooms must be health-code compliant and certified by the National Sanitation Foundation (NSF) to give you peace of mind during health inspections. An NSF certification indicates that your mobile sink meets the highest health and safety standards and ensures you remain compliant with local and state hand-washing codes.
  • Self-contained: The bottom of the portable sink houses clean and waste water tanks, making it a completely self-plumbed system. This eliminates the need to connect your classroom hand-washing station to the school’s plumbing network. A lockable bottom compartment secures the plumbing system from access and tampering by the students. Select a portable sink with ample water storage to ensure water is always readily available at the taps.
  • Cold and hot water functionality: Portable classroom sinks offer hot and cold water to ensure students have access to water at the right temperature to remove dirt, oil and germs from their hands while keeping them safe from burns. Having hot and cold water options facilitates different cleaning tasks and allows you to regulate temperature levels.
  • Easy installation: Portable hand-washing stations come with a quick-connect tank system that’s easy to assemble and saves on installation costs. You can also detach and reattach the tanks in a few simple steps whenever you need to clean them.
  • Mobility: High-quality mobile classroom sinks have durable, smooth-moving swivel wheels with a front-locking mechanism that keeps them stationary when in use. The swivel wheels make it possible to change the location of the sink so they’re convenient and accessible.
  • Aesthetically pleasing: Portable hand-washing stations come with beautiful laminate countertops in different colors and cabinet configurations. Ozark River Manufacturing’s durable laminate countertops are available in white, black and maple, so you can choose the color that matches your classroom’s aesthetics.
  • Versatility: Portable washing stations are constructed using different materials to facilitate indoor or outdoor use. Indoor sinks have more aesthetic finishes to match your interior decor, while outdoor units are tougher and resistant to damage by various elements.
  • Strong warranty: Most of Ozark River’s portable sinks come with a two-year warranty, while our outdoor-use sinks have a one-year warranty. The warranty grants you over-the-phone troubleshooting assistance from our trained technicians.

Selecting Child-Height Portable Sinks

When choosing a portable sink for your classroom, accessibility for students is paramount to encourage consistent hygiene practices. The recommended child height for portable sinks is 20-26 inches. This height range is comfortable and allows younger children to wash their hands more effectively. Understanding the needs of children can also be significant when choosing the best camping sink for your crew.

Portable hand-washing stations about 26 inches high are ideal for daycare and elementary classrooms. Younger children can also use them with a step stool, or you can get 20-inch portable sinks specifically for toddlers in daycare.

Equipping classrooms with child-height portable sinks allows children to be independent and enjoy hand-washing more. It also ensures inclusivity. Even better, Ozark River Manufacturing provides child-height portable hand-washing stations compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act, allowing all kids to practice proper hand-washing with minimal help from teachers.

Accessorizing Portable Sinks for Enhanced Daycare Use

You can get more use and enjoy added convenience by accessorizing your portable hand-wash sink to support use in daycares and preschools. The right accessories enhance the children’s hand-washing experience, making it more fun and comfortable. Some of the accessories that are a must-have for portable hand-wash sinks for daycare include:

  • A changing station: A child-height portable sink with a changing station is a valuable addition to daycares as it allows quick diaper changes and utmost hygiene for caretakers and children. Ozark River Manufacturing’s hand-washing sink with kiddie station includes a changing pad for the baby’s comfort and locking storage underneath to provide instant access to all necessities.
  • A step booster: These make child-height sinks more accessible, especially to toddlers, and encourage independent hand-washing. A stool means the classroom hand-washing station is more comfortable as no child needs to tip-toe to reach the sink. A Lil’ Step Booster with safety strips and slip-resistant rubber feet ensures the safety of the little ones.
  • Storage compartments: Bottom storage on a portable sink provides space to store extra hand-washing supplies, like liquid soap and paper towels, for easy reach. Sinks with extra storage cabinets also provide additional counter space and are lockable to limit the children’s access to the stored supplies.
  • A soap dispenser: For more effective hand-washing, you need a portable sink with a refillable soap dispenser fixed on the countertop. These blend with the sink’s aesthetics and are easier for the children to handle without causing messes. A touchless soap dispenser with a visual timer enforces proper hand-washing skills and prevents soap wastage.
  • A towel holder: It provides easy access to paper towels, encouraging students to complete the hand-washing process by drying their hands. The paper towel dispenser should be fixed on the backsplash to prevent the towels from getting wet during hand-washing.
  • A splash guard: Portable sinks with a splash guard prevent messes caused by water dripping over the sink’s edges, which may cause the little ones to wet their clothes or lead to slip-and-fall accidents in the classroom.

Making Informed Decisions on Portable Sinks

Ozark River Manufacturing offers a wide selection of health code-compliant portable sinks suitable for classrooms and daycare centers. Our hot and cold water hand-washing sinks are American-made and NSF-certified. They’re available in various laminate finishes and come with study and stylish cabinets that store away the hot water systems and waste water containers.

All our portable hand-washing stations have 5-inch casters that facilitate smooth movement and can be locked in place. Explore our classroom options for portable sink varieties and compatible accessories. You can also contact us today for more information on our portable sink offerings for schools.

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Ozark River Manufacturing

Ozark River Manufacturing designs and delivers top-quality, NSF-certified portable sinks. Since 2006, our inventive and bold team has ensured health compliance with quick-connect tanks and instant hot water. With over 55 models, we provide solutions for every need, backed by exceptional customer support and timely delivery. Healthy people matter, and we make a positive impact every day.

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