How Portable Sinks Ensure Hygiene and Compliance in Concession Stands

Concession stands are often the highlight of a carnival, festival, or other outdoor event. They’re a one-stop shop for snacks and treats from cotton candy and funnel cakes to popcorn and pretzels. These time-honored favorites have two things in common: they’re handheld and tend to leave fingers sticky or salty.

While patrons may be OK using hand sanitizer to “wash” their hands or using the “hands-on-pants” method to clean up, concession stand owners and employees are more limited. At the very least, the “hands-on-pants” option doesn’t comply with state hand washing sink regulations, and customers may skip your booth if they aren’t convinced you’re following proper hand hygiene standards.

Space in and around a concession stand is limited, and given the mobile nature of festivals and fairs, options for safely washing and drying hands are limited. That’s where a portable sink can save a day. They’re designed with safety and hand washing sink compliance in mind while fitting into tight spaces.

Why You Need a Portable Concession Sink

It’s true that a portable sink isn’t your only hand washing station option. Some states allow a gravity-fed system or two-bucket method for washing hands. However, a portable sink is often the superior option for your concession stand.

Prevents Spread of Illness

While hand sanitizer is OK in a pinch, washing your hands with soap and running water is the more effective method for removing dirt and germs from hands. The more germs people remove from their hands, the less likely illness is to spread among staff and customers. What’s more, some states don’t allow staff to use hand sanitizer in lieu of soap and running water for hand washing.

Hot and Cold Water

Unlike the gravity-fed or two-bucket method, many portable sinks have cold and hot running water. While cold water is as effective as hot water at removing germs, people may not wash their hands as long when the water is cold or skip it entirely.

Many portable sinks have built-in water heaters that heat the water to a comfortable temperature, encouraging people to wash their hands for at least 20 seconds. Gravity-fed and two-bucket hand washing stations may be required to provide “warm” water, but one person’s version of warm may be too cold for another. What’s more, in some cases, you may be responsible for keeping the warm water at a certain temperature, which can be challenging when it’s in an insulated container that doesn’t have an external heating source.

Easier to Wash Equipment

While you can wash equipment outside of a sink, say, in a tub of standing water with a hose, a sink basin with running water makes it so much easier. You can load your wares into the sink to give them a good soak and scrub, then rinse the mess down the drain. 

What’s more, portable sinks are often waist-height, making them easier to use, reducing the risk of dirty water cross-contaminating other parts of your concession stand, and making it less likely you strain your back!

Encourages Proper Hand Washing for All

Most carnivals, fairs, and festivals provide some kind of hand washing station throughout the event area. However, the setup may be awkward to use (like a two-bucket system), only provide cold water, or may not be conveniently located by your booth.

Having a portable sink in and at your concession stand makes it easier for staff to wash their hands before working and whenever they have to (like after they sneeze or take a break), and encourages patrons to wash their hands before and after eating your snacks.

Meets Regulatory Requirements

Depending on the state your concession stand is in, you may be required to provide some form of hand washing station, but not every state accepts every method. A portable sink, though, often meets the stringent requirements state and local authorities set for hand washing stations at a concession stand (like having a waste water tank or being NSF-certified).

Soap and Paper Towels

Any time you’re required to provide a hand washing sink, you’re generally required to provide soap and some way to dry your hands. In the case of a concession stand, the hand-drying method is often paper towels. However, when it comes to the two-bucket method or a gravity-fed hand washing station, providing soap and towels usually means a loose soap dispenser on a nearby table and a pile of paper towels under some kind of weight.

The problem with a loose bottle of soap is that it can fall into the dirty water basin or ground, contaminating the outside of the bottle. The paper towels could suffer the same fate if a gust of wind comes by when the pile isn’t weighted down. And, often, the paper towels don’t stay dry. People with wet hands have to lift the weight off the pile, meaning they’re probably dripping all over the top few towels.

Portable concession sinks usually have an integrated soap dispenser, ensuring the bottle stays clean, and they’re often easy to refill. Many portable concession sinks also include or have the option to attach a paper towel holder, ensuring you’re fully stocked with clean, dry paper towels that won’t fly away.

Easier to Operate

With the two-bucket and gravity-fed methods, there’s really no easy way to keep your hands clean after washing them, unless there’s a second person there to pour the water on your hands or hold the spigot open. 

While there’s a similar concern with a sink (you have to turn the faucet on and off), many portable sinks come with wrist-operated faucet handles or even automatic faucets, reducing the risk of recontaminating your hands. These types of faucets are often ADA-compliant, ensuring a level of accessibility people may not get with other hand washing station setups.

Waste Water Tanks

Finally, one of the biggest advantages of using a portable concession sink over any other type of hand washing station is the waste water tank.

Gravity-fed and two-bucket hand washing stations usually have a catch basin for dirty or grey water. The catch basin is generally wide, to help catch the runoff and reduce splashing, but it’s just below where people wash their hands with the clean water.

The problem is that people often have to bend awkwardly to avoid stepping in the catch basin while washing their hands, which likely discourages people from washing as long as they should. What’s more, if (and when) the soap and paper towels are knocked around, it’s likely they’ll fall into the catch basin, not to mention, depending on the setup, the clean water container can also fall in. 

Portable concession sinks include a closed waste water tank that’s attached directly to the drain, just like a regular sink. Nothing can fall into the dirty water unless it sneaks down the drain, and there’s no risk of the stagnant pool of grey water splashing back while people are rinsing their freshly cleaned hands. And because it’s built just like a regular sink, people don’t have to bend around the catch basin, encouraging them to scrub their hands for as long as they need.

Ensuring Hand Hygiene at Concession Stands with Portable Sinks

Portable sinks are crucial for maintaining hygiene and compliance in concession stands and other settings where permanent sinks are unavailable. Their ability to provide thorough hand washing with hot and cold water, along with features like hands-free operation, makes them superior to hand sanitizers for germ prevention. 

For businesses looking to invest in high-quality portable sinks for their concession stand, exploring the options from Ozark River Manufacturing Co. is a wise choice. Our range of portable sinks is designed to meet the highest standards of hygiene and convenience, providing effective solutions for maintaining cleanliness and safety in any setting. Contact us today to learn more about our portable sink solutions or browse our entire line of portable sinks.