by Handy DryersContact sales ↗From everyday comfort to lasting impressions, our survey explores how people feel about the washrooms they use — and why the experience matters.
Say it is important that public washrooms are free from unpleasant odours.
Say washroom odours influence their perception of an organisation.
Are concerned about airborne germs in public washrooms.
Q1, Q5 and Q7. Base: all respondents (n=2,000). Combined answers are explained in the research notes below.
People report changing their behaviour because of a public washroom’s condition, smell or perceived hygiene — from leaving quickly to deciding not to return to the venue.
47.0% would consider a visibly clean public washroom unclean if it had an unpleasant smell.
Q3: “Quite unclean” + “Very unclean”. Base: n=2,000.
Because of a public washroom’s condition, smell or perceived hygiene.
Q8. Selected responses. Base: n=2,000. Multiple selections allowed; percentages do not total 100%. These actions cannot be attributed to odour alone.
“Which, if any, of the following have you done because of the condition, smell or perceived hygiene of a public washroom? (Select all that apply)”
Used the washroom but tried to leave as quickly as possible: 45.7%
Avoided breathing normally or held my breath: 36.5%
Left without using the washroom: 35.5%
Told family or friends about the experience: 28.8%
Thought less positively about the organisation responsible: 27.7%
Decided not to return to the venue: 27.1%
Complained to a member of staff: 23.9%
Left a negative review: 11.9%
None of the above: 8.5%
Three findings for organisations considering the impression their washrooms leave.
Say washroom cleanliness influences their perception of a healthcare setting’s overall hygiene standards.
Q9, cleanliness: “A great deal” + “To some extent”.
A practical consideration: include the washroom experience when reviewing how your setting communicates its hygiene standards.
Say washroom smell is important when deciding whether to revisit a hospitality venue.
Q16, smell: “Very important” + “Somewhat important”.
A practical consideration: make washroom checks part of the guest experience throughout service.
Agree that workplace washroom condition and freshness indicate how seriously an employer takes employee wellbeing.
Q18: “Strongly agree” + “Somewhat agree”.
A practical consideration: include washrooms in conversations about the everyday working environment.
All three findings use the full public sample (n=2,000), not separate samples of patients, hospitality customers or employees. Practical considerations are Sterillo’s interpretation.
Respondents would feel more reassured if a public washroom used technology designed to continuously sanitise the air and reduce airborne microorganisms and unpleasant odours.
Q20: “Much more reassured” + “Slightly more reassured”. Base: n=2,000. This measures a hypothetical feeling of reassurance, not endorsement of Sterillo or evidence of product effectiveness.
Explore Sterillo“If a public washroom used technology designed to continuously sanitise the air and reduce airborne microorganisms and unpleasant odours, what effect, if any, would this have on how reassured you felt about using the washroom?”
Much more reassured: 40.2%; slightly more reassured: 41.6%; no difference: 14.9%; slightly less reassured: 1.7%; much less reassured: 1.7%. Individual rounded percentages may not sum to 100%.
The research was conducted by Censuswide among a sample of 2,000 nationally representative UK respondents aged 18+. Data was collected between 15 and 17 September 2026.
These results describe respondents’ perceptions, reported experiences and hypothetical intentions. They do not measure washroom contamination, infection risk or the performance of any product.
Q1: “How important is it to you that public washrooms are free from unpleasant odours?” 95.2% combines “Very important” and “Quite important”.
Q5: “To what extent, if at all, do washroom odours influence your perception of an organisation overall?” 81.8% combines “A great deal” and “To some extent”.
Q7: “How concerned, if at all, are you about airborne germs, including bacteria and viruses, in public washrooms?” 76.8% combines “Very concerned” and “Quite concerned”.
Q9: “To what extent, if at all, do the cleanliness and smell of a washroom influence your perception of a healthcare setting’s overall hygiene standards?” The healthcare finding uses the cleanliness response.
Q16: “How important or unimportant, if at all, are the cleanliness and smell of a hospitality venue’s washrooms when deciding whether to visit again?” The hospitality finding uses the smell response.
Q18: “To what extent, if at all, do you agree or disagree with the following statement? The condition and freshness of workplace washrooms indicate how seriously an employer takes employee wellbeing.”
Percentages are rounded to one decimal place from the original results. Combined percentages are calculated before rounding. All findings shown here use the full sample of 2,000 respondents. The survey covers the UK, rather than England alone. Smell and perceived cleanliness should not be treated as measurements of microbiological safety.