Prior to the 1980s, all restroom fixtures required manual operation —  an aspect that we have since learned coincides with a high exposure to germs and bacteria. In fact, manual faucet and toilet handles harbor anywhere between 107 to 17,976 germs per 10 square centimeters.

But more than 40 years later, touch-free products are now the norm in commercial restrooms, and since the arrival of the COVID-19 pandemic, the public has greater awareness regarding the importance of hand hygiene.