Nobody notices a well-stocked washroom. Everybody notices an empty towel dispenser or a bare toilet tissue holder. For facility managers, restocking is less about cleaning and more about planning: how much stock to hold, how often to check, and what to do when usage changes. This checklist works for offices, schools, restaurants and light industrial sites.
Set Par Levels First
A par level is the minimum stock you keep on hand for each item. A simple way to set it:
- Estimate weekly use of each item, such as cases of towels or tissue.
- Multiply by the weeks between deliveries.
- Add a buffer for busy periods, usually 20 to 30 percent.
Track it for a month and adjust. Usage is often higher than expected in the first weeks and settles afterward.
The Inspection Route
Walk the same route in the same order every time. For each washroom, check:
- Hand towel dispenser is loaded and feeding correctly.
- Toilet tissue holders are stocked and spare rolls are on hand.
- Soap dispensers are full and working.
- Waste bins are emptied and liners replaced.
- Anything vandalized, jammed or missing gets logged.
Hand washing only works when supplies are there, and CCOHS explains why hand hygiene matters in its guidance on hand washing and reducing the risk of common infections.
How Often to Check
- High-traffic washrooms such as schools, arenas and busy offices: two to three times a day.
- Standard office washrooms: once or twice a day.
- Low-use staff washrooms: daily or every second day.
Large-capacity rolls change this maths. A jumbo tissue roll can cover far more visits than a standard one, as we explain in Jumbo vs. Standard Toilet Tissue.
Storage and Ordering
Store paper off the floor, dry and close to where you use it. Reorder when stock hits the par level, not when it is gone. If you are consistently running short, the dispenser may be the wrong size, and that is worth a look at ways to cut waste as well.
Signs Your Setup Needs a Change
- Cleaners refill the same dispensers more than once a shift.
- Visitors pull far more paper than they need.
- Case counts in storage never match what you ordered.
Any of these points to a format or dispenser mismatch. Before flu season, when demand rises, use our guide to getting washrooms ready for cold and flu season to raise par levels.
Bottom Line
Set par levels, walk a fixed route, check on a schedule that matches traffic, and change formats when the numbers say so. Browse our standard toilet tissue, hardwound roll towels and dispensers to build a restocking list that fits your buildings.
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