Walk into any new or remodeled hospital, hotel, or office building and chances are good that the restroom will have touch-free fixtures. Automated toilets, faucets, and dispensers have become so popular that only their absence draws attention. Patrons want them because they are sanitary, janitors like them because they are easy to clean, and managers appreciate the cost savings they can provide.

Touch-free products have come a long way since their inception in the 1940s. What started as simple mechanical devices evolved into center-pull dispensers and then into electronic gizmos. Today’s touch-free products are far more technologically advanced and easier to install and maintain than their predecessors, not to mention cheaper on the managers budget.