HOW TO: Build a PVC Hand Wash Station

Daniel R.
Apr 16, 2020
2 min read

The Portable PVC Hand Wash Station is a great way to increase sanitation in parks, schools, churches, and public places. It features a pedal-activated faucet and it is made with hospital-grade PVC pipe and fittings. This kit has a very simple design using 5-gallon buckets to store water on top and store the gray water below. This station will wash approximately 60 people’s hands with each five gallon fill. This hands free wash unit was designed in response to the World Health Organization and Center for Disease Control’s calls for increased attention to public health and simple cleansing of hands to reduce the spread of viral and bacterial infections. Hand sanitizing can kill germs but there is no replacement for cleaning dirty, soiled hands with soap and water. This hand wash stand will be effective in a wide variety of settings including offices, daycare centers, nurse’s stations, labs, food preparation sites, businesses, cruise ships, places of worship and social gatherings. The CDC recommends a 0.05% bleach solution for cleansing hands, which can be achieved by adding 13.5 tablespoons of normal 5% concentration household bleach to five gallons of water. If used where children are present, make sure the unit is secured to a wall or a post so kids won’t pull it over on themselves. This kit requires some assembly and PVC glue to secure the joints to the pipe. With most of the parts in this kit being made in the USA you can count on a good quality product. The kit that is currently available supplies all the hard to find fittings and parts to build the station. Other parts like the buckets, funnel, string, and clip are left up to the user to source. To see how to build this hand wash station click on the video above.

B&C Ace Hardware in Grass Valley, California has implemented another great idea by using Snap Clamps and PVC fittings to build a frame for a plastic shield at registers as a preventive measure in the face of the coronavirus pandemic. This design allows for customers and cashiers to interact with minimum exposure to one another. If your business, or a small business in your area, is looking for an effective and inexpensive way to facilitate social distancing at this time, PVC pipe and fittings offer a great solution.

Lastly, we worked with Jake Vorzimer, an engineering student at CSU Northridge, on an idea to create small chambers to protect the nurses and doctors when helping patients who have contracted covid-19. By using PVC pipe and fittings this design is simple and easy to build and yet very effective when covered with plastic sheeting. For more great ideas check out our website, www.circoinnovations.com, or click the button below to shop for your own PVC parts for your particular project. Thank you for taking the time to read our blog, we hope you and your family are safe and healthy in this time of uncertainty.