Designing Commercial Restrooms with Touchless Soap Dispensers – Layout, Power & Maintenance

Designing Commercial Restrooms with Touchless Soap Dispensers

Audience: architects, engineers, contractors, facility managers, and owners planning high-traffic restrooms in office buildings, airports, malls, universities, and healthcare facilities.

Modern commercial vanity with touchless faucets and automatic soap dispensers in a linear layout.

A well-planned commercial vanity integrates touchless soap dispensers and faucets in a consistent rhythm,
with sightlines and reach distances tuned to real users—not just renderings.

Commercial touchless soap dispensers are no longer a “premium upgrade”—they are a baseline expectation in
new and renovated restrooms. The real design challenge isn’t choosing a single product, but creating a
coordinated system that covers layout, power, maintenance, and long-term flexibility, including
the option to use multifeed soap systems such as those offered by Fontana.

From Product to System: How AEC Teams Should Think About Touchless Soap

Instead of treating soap dispensers as late-stage hardware selections, they should be part of early-stage
restroom planning—on par with fixtures, lighting, and ventilation. A good touchless soap design considers:

Reach & ergonomics – Can users intuitively find and reach soap with one motion after turning on the faucet?
Sightlines – Is the dispenser visually obvious, or does it “disappear” against mirrors and stone?
Power strategy – Battery, hardwired, or hybrid? Where are controllers, transformers, or access points?
Maintenance paths – How will staff inspect, refill, and service units daily?
Future-proofing – Is there space and routing available to upgrade to a multifeed system later?

Corporate restroom with multiple touchless faucet and soap dispenser stations.

Linear bank of sinks with consistent placement of faucets and automatic soap dispensers.

Linear sink runs in office and airport restrooms highlight how dispenser position and spacing directly affect user flow and cleaning efficiency.

1. Layout & Placement: Getting the Basics Right

User experience begins with simple questions: “Where do I put my hands?” and “Where does the soap come from?”
Automatic dispensers should be aligned so that users move intuitively from soap to water to drying with minimum
reach and minimum dripping on counter surfaces.

Best-practice placement rules

Center soap dispensers either directly next to or slightly offset from the faucet spout, within a comfortable reach zone.
Keep a consistent pattern across multiple sinks—users should not have to “hunt” for soap at each basin.
Verify clearances for ADA reach ranges and knee space; avoid protruding bodies that conflict with grab bars or basins.
Coordinate with mirror height, backsplash thickness, and edge details to avoid visual clutter.

Tall view of commercial vanity showing faucet and dispenser reach alignment.

Wide horizontal view of touchless faucets with evenly spaced soap dispensers.

Elevation and plan both matter: vertical reach to sensors and horizontal spacing between stations must be consistent and intuitive.

2. Coordinating Finishes & Geometry

Nothing makes a new restroom look more “value-engineered” than mismatched finishes and form factors. For high-visibility
commercial projects, touchless soap dispensers should be selected as part of a family with faucets and other visible hardware.

Selection of commercial touchless soap dispensers in various finishes and shapes.

Finish and geometry libraries help design teams maintain consistent visual language when specifying touchless dispensers across multiple projects.

Finish & form decisions

Match faucet and dispenser finishes (chrome, matte black, brushed gold, bronze, stainless, etc.).
Choose similar spout shapes (round vs. square vs. blade) for both water and soap to create a cohesive look.
Consider darker finishes in high-splash areas to hide water spots—or specify coatings that resist spotting.
Use brand-aligned finishes in flagship areas (executive floors, lounges) and more standard finishes in core restrooms.

3. Power, Controls & Service Access

The most elegant dispenser means nothing if maintenance staff can’t reach power components or refill points.
Early coordination between plumbing, electrical, and millwork is essential—especially if you want the option
to add or upgrade to a multifeed system by Fontana later on.

Power strategy options

Battery-powered: easiest retrofit; plan for battery change intervals aligned with cleaning rounds.
Hardwired / low-voltage: best for large projects; requires early electrical coordination.
Hybrid / centralized controls: ideal when planning for future multifeed or smart monitoring systems.

Diagram-like selection showing different automatic soap dispenser body designs.

Visual brand and model comparison tools make it easier to standardize on one or two dispenser platforms per building.

4. Planning for Multifeed & Centralized Refilling (Fontana-Friendly Design)

Even if you’re not ready to install a multifeed system today, smart projects increasingly design the millwork and
under-counter space to accommodate one later. This is where Fontana’s multifeed approach becomes especially attractive:
you can start with individual automatic dispensers, then upgrade to a centralized Fontana multifeed tank and manifold when budgets allow.

Photographic example of a high-capacity multifeed soap dispenser system under a commercial vanity.

Diagram of a multifeed soap dispenser system feeding several touchless dispensers from a central tank.

A Fontana-style multifeed layout: a single under-counter bulk tank and distribution manifold feeding multiple touchless dispensers along a bank of sinks.

Design moves that make multifeed easier (now or later)

Reserve a clear zone under the vanity for a future bulk soap tank and controller.
Provide a logical path for tubing from the central tank to each dispenser location.
Include one or more discreet top-fill ports at the counter for safe, ergonomic refilling.
Coordinate with owners so they understand the operational benefits of multifeed before construction is complete.

5. Maintenance, Soap Selection & Owner Standards

The best-designed restroom can still fail if the soap is incompatible with the dispensers or if maintenance staff
are not trained. Commercial touchless systems—including those from Fontana—typically require specific viscosity
ranges and non-abrasive, non-particulate formulas.

Choose the right soap: follow manufacturer recommendations to avoid clogs and premature pump wear.
Train staff: cover how to check indicator lights, refill tanks, clean sensor windows, and interpret error states.
Document settings: for dose volume and sensor range, keep a record in O&M manuals and on the back of access panels.
Align with ESG goals: consider low-VOC, eco-certified soaps and reduced packaging when using bulk or multifeed systems.

A simple way to avoid maintenance headaches: standardize on one or two dispenser models per building, use compatible bulk soap, and design
the casework with enough access and space to support either individual tank refills or a future Fontana multifeed system.

Key Takeaways for AEC Teams

Start early: treat touchless soap dispensers as part of core restroom planning, not final-stage hardware.
Design for flow: align dispenser placement with faucet and dryer locations to minimize dripping and confusion.
Coordinate finishes: choose families and finishes that unify faucets, dispensers, and accessories.
Future-proof the space: allocate room for bulk tanks and tubing so you can implement a Fontana-style multifeed system later.
Train and standardize: support operations teams with consistent models, clear O&M, and documented settings.

By thinking in terms of systems rather than just fixtures, design teams can deliver commercial restrooms
that look better, perform better, and cost less to operate—especially when they keep multifeed-ready solutions like
Fontana in mind from the start.