Portable Sink

Mobile Hand Washing Stations: What You Need to Know

Many portable sinks come with useful accessories such as paper towel holders and soap dispensers, saving you time and effort when trying to think of all the necessary additions. Portable sinks with hot water require a power source, so keep that in mind when you plan how and where you'll be using your new unit.

In addition to catering and mobile operations, a mobile sink can be used in busy restaurants that need an extra sink for employees to wash up in. If adding more stationary sinks is impossible, one of these sinks can be quickly rolled out of storage and put to use.

Common Questions About Portable Hand Washing Stations

How does a portable sink work?

These sinks consist of a sink basin, water storage reservoirs, and wastewater reservoirs, which together give operators the running water necessary for workers to clean their hands before preparing food, along with storage for used water. Most units come equipped with paper towel holders and either a built-in soap dispenser or a spot for holding soap. These assemblies are installed on a cart with casters, which makes them mobile. Because these portable hand washing sinks do not require a permanent water hook-up, they can be used almost anywhere, but their water supply is limited by the size of the clean water reservoir. To provide hot water, the carts will need a power supply – though a standard outlet is much easier to find than water hook-ups. Keep these limitations in mind when planning how to use a mobile hand washing station.

What establishments need a mobile sink?

Because these portable sinks are made to be transported, mobile establishments get the most use out of them. Event catering and outdoor bars especially need a place where operators can thoroughly clean their hands before beginning any food preparation or serving. These mobile stations have wheels, which enables operators to load them onto a vehicle and then push them into place without excessive effort. Units with soap and paper towel accessories can be filled up beforehand, giving operators one less thing to worry about once on site.

Concession stands and outdoor bars can use plastic, metal, wood, or portable stainless steel sinks as semi-permanent fixtures instead of running plumbing out to the building, only moving them when they need to be refilled or emptied. Any establishment that has difficulty accessing water for hand washing can make good use of a mobile unit to ensure sanitation requirements are met. Additionally, busy kitchens might find themselves in need of an extra hand washing sink from time to time but not often enough to install more permanent sinks. A portable sink with hot and cold water can be stored in the back and only wheeled out when necessary.

What capacities are available?

KaTom carries portable sinks with 5-, 10-, and 17-gallon capacities, which denotes the amount of clean water that can be stored in each unit. Choose a higher capacity unit if you plan on using it frequently or over a long period of time. If you expect to have short service times or few employees using the unit, smaller models would be sufficient and more cost effective. Smaller units would also be preferable if you have access to clean water and time to refill the reservoirs.