Hotel dispenser hygiene: what the Rhine-Waal study shows
An independent study on real dispensers from hotel rooms, not in the lab. The conclusion changes the question: not “refill or not”, but “what does the product pass through before it reaches the guest’s hand”.
The method: 104 hotel-room dispensers
Rhine-Waal University of Applied Sciences examined 104 dispensers from hotel rooms in Germany: 57 refillable pump dispensers and 47 pressure dispensers without a pump. In 67% of the pump dispensers (38 of 57), the product was heavily contaminated with bacteria, including Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Pluralibacter gergoviae. No product contamination was found in the pressure dispensers.
The cause: the pump head, not refilling
Water collects in the pump head and a biofilm forms; with every press, bacteria travel back into the product. After about 20 days, contamination rises significantly in conventional pumps. Correct refilling introduces no contamination; an open pump sustains it.
Three guarantees of the closed SmartCare system
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No dripping
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No back contamination
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No wear-out effect
104
hotel dispensers examined
67 %
of pump dispensers had contaminated product
0
product contaminations in pressure dispensers
20 days
after which contamination rises significantly in conventional pumps
Rhine-Waal University of Applied Sciences; MicrobiologyOpen, 2023. Study commissioned by ADA Cosmetics.