Anyone who has ever worked in an office knows them well: the paper towel dispensers in the men's and women's bathrooms. We notice them most when they fail, when you are left with wet hands and no way to dry them. You can dry your hands on a pile of toilet seat covers and throw them on the floor as a protest. You can try calling the maintenance people, but they work in the middle of the night, so that outlet is hopeless. Better to be the hero and fix the thing yourself.
Step 1
Look at the paper towel dispenser that is malfunctioning and determine what type it is. There are two types of paper towel dispensers in most buildings. One is the old-fashioned white rectangular type that is supposed to dispense single-fold towels out of a slot in the bottom of the dispenser. The other type of paper towel dispenser is the larger dark-plastic kind with a handle that distributes single towels from a large circular roll. These are the ones that are most likely to jam, and are more common in newer buildings.
Step 2
Open the dispenser. These dispensers (both kinds) usually open with a tool that looks like a small fork with two tines. You will need to find the maintenance person, which might not be an easy task.
Step 3
Open the dispenser with a screwdriver instead. These machines are not that sophisticated. They can be easily opened with a small flat-headed screwdriver. Car keys are usually too thick to do the job.
Step 4
Clear the jam in the rectangular white dispenser and set up the bottom towel so that it will hang out the slot on the bottom of the dispenser. The other pieces of paper will follow when that first piece of paper is drawn downward. If that doesn't work, just leave the dispenser hanging open, which should be good enough, or put the towels on top of the dispenser.
Step 5
Open the larger roll-type dispenser and fix it, if that is the kind you have. What usually happens is that the towel tears, and you can fix it easily enough by rolling the paper back through the rollers. You will see how it works once you have the dispenser open. If the dispenser is empty, then it is time to call maintenance.
Skill: Easy
Ingredients:
- Flat-head screwdriver
Tip: Keep a little flat-headed screwdriver in your desk for just these situations.
Keyword: Dispenser, paper towel, key, jam, screwdriver
