Oregon Contractor Offering Free Foot Door Opener

By Karen L. Edwards, RCS Editor.

Opening the door without touching the handle is now possible thanks to this roofing contractor’s idea.

The coronavirus pandemic has led many of us to rethink the way we are used to doing things. We are over cautious about cleaning and sanitizing everywhere and we are washing our hands much more than we used to. This rethinking has resulted in some creative solutions, just like the one this Oregon contractor developed with leftover materials from his shop.

In Bend, Oregon, Thomas Hunziker, president and owner of AM-1 Roofing, shared with NewsChannel 21 how he wanted to eliminate the need for people to have to touch the door handle because they tend to attract bacteria. He said that the first thought about how someone might be able to use their elbows, but “people sneeze in their elbows, and it could make matters worse. So, I figured, we can use our feet to open the door.”

Thomas said that he had some spare metal in his shop and created a foot handle that attaches to the outside of the door. Using a piece of duct tape, he secured the latch part of the door, so the door won’t latch.

“It’s just so hard if you have to hand-sanitize it,” Thomas told NewsChannel 21. “This way, it’s cut and dry. Our policy now says, ‘Do not touch door handles.’ We can actually do that, and it’s a heck of a lot easier to do that than sanitize.”

Thomas is asking the community to call him if they would like to receive the free foot handle. He says that if enough people are interested, he would just leave a box of the metal handles and screws outside for people to stop by and pick up.

Do you know of someone in the industry who is ‘doing good deeds’ in their community? Help us catch them at it. Send news and information to info@rooferscoffeeshop.com.