Pet Peeve About Public Restrooms

Bathroom stalls....what is lingering there? - What is lingering in the average public bathroom?  Do they clean the stalls on a regular basis?  How can we make a difference if at all?
United States
December 5, 2006 4:49pm CST
One time or other during the course of our busy lives, we might have to use a public restroom. The condition of the average public restroom is one of my pet peeves. You can go into a department store and find it in such nasty conditon. Many times you see the sign on the back of the door where the attendant is suppose to initial where they cleaned the bathroom. There are no signatures. I always wonder who at that place of employment is required to do the cleaning. Do they take someone off the register for 'their turn'? I also wonder how many abide by the sign posted in many restrooms--Employees must wash their hands before returning to work. I know almost everytime I use a public restroom, I see people who just walk out without washing their hands. What things have bothered you about public restrooms? What would you recommend to fix these problems? What do YOU do to prevent picking up the germs of others when you use a public restroom? What is the most discusting story you have about using a public restroom?
23 people like this
116 responses
@bonbon664 (3466)
• Canada
5 Dec 06
It's the "squatters" that make half of the mess. They don't want to sit on the toilet seats, so, they squat, and dribble on the seats. That's totally disgusting to me. I have quite the procedure when I use public washrooms. I use the toilet, turn on the faucet, soap up, rinse hands, get paper towel, dry hands, turn off faucet with paper towel, then, before leaving tuck my hands inside my sleeve, and open the door that way. I don't want to touch my clean hands on the dirty handle that all those non washers just used. Ick.
7 people like this
@sunsham68 (1376)
• India
6 Dec 06
And just what do you do when you are not wearing full sleeves :)
@djbtol (5493)
• United States
6 Dec 06
What do you do when they have taken the paper towels away and replaced with blowers?
• United States
6 Dec 06
BonBon, I had a weird thought. Have you ever considered washing your hands BEFORE you use the bathroom?
3 people like this
• United States
5 Dec 06
Eww I hate that! People never wash their hands, makes me sick. Then they go and eat. I will hold it as long as possible so I don't have to use a public bathroom. I know that's bad, but I think the bathroom is even worse!
7 people like this
@imnutz (288)
• United States
6 Dec 06
Being a man most of the time I have no problems with public restrooms since we get the luxury of standing up for most of it. But there are some that are so smelly and horrid that make me leave. These places tend to be bars. The hand washing thing kills me. I love it at restaurants. You know people are going to eat, do you really want to eat what just came out of you? I know some people say they did not get anything on them, I say that is crap.
2 people like this
• Australia
7 Dec 06
Hrmmm, I dont know. Employees get a lot of flack for not washing their hands but I know at my work we are told not to wash our hands using the bathroom soap because its not as effective as the steralisation soap we have in the bar.
@srhelmer (7029)
• Beaver Dam, Wisconsin
5 Dec 06
One of the department stores here has a mens room with one urinal and one stall. Both are always filthy. You think they could find someone to clean them on occassion. I only use them in an emergency.
7 people like this
@Jshean20 (14349)
• Canada
6 Dec 06
I'm not sure that you really want to hear my disgusting experience in a public restroom....BUTTT since you asked, here it is. I opened up the stall door to be greeted by a disgusting stench and an overflowing toilet...let's just say the water was not clear..ew. I avoid using public washrooms until I absolutely cannot hold it anymore. Everytime I use a public washroom, I flush the toilet with my foot and every handle I touch, I use a papertowel over my hand.
5 people like this
• United States
6 Dec 06
I see those signs in public restrooms as well, and I rarely see any initials on them. I do not touch the flush mechanism, I use my foot. And as to the hand washing, I do see many people go out without washing their hands. That is just plain nasty. And what makes it even worse is when it is a woman and her child and the woman doesn't even advise their child to wash their hands since they just used the bathroom. Bad habits or the lack of good habits start early. I use either a paper towel or my sleeve to open the door on my way out. The most disgusting public bathroom story that I have is from around Spring 1992. Myself and several others were in Panama City Beach, Florida during Spring Break and while on the beach we needed a bathroom break so we went into the public restroom that is on the public pier and good grief it was disgusting. The floor was littered with used female hygiene products, and I don't mean just a couple were on the floor, in order to have reached a stall we would have had to step around those nasty things with every step. Needless to say we didn't get to use the bathroom right then.
2 people like this
@quink82001 (2938)
• United States
5 Dec 06
When possible I always try and not use the public restrooms. I agree with you, they are so dirty and disqusting. I have seen that too, where they are suppose to put their signature and there is nothing there. I don't know how these places can have restrooms that look like this its awful. So I just never use them.
@Lugh69 (149)
• United States
5 Dec 06
The majority of public restrooms I have been in have been disgusting. Toilets left unflushed and filled with excrement, urine on the seats and stalls. Urinals with trash in them. I also notice that less than half of the men I see do not wash their hands after they are finished. I cover the seat with 2 layers of toilet paper before I sit down. I read a study one time about this subject. Some of the sick things it stated was that human waste can be sprayed up to 20 feet by the average toilet flush and that the average bowl of peanuts at a bar has traces of 8 different people's urine. Some building owners and employees do keep their restrooms clean though.
@AndreaM76 (1164)
• United States
6 Dec 06
When I was pregnant 3 yrs ago we went to fastfood restraunt that we knew the manager. I ofcourse had to go potty every 20-30 mins on a daily basis. I told my hubby I need to go to he bathroom and he was talking to the manager and the guy just kinda looked at me knowing what I would find. I walked in and the was the worst odor I had smelled of bowel which was pretty bad since I then was a Nurses' aide. There was only one stall and I looked and the wall was covered with diahrea! How sick! I came back out and announced that the bathroom was not able to be used. He said okay thans for telling. A few minutes later one of the workers came over nad told him there was noway she could clean that mess. The thing that pissed me off was she saw me go in and he knew where I was heading and neither warned me it was nasty. It's no wonder they didn't have vomit to clean on top of it. I demanded at that point we had to leave to go find a suitable restroom elsewhere.
2 people like this
@DRoddy77 (1776)
• United States
6 Dec 06
I sometimes think that women are more disgusting than men are! Ive seen some atrocious womens bathrooms. Women leaving used sanitary pads on the walls, poop all over the seats. Ack, I will hold it as long as possible just so I dont have to use public restrooms!..I dont know why people have to be so disrespectful to others by doing those sorts of things!
2 people like this
• United States
6 Dec 06
I hate the condition that people leave the bathroom in. People are disgusting! They make messes in places there shouldn't be messes. They pee all over the seat and don't wipe it off. They don't flush. They clog the toilet. They get defecation on the floor, stall walls, and seat. I just back right back out of those stalls. It's disgusting. There is no reason for that. People throw pads in the toilet and don't flush... which they shouldn't do in the first place. People leave papertowels and puddles all over the counter. I almost never see people washing their hands. And it's annoying when I go to wash my hands and girls are hogging the mirror to redo their makeup and they won't move to let you wash. It's rude! Put your makeup on at home before the date... or why bother? What's the point of doing your makeup in the bathroom at the movie theater?
1 person likes this
• United States
6 Dec 06
And I just thought of another thing that is rude! Talking on your cell phone while you are going to the bathroom. Gross!
1 person likes this
@gramaj (451)
• United States
6 Dec 06
Your discussion caught my eye. I have to use public restrooms quite a bit cuz I travel. Some restrooms are so bad you can not use them. I have had to ask the guy behind the register to clean it before. That is bad. Makes you wonder about thier restroom at home,could it be that bad? I can't believe the amount of those that do not wash thier hands. I suppose this procedure has not been taught to all. I actually witnessed an employee Not wash after using the restroom. I walked out and told my hubby that we were not eating there due to the fact that she did not wash her hands. I know she heard.. What bothers me the most would be the thought that others actually leave the public restroom so nasty. Do they not pick up after themselves at home? I guess to fix it everyone should learn the basic bathroom etiquite.. Really the fact that these places are so dirty are not only the employees, were we not taught to clean after ourselves? I just pick the cleanist stall,make sure I do not leave a mess, wash up WITH soap, and use sanitizer that I carry. I do like the hand dryers but feel that you just can't beat actually wiping your hands off. I agree, the initials on the cleaning chart.. what a joke..My hubby says the mens restroom is the worst. Half the time you have to wade thru the stuff on the floor,and no one flushes. I think some just throw the used paper on the floor. He and I have left public restrooms due to the fact they were NASTY.. I do let the managment know.. I either write them online or tell them at the time of my visit. YES, this is a Pet Peeve of mine also.I guess education is the best defense we have. Hard to believe that people actually let this happen. Just my 2c
@soldenski (2503)
• United States
6 Dec 06
How funny that you should post this. I use to have to come home whenever I had to go to the bathroom. Then I found a few public bathroom's where it was ok to use. Now if I have to go, I will use any bathroom. I was at a famous breakfast resturant, and I saw an employee, use the restroom and NOT wash her hands. After washing my hands, I exited the bathroom, and went right to the manager and told him what I saw. Needless to say, I don't believe that the manager really cared, so we left that resturant, never to return.
5 people like this
@crosschk (818)
• United States
6 Dec 06
I use public restrooms all the time and rarely get grossed out. But then again I hear the womens room is a lot worse then the mens room. As my wife is fond of saying "If no one would hover, nobody would have to"
2 people like this
@mbs730 (2147)
• Canada
6 Dec 06
That is just gross. I try to avoid public washrooms if I could. Cover the toilet seat before you sit, and wash well! Bring a hand sanitizer with you :)
@mkirby624 (1598)
• United States
6 Dec 06
#1: Don't have a holder for the toilet seat covers if you never replace them #2: Fix the doors so that there is not a 2 inch gap and people can peer in at you #3: Have purse/bag holders so you don't have to sit your purse on a floor contaminated with fecal matter and foreign urine #4: Find automated toilets that flush AFTER you get up, not while you're doing your thing #5: Find automated sinks that don't have scorching water coming out of them/that stay on longer than 3 seconds/that you don't have to press your hands against the back of the sink to get to the water #6: Get paper towels; those blow dryers don't work. #7: Have a corridor that winds out into the opening so there is no germ infested door you have to open before leaving #8: Make all stalls handicapped. We all suffocate in those caskets of a bathroom stall.
2 people like this
@_hope_ (3902)
• Australia
6 Dec 06
I find most rest rooms are relatively clean where i have but then where possible i don`t go and they are just filled with bugs
1 person likes this
• United States
6 Dec 06
If one looks to bad I'll hold it. Most of the places around here are pretty good though. They are almost always in good to very good conditions. Most of the time, but there are some I've just walked right back out after seeing the way they are. My biggest pet peeve might be an interesting one. I am a guy and sometimes I have to use the stall. For some reason some bars around here have taken the doors off of them or dodn't even have "stalls" around the toilets. Now if it's a small one and I can lock the room that's no problem but some you can't do that. It really embaresing to have someoine walk in while you're sitting there and you basically have to watch eachother go. I try and aviod those places as much as possiable.
1 person likes this
• United States
6 Dec 06
Public restrooms that are dirty. They should at least be kept clean all the time and dry as well. Little freshener wouldn't hurt. What I hate most about public restrooms is that.. when they don't have tissue.
• United States
6 Dec 06
I usually don't care too much about the condition of public restrooms. I am just glad I have a place to get sweet, blessed relief! And when you REALLY have to go, you will happily plop your caboose down on any filthy thing. Or at least I will. hee hee maybe i am just disgusting. anyway, germs are good for you. Your immune system needs germs to practice on. I just take a multivitamin and amla C powder every day, I don't take any antiseptic, sanitary cautions and I haven't been sick for probably over a year now.
1 person likes this
• United States
6 Dec 06
Probably the worst experiance in a public restroom was when this lady brought her todler in. He didn't want to use the toilet and ran out of the stall, sprinkling everything and everyone in his path.
1 person likes this
• Australia
6 Dec 06
As long as you dont go touching everything in sight and wash your hands after using a restroom what else can you do? If you are overly paranoid then carry some of that anticeptic hand cream all the el-stresso's are using these days. There is likely to be more germs on every train seat, door handle, and crosswalk button than in a department store restroom. Restrooms are cleaned at least.
1 person likes this