Public Toilets

[Chibe90]

How do you feel about public restrooms? Every time I have to use one, I bemoan my lack of a penis. It's just so frustrating having to squat and aim. It's even worse if you are short, because some of  restrooms have really high toilets that even if you are on your tippy toes it's still a task. Yesterday I was at a club having a good time but the thought of having to use the club's restroom one more time made me suicidal, so I just went home. I know there are pee funnels for females but I would be embarrassed to take it through airport security.

[Nebulous]

I never use public restrooms if I can help it. They're usually maintained pretty well in my area (no grody "gas station" level horrors here), but it still feels so unsanitary, especially because I have no clue what someone did in the stall before I entered it, and god knows how many people have touched the door handle without washing their hands. If I have to use a public restroom, I'll always put toilet paper on the seat and open the door with my sweater. Then promptly wash said sweater.

[Pramana]

There are public restrooms, and then there are public restrooms at night clubs (sort of the ninth circle of hell for public restrooms). I can handle the former but not the latter, which is part of the reason why I don't go to nightclubs anymore.

[daveb]

I didn't vote in the poll. My answer is, not if I can help it. At the same time, I avoid urinals like the plague. And if possible I will use the bathroom in my house first. Next choice is a private bathroom in my hotel room if traveling. Not a fan of toilets on planes, buses, or trains, either. But sometimes you simply have to use the facilities - which I do as quickly as I can, and no talking or eye contact! 

[StormySky]

I use toilet paper to line the icky seat

[Tanzanite]

I try to avoid those as much as I can. I don't care if they have the option to put those disposable seat coverings on the toilet seats- I still hate it!

[Juno_L]

I'm pretty easy going when it comes to public restrooms. If it has a toilet, a door, and no visible gross stuff, I am happy. I believe this comes form going on 16 hour drives to see my mom's side of the family since I was a little kid. You just have to learn to deal with the occasional gross gas station restroom. Better than sitting in the car for hours needing to go! Being very short, I don't even bother trying to squat over the toilet without touching the seat. That was never an option as a tiny seven-year-old on long car rides. Weirdly enough, I avoid airplane bathrooms at all costs.

[Tabula Rasa]

I do my best to avoid contact with the toilet seat.  After I wash my hands, I use the paper towels to open the door.

 

The thing I hate about public restrooms is that there's a huge gap between the bottom of the stall door and the floor. I don't understand why the doors don't go all the way to the floor.  At least that's how many stall doors are in the USA.

 

I used to be a janitor, and there were occasions when someone (usually a child) would lock the stall door from the inside, so it was easy for me to crawl under the door to unlock it. But still, there needs to be more privacy.

[borkfork]

One thing that weirded me out about the Midwest was the lack of seat covers, except for the ones at O'Hare where I had to wave at the seat and it dispensed more plastic covering. I have to sit because I'd rather my bladder empty completely. Makes for less trips and I drink a lot of water.

 

I avoid port-a-potties at all costs.

[NerotheReaper]

I try to check the seat before sitting down.  I also try to make sure the restroom is generally clean overall or if it is updated. I try not to use the public restroom if I can. 

 

I do avoid port-a-potties at all costs though 

[Yatogami]

Despite what you may think, they ain't that dirty compared to things like your phone, or kitchen.

 

If I see anything visible, I'll wash it off with soap and water supplied in the bathroom. For everything else, I have an immune system for a reason.

 

Always wash the hands, and try not to use my hands for anything.

[Sally]

If only I had never seen the movie Trainspotting...every time I must use a public restroom I see that toilet in my mind...

[Apathetic Echidna]

I have been called by the name Iron Bladder because of my biological refusal to use most public rest rooms. On the times I have to use them I do sit (after a good wipe down) because I think the 'hover manoeuvre' is how people end up with pee on the seats in the first place. And the one worse thing than using a unclean toilet stall is leaving one dirty for the next person (whether it was your fault or not they will judge you for it)

[RoseGoesToYale]

I don't really worry about it. I'm more concerned about not touching things with my hands. I can flush with my foot, but the stalls are almost never big enough to undo the latch with my foot without falling backward. The best public restroom I've ever used (don't hear that phrase every day) was I believe at the Portland airport. The toilets had built in automatic plastic seat cover dispensers, but I'm sure they're hella expensive.

[SkyWorld]

Hmm, not directly on them. I'd always place toilet paper so that the seat has not contact with my skin. Though, I do try to avoid public restrooms in general and try to go home instead. Though sometimes nature calls.

[J. van Deijck]

5 hours ago, daveb said:

Not a fan of toilets on planes, buses, or trains, either.

I don't know why, but train toilets are a legend where I live XD

 

I answered no, because I would rather die than sit there. just the thought of who could sit there before and what kind of an illness they might potentially have makes me sick.

if possible, I avoid these evil places like a plague.

[Homer]

Yes. Gotta do what you gotta do.

[Guest]

I have IBS so i have no choice but to use public toilets when i need to go..i’m not a big fan of train and airplane toilets tbh.

[Chibe90]

8 hours ago, Nadooshka said:

I used to be a janitor, and there were occasions when someone (usually a child) would lock the stall door from the inside, so it was easy for me to crawl under the door to unlock it. But still, there needs to be more privacy.

top of the list of jobs I couldn't do. The thought of touching a restroom floor with any part of my body is too much to bear.

[Chibe90]

7 hours ago, Apathetic Echidna said:

I have been called by the name Iron Bladder because of my biological refusal to use most public rest rooms. 

I wish I had your bladder, I usually have to go often. I have an 11 hour flight upcoming and I am dreading it. Bathrooms on planes are generally  'clean' but they are so tiny that I have to climb up then squat.

[Tabula Rasa]

As an aside, I've heard there are restrooms in Asia that are designed to conceal anything related to bodily functions. For instance, there are air fresheners that dispense loads of puffs of freshener very frequently (almost like misters), and bells (or something similar) to drown out the sound of peeing and farting.

[Apathetic Echidna]

10 hours ago, Chibe90 said:

I have an 11 hour flight upcoming and I am dreading it.

awww. You should be fine, but I will share a horror story. It might make you feel better.... it might make you feel worse, so I'll let you decide by putting it in a spoiler

I had a 12+ hour flight (we went through some turbulence and storms flying out and landing so there were delays and so I don't know the exact flight time). The storms and turbulence freaked out the stomachs and bladders of the more nervous fliers. There was lots of traffic to the bathrooms. To avoid being a sympathetic vomiter I began ordering cocktails and glasses of juice. About 10-11 hours in, after a recent bout of turbulence I felt the need. Being lazy and stupid I decided not to put my boots back on so I went to the restroom in my socks. I didn't know this yet but several people had been caught in the toilets when the periods of turbulence started. The entire place smelt unclean and the floors were quite wet. which soaked my socks. socks I took off in the passageway and threw in the bin right there. However my feet were wet and I was all out of antibacterial cleansers. Feet I then had to put back in my boots when I exited the plane. Oh the horror.

 Moral of the story: always wear shoes, even if they are knee high or snow boots. Even if you just woke up from a nap and can't be bothered. Even if your feet are hot or feel swollen. always wear shoes. 

[Chibe90]

2 minutes ago, Apathetic Echidna said:

awww. You should be fine, but I will share a horror story. It might make you feel better.... it might make you feel worse, so I'll let you decide by putting it in a spoiler

 

  Hide contents

I had a 12+ hour flight (we went through some turbulence and storms flying out and landing so there were delays and so I don't know the exact flight time). The storms and turbulence freaked out the stomachs and bladders of the more nervous fliers. There was lots of traffic to the bathrooms. To avoid being a sympathetic vomiter I began ordering cocktails and glasses of juice. About 10-11 hours in, after a recent bout of turbulence I felt the need. Being lazy and stupid I decided not to put my boots back on so I went to the restroom in my socks. I didn't know this yet but several people had been caught in the toilets when the periods of turbulence started. The entire place smelt unclean and the floors were quite wet. which soaked my socks. socks I took off in the passageway and threw in the bin right there. However my feet were wet and I was all out of antibacterial cleansers. Feet I then had to put back in my boots when I exited the plane. Oh the horror.

 Moral of the story: always wear shoes, even if they are knee high or snow boots. Even if you just woke up from a nap and can't be bothered. Even if your feet are hot or feel swollen. always wear shoes. 

omg, that is mortifying? what did you do with the boots after? How long did you shower after? Well I would never walk barefooted or in socks to a restroom, so that would never happen to me. 

[Sally]

6 minutes ago, Apathetic Echidna said:

awww. You should be fine, but I will share a horror story. It might make you feel better.... it might make you feel worse, so I'll let you decide by putting it in a spoiler

 

  Reveal hidden contents

I had a 12+ hour flight (we went through some turbulence and storms flying out and landing so there were delays and so I don't know the exact flight time). The storms and turbulence freaked out the stomachs and bladders of the more nervous fliers. There was lots of traffic to the bathrooms. To avoid being a sympathetic vomiter I began ordering cocktails and glasses of juice. About 10-11 hours in, after a recent bout of turbulence I felt the need. Being lazy and stupid I decided not to put my boots back on so I went to the restroom in my socks. I didn't know this yet but several people had been caught in the toilets when the periods of turbulence started. The entire place smelt unclean and the floors were quite wet. which soaked my socks. socks I took off in the passageway and threw in the bin right there. However my feet were wet and I was all out of antibacterial cleansers. Feet I then had to put back in my boots when I exited the plane. Oh the horror.

 Moral of the story: always wear shoes, even if they are knee high or snow boots. Even if you just woke up from a nap and can't be bothered. Even if your feet are hot or feel swollen. always wear shoes. 

Oh I wish i hadn't read that.  I  am so glad I don't have to fly anywhere.  

[Apathetic Echidna]

20 minutes ago, Sally said:

Oh I wish i hadn't read that. 

don't worry, I made a full recovery. I barely have the nightmares any more either. It also wasn't actually the worst turbulence on a flight I experienced, but the others were short flights. 

 

@Chibe90 I actually had a layover so it was another 11 or so hours till I got home (including all the transport to actually get to my house). Luckily at the layover airport I met a nice cleaner who let me use some of the detergents, however that meant another public restroom. On the plane I did have tissues and stuff, so my shoes didn't technically get wet. The boots I still have. The are a weird knee high gumboot thing that I had been using as a snow boot, and a really good snow boot they were, so I kept them. But being mostly hard plastic they are an easy clean.  

[Amathy]

Ironically, toilet seats are the only part of a public bathroom I touch.  The rest I touch only with paper towels.  I avoid touching toilet seats when I can but its not always an option.  Then again I avoid entering public restrooms when I can but its not always an option.

[drjohnhwatson]

33 minutes ago, Apathetic Echidna said:

awww. You should be fine, but I will share a horror story. It might make you feel better.... it might make you feel worse, so I'll let you decide by putting it in a spoiler

 

  Hide contents

I had a 12+ hour flight (we went through some turbulence and storms flying out and landing so there were delays and so I don't know the exact flight time). The storms and turbulence freaked out the stomachs and bladders of the more nervous fliers. There was lots of traffic to the bathrooms. To avoid being a sympathetic vomiter I began ordering cocktails and glasses of juice. About 10-11 hours in, after a recent bout of turbulence I felt the need. Being lazy and stupid I decided not to put my boots back on so I went to the restroom in my socks. I didn't know this yet but several people had been caught in the toilets when the periods of turbulence started. The entire place smelt unclean and the floors were quite wet. which soaked my socks. socks I took off in the passageway and threw in the bin right there. However my feet were wet and I was all out of antibacterial cleansers. Feet I then had to put back in my boots when I exited the plane. Oh the horror.

 Moral of the story: always wear shoes, even if they are knee high or snow boots. Even if you just woke up from a nap and can't be bothered. Even if your feet are hot or feel swollen. always wear shoes. 

Holy shit but I'm cringing.

 

I generally try to avoid going to the bathroom when I'm out and about, but if I have to, then I do, and I usually sit unless it's terrible, to which I might decide to just try and hold it.  It's just my ass--that's what I try to tell myself.

 

I've seen some terrifying bathrooms that have made me nope the fuck back out again, though.  I used to have to clean the bathrooms when I worked at the restaurant, and they were gas station style (fancy that, given the building used to be a gas station!) wherein there was one toilet closed off with a sink for men, and same for women.  Each had a garbage can for paper towels, and the women's had a smaller bin on the floor for pads and tampons and the like.  I've had to clean it whenever it looked like someone literally exploded just barely into the toilet, and the men's generally without fail seemed to be as if they tried to hit everything but the toilet (and inevitably succeeded in their venture).  I can't tell if it was out of malice or genuine incompetency, though, because I had a co-worker who said he once stopped at a restaurant and saw someone come out after cleaning the bathrooms as they were near closing and he and his friends went in and pissed EVERYWHERE, even on the toilet paper, then came back out and told their server someone made a mess in the bathroom .

Once (THANK GOD), I was on vacation and out-of-state, and a co-worker complained to me that someone had bypassed the toilet (like, literally walked past the toilet) and went to the trashcan on the other side of the room and took a shit in it, and on the floor...and down the wall.  I laughed because I didn't have to deal with it, but what the hell is wrong with people?!

[Apathetic Echidna]

12 minutes ago, drjohnhwatson said:

what the hell is wrong with people?!

exactly this. How do these people even function in society? or is this their one fatal personality/ability flaw? 

At least with my story it is an assumption that it was accidental

[Yatogami]

Yeah I was a Janitor for McDonalds for a few years... the things you see in the public restroom... There is a reason some places don't allow public restrooms. 

 

[Skycaptain]

Needs do as needs must. I'm on the road ten or more hours a day, nuff said really