Public Restrooms

[Angeles]

I didn't know where else to post this thread but I want to get your feedback on public restrooms.

Since we have to use them a lot, some of them are cleaner than others, etc.

I have PFD so I understand that I'm supposed to sit and relax. That's easy to do at home but some public toilets are a challenge.
At work I use 2 of the protective paper seats and add some lines of toilet paper on top of it, then I sit but I can't really relax b/c I still think it is dirty.
Unfortunately some "ladies" are are so careless that leave the toilet seat a mess. That really makes me upset. i asked HR dept to put reminder signs in the "ladies" room to asks the ladies to clean after themselves!

The restrooms at some department stores and other places are really pitiful not better than gas stations.

I'd like to hear some ideas. Do you carry a bottle of alcohol and clean the public toilet sits?!

[Berkshire Road]

No, but I carry a pack of wipes (hand wipes or baby wipes, whatever I can get on sale), and also a purse pack of toilet seat covers. I don't think the risk of catching anything from a public toilet is really all that high. The main thing is to keep your hands clean.

[MerryBerryMoose]

This is going to sound strange but here I go...

My tricks are:

1. scope out bathrooms ahead of time even if you don't need to go (like at the mall, look at the restrooms in Macy's, JC Penny ect. to see which is cleaner). Just check to see if they seem clean and well kept. I also go for the quiet ones that nobody really uses. *My key rule also is don't even bother goining into a stall that has any type or moisture on the toilet seat.

2. carry travel toilet paper. Yeah, they make it. I think it's by Charman. All it is is a small roll of TP in a small plastic case--they give you about 100 sheets and it's about $1. You can get then at a place like CVS. Also, of you feel so inclined to you can refill the case with TP from your house once it's empty. That can save some money.

3. carry some alchol wipes. I have to because I carry my TENS unit with me. But just use one or two and give the seat a quick wipe down. That should kill off most of what may be lurking there.

My trick is to use little or travel size things. I don't carry a large purse but all this stuff can fit without a problem.

[jen74]

I hear your frustration about the dirty public restrooms. Just the other day I was in CVS picking up some stuff and I had to go BAD. I asked the clerk to show me where the restroom was. Well, he unlocked the door and when I went in I almost got sick. The smell was stomach turning and the toliet seat was so filthy, and it was not pee on the seat if you catch my drift!
I walked out. I had to hold my pee till I got home which was awful, but there was no way in heck I was going anywhere near that toilet. People are gross, and I dont understand how they can leave a toilet like that, or how it is even possible for that matter. I dont even want to imagine what their house toilet looks like.
I also have those toliet seat covers that I carry with me. But I even have my limits and I dont care how many seat covers I had, I would not have used that toilet, I would have pee'd my pants first!
Jen

[mary124]

I try not to go to places like Wal-mart (found out they have very dirty bathrooms)-- Now Target on the other hand --- one day I really had to go and they said that I couldn't go in because it was "really dirty and they were getting ready to clean them but if I insisted then go" well, I walked in and I couldn't believe it! it was really clean, apparently they clean them all the time-in fact I looked on the back of the door where they check off and every hour on the hour!. When I left, I did compliment them and said it was clean! (seems like all the Wal-Marts are dirty and all the Targets are clean- maybe I need to switch my stores that I shop at?)
But getting back to your question, at work, I use to of the protective sheets, if there is something on the toilets before I put them down, then I wipe the seat off with a paper towel (I mean, can't they clean up their own mess??!!)
If I'm out and about, like I said in the above lines, I try to stay away from the department stores like Wal-mart but I have found out that the mall restrooms are cleaner than most places so I don't usually have a problem with them, and if I see an attendant in the bathroom while I'm in there, I will let them know that it is clean or if its not.

[ICNDonna]

I just look for a stall with a dry seat and use the paper cover. I'm more concerned about touching the door handles so I usually handle them with a tissue from my purse. And when I leave, after I wash my hands, I use the paper towel around the exit door handle; most restrooms have a trash bin near the exit door.

Donna

[waterflow]

Before the IC happened I hardly ever used public bathrooms. Maybe Mcdonald's if I traveled somewhere which was hardly ever. I'm amazed how messy women can be on a toilet! I thought only men did that. I mean we don't have to aim at anything so what's the deal on missing? They say your computer keyboard has more germs on it then the public toilet seat. Gross....I never thought about carrying wipes or even lysol but they say it has to sit on any object for 5 minutes before it will kill off any germs. I don't worry too much about germs on the seats. I do on the sink faucet so use paper towels to turn the handle off. I also carry around the hand sanitizers which helps out a lot.

[sami4]

Toilet Paper

I feel that toilet paper in public restrooms is filthy. I have seen maids re posting rolls that have fallen on the floor. Applebees was one of the worst for this. If I ever use TP in a public place, it is only a new roll, I unroll three or four turns, then blot dry with only the middle part, not the edges as that may have fallen on the floor also.
Sammi

[Bessie]

I do the same thing with the toilet paper. I always take some off before I use it and I also flush the toilet before I use it. I never sit on the seat either!!

[SharonA]

I have discovered that my Wal-Mart has two public restrooms. One in the front of the store which I bet 90% of people use and one in the back which stays mostly clean because 90% use the front one. I use the back one all the time. I usually only see employees use it and most of the time I am the only one in there. Might be worth checking it out in your own store.

[Quinn24]

Don't know if anyone saw it, but 'Datline' did a special on cleanliness of hotels, restaurants, public washrooms etc. about 4 months ago and they said the same thing as Donna.......the handles to the washroom and to the stalls are the dirtiest and carry more germs than a dirty toilet seat. They also said that the paper protectors do not do anything as it is not easty to catch anything from a toilet seat apparently. They also said that usually the "first" stall in any public washroom was the cleanest as it is generally the least used.............Just reporting what they said on Dateline, I have no back up to prove and disprove anything.

[waterflow]

Sharon, my Wal-mart is the opposite. The bathroom in the front is clean and the one in back is filthy with toilet paper on the floor. Was in the back of the store and really needed to go when I saw the rest room.

I tried flushing the toilet one with my foot but almost fell in. I still cannot get used to those self flushing ones. Hospital has them now in all the rest rooms but at least with these it gives you time to leave the stall before it starts to flush.

[Angeles]

I've learned great tips on this thread!
Now, I also heard that "you may not get any illness from toilet seats" but I think that's wrong. There are viruses that transmit by contact, like Herpes and that can be present in the thights of someone who carries the virus. So please do not go thinking you can't get anything from the toilet seats, b/c unfortunately one can.
Urine and other fluids can carry bacteria and who knows what else. So better be safe than sorry and take the extra time to follow the great tips on this thread.

[Berkshire Road]

My understanding is that most viruses (and especially those like herpes that would transmit through exchange of body fluids), can only stay alive outside the host body for a very short period of time -- seconds, in most cases. I double-checked this with my sister-in-law, who is an immunologist and cell biologist, and she concurs that the greatest risk in public bathroom use is from things you touch with your hands (because the person who used the sink just before you might have wiped her nose with her hands and then turned on the faucet; cold viruses are heartier and can be caught in airborn form or from surfaces that they're sitting on). She sais that if STD's, for instance, could easily be caught from public restrooms, then the rate of STD's among women would be enormously higher than it is. Now, this is not my area of expertise at all, so I'm only reporting what my SIL says.

So, my pet peeve is bathrooms with no paper towels, just those air-dry units. Always carry paper products with you!

[GriffsMommy]

Wow,
I guess I'm just used to having to go all the time, therefore going in public restrooms. As long as there is nothing on the seat I really don't care, I'm not a germ freak or anything and if I have to go I have to go. I can't stand trying to hover over the seat so if there's something there I just wipe it off and sit. I'm not going to be in tons of pain just because the bathroom isn't spotless.