Using other people's bathrooms

avrahamama

Tue, Jul 21 2020, 10:46 am

My husband and I always said if we could build a dream home. The guest powder room would be soundproof and with a strong fan. The lock would show occupied. And the toilet would self clean. And we would have signage letting guests know they can go in peace.

Raisin

Tue, Jul 21 2020, 10:52 am

nope, unless it is obviously not clean looking.

I share my bathroom with my kids. Would love an ensuite but not for that reason.

Seriously if you overthink these things life is a very dirty, messy place. And if covid19 has not taught you anything, it has taught me that even the cleanest, most hygenic person can still make you sick just by sitting and talking to them.

This thread reminds me a bit of The Help.

DrMom

Tue, Jul 21 2020, 11:07 am

amother [ Blonde ] wrote:

When I gotta go, I go. I don’t understand the reticence. Holding it in is very unhealthy. Toilets were made for poop. What is the big deal?
💩🤷‍♀️

I'm with you, although with Covid-19, I tend to be more careful than usual when using toilets out of the home. I carry alco-gel wipes in my purse and wipe down all contact surfaces before using the facilities.

LovesHashem

Tue, Jul 21 2020, 11:20 am

DrMom wrote:

Same here.

amother

Dodgerblue

Tue, Jul 21 2020, 11:22 am

Am I the only one that doesn't feel the urge to go when I am not in my own home ? Its like my body knows when I'm home or not. Sometimes ill walk in my front door and suddenly feel an urgent need to go. But outside of my home I just don't feel the urge (usually)

amother

Jetblack

Tue, Jul 21 2020, 11:27 am

amother [ Dodgerblue ] wrote:

I'm just the opposite. When I'm home I can go hours without using the bathroom. When I go out, I constantly feel like I need to go. I think it's anxiety/trauma. Because years ago when I was pregnant with my 1st, I traveled on a bus for 3 1/2 hours and there was no bathroom on the bus. I was in agony, I almost passed out. DH claims the trauma stayed in me.

amother

Blonde

Tue, Jul 21 2020, 11:57 am

malki2 wrote:

If you go regularly, then it’s not that unhealthy to hold it in a little. It’s not like holding in pee.

It is always unhealthy to hold it in. It’s worse than holding in pee as it slows your whole digestive system down. If you hold it in, the urge goes away. It can cause constipation.

amother

cornflower

Tue, Jul 21 2020, 11:58 am

avrahamama wrote:

Do you feel comfortable using the bathroom (poooooop) in other people's homes? Restaurants? Stores? Shuls?

Is it a last resort kind of thing? Something you'd never do? Or will you go whenever and wherever?

Do you bring spray or matches with you?

I'd make a poll if I knew how.

Eeeewwww never!

avrahamama

Tue, Jul 21 2020, 12:02 pm

amother [ cornflower ] wrote:

Ugh u don’t wash it off?

In my house? It's my kids and husband. (One bathroom house). Daven for me that I get a house with my own bathroom. I have only boys so far. ;-)

amother

Jetblack

Tue, Jul 21 2020, 12:04 pm

avrahamama wrote:

In my house? It's my kids and husband. (One bathroom house). Daven for me that I get a house with my own bathroom. I have only boys so far. ;-)

I feel you.

amother

Purple

Tue, Jul 21 2020, 1:53 pm

Depends on the place. As long as it's clean and there's toilet paper, running water, soap and towels, what's the problem? OTOH if the floor is awash in fluid I don't want to speculate about, the toilets covered in feces, the sinks splattered and rusty, no soap in sight and the faucets the kind you have to press down the whole time...fuhgeddaboudit. A bush at the side of the road would be better. Buses, bus stations, trains, gas stations and low-end department stores tend to be the worst, but not always. Eateries, too. I've been to some pricey "fine dining" places where the washrooms are nauseating. If that's the case, I don't go back to that restaurant. I don't cavil that the decor doesn't measure up to the front of the house, but if the washrooms are neglected and unsanitary, why would I expect the kitchen to be any better?

amother

Green

Tue, Jul 21 2020, 2:14 pm

If I have to go I have to go but for me it depends on the privacy aspect as well as cleanliness--is it right off a room where everyone is gathered? Is someone waiting outside who will know how long I took? I can't relax if somebody is nearby waiting. My DH sometimes sneaks out of work early to come home and go, which I think is messed up (prob his fave part about working from home bc of covid is proper bathroom time:)). I'll go at work as long as it's in the private bathroom, nobody else is in the communal one, and nobody is waiting impatiently outside.

amother

Purple

Tue, Jul 21 2020, 3:20 pm

I have a fieldwork job, find myself in all different kinds of places from grungy factories to high-end hotels, and learned during Week 1 to bring a generous supply of tissues and a small bottle of liquid soap wherever I go. One of the worst places, not from a sanitation standpoint, was a new, trendy hotel that was so PC it was stupid. They had a sort of unisex bathroom--but not a single-occupancy style. It was a multiple-unit number, men's stalls on the right, women on the left. There was a fully transparent partition --really only for show, useless as a barrier-- made of loosely connected chain links extending partway down the middle of the short corridor leading to the business end of the space, and the sink area was common to both sexes. Just what I want (NOT!), to come out of the can and wash my hands next to some man. I used the stall at the furthest end hoping that whoever walked down the common walkway couldn't see anything at that end. Well, at least they had doors on the stalls, but it was just as uncomfortable as the construction site portajohn with a peekhole gouged out of the door. (Tissues to the rescue--don't leave home without them!)

amother

Denim

Tue, Jul 21 2020, 3:34 pm

I would never use someone else's bathroom except for an emergency. I don't even like using my bathroom at home if dh is around. I'll try to go upstairs or downstairs to avoid him noticing that I'm using the bathroom. I know, it's weird.

amother

Mistyrose

Tue, Jul 21 2020, 4:27 pm

There's germs and there's smell.
For germs you need a disinfecting wipe of some kind.
For smell here's the greatest thing ever:
Poopurri. I use a small travel size plastic bottle.
Mix 1 teaspoon rubbing alcohol. Fill the bottle with water.
Add 35 drops of essential oil. (I use lemon.)
That's it!
Add a couple of drops to the toilet water before you sit down ideally but works even after you get up as long as you do it quickly. It forms a barrier on the toilet water so that odors are contained.
Nothing but mild, pleasant lemony smell left in the bathroom. No choking stench of chemical bathroom spray plus the unmentionable. This stuff sells in the store for a ridiculous price and is easy to make yourself. No joke. Someone in my family has stomach issues. It has been a lifesaver.