Women's Public Restroom Etiquette 101
89
It's Potty Time!
Oh dear. I seriously cannot believe this is where my writing has taken me. But yet, here I am. I am writing a restroom etiquette hub. I have seen so much disgusting behavior in women's restrooms, I have been forced to write this hub. I am not just ashamed in general; I am ashamed for society as a whole.
So, here we go. Let's go on this potty journey together, shall we? Men reading this hub, sorry you are not included. I tend to not visit the men's room so much, so you guys are on your own there. I am sure you would benefit from a Men's Restroom Etiquette hub, but I am not the person to do it.
A Little Space, Please
If you go into a public restroom and there are a number of stalls, please do not get in the stall beside me. If there are two stalls and I am occupying one, by all means, use the stall beside me. If there are ten stalls, why oh why, do you get in the stall beside me? I would love to have a little privacy. I understand if all the stalls look disgusting except the stall you just picked, but otherwise, put a space between us.
Also, do not look under the stall. That is creepy. I have had random women compliment my shoes while I am in the stall! Lady, you are looking a little too much into my stall. You need to step back and not say a word.
You Can Spare a Square with the Toilet Paper
If I am out of toilet paper in my stall, I am obviously not in a good situation. Typically, I always check before going in, but sometimes, I just forget. Please help me out. If you are in the next stall, please hand some toilet paper under the wall if I ask. If you are in a stall further away from me (thanks, by the way) please hand me some toilet paper under my door as you leave. It is the nice thing to do. I know the situation is awkward, but it is not a fun time for me either.
Thanks But No Thanks for the Artwork
I guess some people enjoy spending time in the public restroom, so maybe that is why I always find artwork in the stalls. Gee, thanks for the graffiti, but it was totally unnecessary. No, I don't want your ex-boyfriend's phone number. No, I don't care that you are in love with your current boyfriend. Little hearts drawn on the bathroom stall door is not that exciting.
As for a more, umm... delicate subject... please please please please do not rub poo on the walls. You heard me. And you know who you are. What on earth is going on in your head? What would ever inspire you to do something like that? Please seek therapy right now. I am dead serious. Is this a fetish? Are you unstable? What is wrong with you?
While we are on this subject, my friend also suggests you do not stick your feminine napkins to the wall. Yes, this rule applies no matter whether it is used or new. We don't need to see that. Thanks, but no thanks.
Wipe the Seat Off
I am sure some women have made an Olympic sport out of hovering over the seat and never exactly sitting down on a public restroom toilet. I applaud your efforts. There are some of you out there that have mastered this practice to such an impressive degree that you should teach others.
However, there are those of you that have not mastered the technique. That is OK. Now that you have managed to tinkle on the seat, please wipe it off before leaving the stall. It is totally gross when you leave it that way. Also, if you are so offended by public restrooms that you can't even sit on the toilet seat, you should do your part to keep them clean.
If you create a "nest" with the toilet paper or use a flushable seat cover, please remember to clean that off the toilet, as well. No one wants to deal with your used toilet paper on the seat. You can either flush it down the toilet if it isn't much or use the feminine napkin disposal unit on the side of the stall if you've created a giant toilet paper nest.
FLUSH!!!
This is a totally simple concept. If you use the bathroom, flush the toilet. If the toilet does not work properly and the first flush doesn't work, do it again. If you are reading this hub, you are smart enough to work a toilet properly. It is as simple as that.
Also, do not clog the toilet with random items. The toilet can handle toilet paper. It can't always handle feminine products and it certainly can't handle paper towels, receipts, and other items. Be nice to the public restroom toilet. We all need to use it.
Conserve the Water
Now that our journey is almost through (thank goodness!), it is time to talk about the final step. You need to wash your hands. Please tell me you are washing your hands, right? At any rate, don't leave the water running. It wastes water and that is not good for anyone. It helps prevent a water shortage when making sure the water is always turned off wherever you go.
I hope this hub has been helpful for you. Please remember to keep public restrooms as clean as possible. No one likes to use them, but we are all forced to do so when we are not at home for a long time. For now, I am through writing this Women's Restroom Etiquette hub. Sometimes writing a hub is dirty work, but somebody has to do it.
Important Links:
- Dressing Room Etiquette 101
When using the dressing room, please be kind. There are others using the dressing room as well. I know you get upset when an outfit does not fit, but that is no reason to mess up the dressing room for the rest of us. Please read some helpful tips! - Men's Etiquette in the Restroom: How to Pee at a Urinal Correctly
Since I care about my readers, I found this helpful hub for men. I told you I was no expert when it comes to Men's Restroom Etiquette, but I found someone who is an expert. Enjoy! - The International Center for Bathroom Etiquette
Even more bathroom etiquette. There are others who want to help teach this important subject.
vote upvote downshareprintflag
- Useful (7)
- Funny (21)
- Awesome (7)
- Beautiful (1)
- Interesting (3)
CommentsLoading...
Thank you for reading and commenting. I don't know why people are so disgusting in public restrooms. I have been told it is far scarier in the men's room. I am so glad I don't have to deal with that!
Excellent hub! I applaud your efforts in improving our public restroom experiences! I don't know how you could read my mind but I am glad you did. Thanks for sharing such wonderful reminders.Voted up, useful and awesome...
Thank you for your comment and your vote. There are so many others who share my feelings about public restrooms. Maybe in some small way, this hub can help.
LOL this was hilarious. I was just telling my boyfriend how dirty women are the other day. When I worked at McDonald's years ago, I had to check both of the restrooms. The women always had the nastiest restroom.
I'm not sure what's up with the poo on the wall either. I've also seen blood smeared on the stalls, and it made me want to vomit.
Another thing I hate is when people strike up a conversation with me while I'm washing my hands. I don't mind a "Hi, how are you?" or "How old is your baby?", but I've had a few people that took my 30 seconds at the sink as the perfect opportunity to tell me all about Jesus, Avon, or their political views. Just shut up and let me wash my hands in peace...and please don't follow me out of the restroom and continue babbling about whatever you're passionate about.
What is wrong with people? I don't know why women are so dirty. Just because it is a public restroom does not give anyone the right to do horrible things to it. That is also pretty scary to hear a speech while washing your hands. It is hard to escape that situation. Do people think they can convert you while you are washing up? People are crazy.
You are making me feel like a total slacker! You joined just 2 weeks before me and have 43 hubs compared to my measly 10. I'm so ashamed. ;-)
You are right on target with this hub. Women can be soooo gross! I can't believe how many of them don't wash their hands after using the restroom, or they do a quick rinse without soap! EEEEKKK!! I personally scrub up like a surgeon and don't touch the faucet or the door on my way out. Maybe I'll write a hub about germs....
This hub was truly hilarious, but I am guessing we might just be a bit luckier in the UK, as I noticed no poo on walls, less graffiti than in men's toilets, have never had anyone try to 'convert me' at the sink and haven't been involved in any kinds of conversation between stalls LOL. The other points are much the same here though, especially the 'splashy seats' yuck!!
Wow, this hub really struck a nerve with a lot of people. I guess I really did need to write it.
Jeanastra - Don't feel like a slacker at all! Sometimes I blank out and don't write anything for a week. Other times, I just have a burst and write 5 or 6 hubs in 2 days. There is no rhyme or reason to my writing.
mistyhorizon2003 - You've never seen poo on the walls?!?! Lucky! Sometimes I think I am living in the wrong country. Don't get me wrong - I don't see it all the time. I don't want you to think our stalls are filled with poopy walls in the U.S., but I have seen it more than a few times. I don't know what is wrong with people!
Thank you both for the comments!
I hate that I'm the first dude to leave a comment. I'm sure a bunch of dudes have already read this, just because they want to know what goes on in the womens, but this news might shock them. Shocked me a little. But you can always take comfort in the fact that the mens IS worse. I won't go into detail, but I always have to wipe the seat off. Always. Why's the toilet seat always down in the mens bathroom? Leave it up. That's what men do.
I want to say your hub was funny, but I'll just say informative, instead. I'll mark it as funny, though, vote it up, and wash my hands, afterwards.
You are like a pioneer being the first guy to post a comment about this hub. Thank you for your bravery. I am horrified to think what might be going on in the men's room. Scary stuff!
I think they try to convert me as I wash my hands because they know I can't escape. :)
I'm not going to stop washing my hands just to get away from them. Although there have been times when I considered it.
I am guessing that is the strategy. They have probably been taught to approach people in situations they can't escape. I would love to read a hub from someone that goes around trying to convert people. What is going on in their head? Hell, maybe they have some really funny stories to share.
I worked in a restaurant and when I had to bus tables they made me clean all the restrooms. :( It was surprising how different men's and women's bathrooms varied from each other. Men's bathroom was generally clean all the time, while the women's room was disgusting. But I suppose it's because women are cleaner than men, using the bathroom more to clean themselves while they men don't use the restroom at all. Hilarious hub by the way :)
Hmmm, interesting theory. So you think because more women use the restroom and stay longer, it would be messier. This could be true. I still don't know why some women are so gross; maybe they have to be clean at home, so they just go wild in a women's restroom since they do not have to clean it.
Brilliant hub, Jeannie. Very funny indeed, although I'm quite sure you are serious about the problem.
I have, in my time, shared living quarters with a few women, and am now happily married to one, and I would suggest that keeping a public restroom clean and tidy is no easier for some women than keeping their own bathrooms clean and tidy. Many a morning I have been disturbed to find facial wipes on the sink and the floor, hair on the floor of the shower, various creams, ointments, cleansers, lotions and potions taking up every available surface.... and worst of all, one of MY disposable razors on the step of the shower!!
Do you think that men are messier in the restroom? That might be another interesting debate!! :-)
Good health.
I am really not sure where I stand with the Men vs. Women's bathroom debate. Sometimes men insist their bathrooms are cleaner and sometimes men tell me their bathrooms are so scary I would lose sleep at night if I knew what was going on in there. Since I make it a habit not to visit men's public restrooms too much, it is still a mystery to me. 20/20 should do an investigative report on the matter. These are the things people need to know!
Thank you for bravely reading about women's restrooms and leaving a comment!
Great hub...Nice
Thanks! Restroom etiquette is an important topic and someone needed to tackle it. :-)
Love it! so funny :)
Also so many people don't even wash their hands. I just remembered n episode of Seinfeld when he was at a restaurant toilet and the chef didn't even bother washing his hands!
Thanks for the compliment. Yes, I remember that episode on Seinfeld. I think the guy's name was Poppy or something. Ewww!!!
What a great hub, these things all needed to be said, I work at a fast food place and I cannot even tell you all of the horrifying things I have seen while cleaning the restrooms! You may want to add, keep any used lady products and underwear, diapers, and other other ridiculous disgusting things in the garbage. Though must say seeing used underwear covered in...*cringes* discharge in the garbage actually isn't too great either. Anyway, great writing very enjoyable hub!
Thank you for the comment. People really are disgusting in public restrooms, aren't they? I just can't imagine what people are thinking sometimes. The dirty underwear thing sounds horrible. Someone did that when I lived in a dorm, too. She just flung the dirty underwear on a hook in the bathroom and left it. Ewww!
LOVE THISSSSSSSSSS!!!
Thank you! Sometimes I just have to write a hub about things no one else wants to discuss.
Ahah it was definitely worth reading. I've seen a few cases that you mentioned , but poo on walls...:o or in that case anything of THAT sort....uhm uhm, this is disgusting! But as you said, people are disgusting sometimes, or maybe some simply don't bother to hide their disgusting side when they are alone in a stall!!!
Well voted up your hub, that was a different and untouched topic for sure! :) loved your natural writing style.
Thanks for reading. I am starting to wondering if the poo on the wall thing is just something I've seen... perhaps there is a poo fetish lady living in Maryland. A number of people have told me they haven't seen this in other places. I am glad you enjoyed the hub. Thanks for the votes and the comment!
Wow! I started to think you were talking about the men's room with the poo. Guess some women are getting just as disgusting as men. Great Hub!
Yes, I am starting to think there is some weird poo fetish lady in this area. Sometimes I think men might be less disgusting than women. Thanks for the comment!
Excellent hub, I really enjoyed this one. I've been in all of the above situations, except having my shoes complimented. Then again, I pretty much only wear runners.
I do have a pair people stare at a lot, but that's another story.
I've left school now, but I remember a few years ago, there was a huge cluster of girls (it was an all-girls school) hanging around the bathroom door and giggling. I asked one of them what it was that was so very amusing, and it turned out that sanitary napkins had been stuck all over the walls. They'd had little pictures drawn on them in eyeliner, lipstick, etc. It was disgustingly bizarre.
Also, I have a lot of hospital appointments due to various health problems, and on quite a few occasions I've had to use the restrooms there. I can't count the amount of times people have walked right out of the stall they'd been using, straight past the sinks, and out the door leading to the corridor. In a freaking hospital!
I've found too, that people in hospitals love to tell you about whatever illness it is they have. I'm empathetic, of course - I know what it's like to have a life-changing condition. But I don't exactly love chatting over a basin in a toilet roll-covered bathroom with two broken toilets, that may or may not have any soap in it's dispensers, depending on the day.
Anyway, shutting up now. Again, great hub. I notice you have other "101" pieces. Off to check them out now.
Thank you for reading and for sharing your restroom experiences, too. People do the weirdest things in a public restroom. I just don't get it.
It is pretty gross to see people not wash their hands in a hospital restroom. Whenever I am at a hospital, I like to wash my hands as much as possible, but maybe that is just me.
I am happy you enjoyed this hub and I hope you enjoy the others. For some reason, this one always seems to be everyone's 101 favorite.
Great read and very interesting. Men usually don't talk at all in the bathrooms thankfully!
Thanks, I am glad you liked it. I think women should try the no talking thing in the bathroom, too. I just can't have a good conversation in that situation. :-)
Thanks for the smile! Agree with your writing angle. I one of those people who hate to use a public bathroom because you never know what you will find. Wish everyone would read this article because the world would be a better place. Have you tried the squat and sit app? Heard it's good at locating clean restrooms.
I am happy this hub could make you smile. I have never heard of that app before. I wonder how accurate it is. Thanks for sharing!
enjoyed your hub.... the women's bathroom seems like a much different place than the men's. Although it seems that neither men nor women have learned how to flush the toilet consistently. =)
I am glad you liked the hub. I suppose men always wonder what is going on in the women's restroom. I guess now you know... nothing good at all! At least the whole "not flushing to toilet thing" is something that brings men and women together. We do have so much in common after all! Thanks for reading and for the comment!
I can completely agree with you on all of these! It honestly shocks me that people can be so disrespectful of others. Really how hard is it to flush the toilet before you leave!?
I can't figure out what is going on in a lot of women's restrooms. It scares me what must be going on in some people's houses. Thanks for reading and for the comment!
Thanks for this hub. You're right...these things just need to be said! Although, one caveat: just remember, please, that simply because I'm the one you see come out of the stall doesn't mean I'm actually the one who has defaced/fouled it. Sometimes, you just gotta go, and the first stall that's open is "it." I'm one of those who can aim straight, but I refuse to wipe off someone else's errant drops. Just saying! :-)
PS Way to develop a niche topic!
Everymom
Hahaha... I am glad you appreciated the hub. You are so right on that issue. I've wanted to tell people in the past, "That smell - it wasn't me! I promise!" However, that seems silly so I always try to give a sympathetic look that I hope conveys that message. Probably not. Thanks for dropping by and thanks for the comment!
I don't know how I missed this hub but the advice is again spot on. Thanks Jeannie!
Thanks, Alecia! Oddly, this remains my most popular etiquette hub on HubPages. I am amazed at how many people need some help with bathroom advice.
Voted up! Loved it! I don't want to hear them and I don't want them to hear my bathroom sounds either!
Thanks so much! I know what you mean. People need to keep spaces between stalls when possible. No one wants someone too close to them.
Another fantastic etiquette hub! I'm so glad to see I'm not the only one creeped out by someone getting into the stall beside me when there's nobody else there and there are like 50 other stalls they could go to. Great Hub!!
I am glad you agree with me on that one. I can't figure it out. My only theory is maybe she is scared there won't be toilet paper and she might need the person in the next stall to give her some. It is odd though. I just check the toilet paper situation before "taking a seat" if you know what I mean. Thanks for the comment!
Barbara Kay Level 6 Commenter 14 months ago
I agree with you. I have seen all of the above behavior in restrooms. I think some of the really gross things are being done by teens who think it's funny though, such as the BM on the walls and the graffiti.
Thanks for the hub. I hope the offenders read it.