Given my advanced years, it's safe to say I've been in hundreds, if not thousands, of public restroom facilities. Roadside rest and service areas, restaurants, gas stations, trains, planes, busses, hotels and motels, all kinds of stores, national and state parks, porta-potties, and yes, even an outhouse. I'm claiming a degree of expertise when it comes to toilet facilities and lately, I've noticed a decided lack of, well, let's call it etiquette when it comes to restroom facilities and toilets in particular, especially those used by women (I really am not qualified to address the state of the men's facilities).
Perhaps you're familiar with the little ditty "If you sprinkle when you tinkle...". Well, I've noticed more and more sprinklers using the facilities. I suppose, as my husband claims, these women are choosing to rest their bottoms, not on the toilet seat, but rather are straining to hold their bodies above in whatever manner best works for them creating greater distance and less receptivity for whatever they are depositing into the toilet. In other words, the likelihood of drips falling onto the toilet seat increases. Okay, I'll grant that could be the situation but does that forgive the lack of courtesy when it comes to wiping off the drips?! And while I don't want you thinking I stand and analyze the contents of toilets, on three of my last trips to public facilities, I found that not one, but several toilets either had not been flushed or worse, were full to overflowing with contents of various kinds. On a recent trip, a restroom in a Steak N' Shake between home and Chicago, the restroom itself was clean and the toilet useable but darn! there was NO toilet paper in either of the two stalls! Adding injury to insult, in yet another trip to public facilities someone or ones had deliberately filled several toilet bowls with large quantities of toilet paper and left them unflushable and unuseable. That is downright rude!
Now I don't enter restrooms for leisure or pleasure, though I suppose there are those who do. When I'm there I'm on a mission, sometimes an urgent one. The last thing I want is to have to search for a clean, ready-to-use toilet yet that is too often the case. And so I've come to ponder the lack of etiquette of my fellow facility users. Just what accounts for this deplorable situation? Are parents not teaching the proper use of the facilities? Do they not talk about the golden rule? I mean the one that would say leave the facilities the way you'd like them to be left for you. Or are we in too much of a hurry, too self-concerned to take a few minutes to tidy up after ourselves? Have we lost regard for our fellow women?
I used to hate going into a restroom and finding either that there were pay stalls (which, by the way, I haven't encountered for years. What happened to them?) or that there was an attendant who clearly expected a tip for handing me a hand towel. Now I've come to respect both practices. I now understand that the money collected in the stalls went not only for supplies but also for the work it takes to keep a restroom clean and fresh. I understand now that when an attendent is present, there won't be any practical jokesters deliberately clogging the toilets. And when there is a genuine problem, it will be addressed promptly rather than stewing ... literally ... over time. There is less likelihood of finding no toilet paper or paper towels when an attendant is in charge. It's hard, stinky, and humble work but it is also work that is necessary that benefits us all and it has integrity. From now on my tips will reflect a sincere and profound appreciation for their work on my behalf.
Another possible solution to this problem is the unisex restroom. Recently in Toronto I had occasion to use such a facility. It had individual stalls with doors and locks for each. The lavatories were available to both sexes. Handwashing and freshing up evidently don't require privacy. I found the stall I used to be clean, well stocked, and fully functional. I realize one instance isn't enough to draw conclusions but I can't help but wonder if we have more regard for the potential next user if there is the possiblity that the user will be of the opposite sex. The jury is still out on that one.
Anyway, I recognize that there may not be a long list of people signing up for the job of restroom attendant and the cost of changing facilities to unisex, individual stalls is prohibitive. In the meantime, I urge you all to practice better restroom etiquette. If you sprinkle, clean up after yourself. If you use the last of the toilet paper or paper towels, let an employee know of the need. If things aren't working properly (I mean the toilet itself, not you), inform an employee. If we all did our part, none of us would ever enter a restroom feeling nature's call, only to find that things make answering that call difficult, if not downright disgusting.
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