Public toilets

That was exactly my point goldengirl not all disabled people use a wheelchair or stick...I don't either...so how can you check out that there is no one disabled about who'd need it.

I think your idea is brilliant....it would be so helpful in planning visits etc
There is nothing more irritating than finding a public toilet only to find out it is locked and the 'nearest' open toilet is miles away.

goldengirl - I'm sure I have seen a survey of public loos somewhere. I shall get googling and see what I can find.

Well folks, top of the list when I googled "survey" and "public toilets" was this page gailknight.wordpress.com/2011/03/18/ordnance-survey/

It does not sound easy to make a map, but perhaps a list of the loos in individual areas would be possible.

I'll go back to Google

If you live in or near or are passing through these councils you could be in luck.:-
Lichfield District Council
Lincoln City Council
London Borough of Brent
London Borough of Sutton
London Borough of Wandsworth
Manchester City Council
Salford City Council
Sunderland City Council
Surrey Heath Borough Council
Tandridge District Council

and these councils have added a toilet list to their "to do" lists:-

Aberdeen City Council
Pendle Borough Council
Trafford District Council
Walsall Council

Follow this link for more info gailknight.wordpress.com/2011/01/18/open-data-councils/

Watch this space. If I find anything else useful I will post it.

Public Toilets in Edinburgh (where I live)

Earlier in the year, City Councillors agreed to close half of the 30 public toilet facilities in Edinburgh. local.stv.tv/edinburgh/news/15803-the-edinburgh-public-toilet-survey-2011/ is a link to an article asking for opinions on which of the 30 residents think should be closed.

To help identify just where the 30 toilets are, they include a link to a map goo.gl/maps/3SbK I am not sure this will be much help to anyone once the number is halved, but I am posting the link in case it is useful to anyone planning to visit this summer.

So pleased that you think it worth noting toilet locations. Gail Knight's thinking - as I understand it - is to contact councils and have them put their toilet details on their web pages. This is useful, but I feel that having the actual comments of USERS to council run and non council toilets as well would be even more helpful and widen our choice. At the click of a mouse - or as an app we could have the opportunity to see whether (a) there are usable toilets in a particular area and (b) the standard of facility offered. Another advantage is that it can be done piecemeal and added to as and when - just like Gransnet

I'm sure there is a way we can do this effectively by devising a suitable, SIMPLE database perhaps by County. I see the main issue to be overcome will be the means of keeping it updated. If it's not kept up to date it will fail as a useful tool.

Any thoughts anyone?

Have just bought a thing called a "she-wee" which has a spout and enables you to stand up and wee like a man!! No squatting down, or dropping of clothes. Tried it in the bath and it works. Available on the internet (£5) or in camping shops. Very popular with walkers. Hope this is of help to people like me who become stressed on long journeys or walks where there are no loos. Equality with men at last (at least in the peeing department)!!

I'm quite fussy about public loos and not letting little hands touch the toilet seat, etc. I came across an idea for "private" public loos on the Springwise web site (see link below). Personally I would pay £1 to use a very clean loo in a high street with full facilities if I can't find one in a shop. I thought this was also quite a good business idea as everyone needs loos. I think if there is always an attendant, the loos do not become unpleasant.

http://www.springwise.com/retail/2theloo/

I remember as a child being taken to the toilets in Cole Brothers (now John Lewis) in Sheffield and the attendant working there would check each toilet before she let you in and clean up if necessary. This probably encouraged people to leave the toilet as they found it. It always smelled lovely and was impeccably clean.

We used to do the 2 car doors thing when we went on family holidays but it got embarrassing as we reached adolescence! I had a good experience in Prague a few years ago. I somehow expected public loos to be scruffy there but was wrong. There were so many great public toilets as clean as a bathroom in your own home!

janan - I have sometimes thought of getting one of these but wasn't sure what you did with it after you'd used it or where you kept it. Have you actually used yours outside yet, what did you think?

If you have a 'smart phone' you can get an application called 'toilet finder', there may be other apps available which are similar. I've found this to be an invaluable aid, not only does it pinpoint you to where the loos can be found, but it acts like a 'sat nav' and as you walk along it guides you to the toilet. It's saved me some embarrasing moments I can tell you!! The only thing it doesn't do is tell you the condition of the toilets, but....needs must sometimes...!

My daughter, her partner and some friends recently went to see Take That at our local football ground and just before the guys came on stage I (being of that certain age) decided that I better go to the loo then, rather than being desperate in the middle of the main event. Being a football stadium most of the loos are geared towards men and as you can imagine the queues for the limited amount of ladies toilets were massive. My daughter and a couple of outher "ladies" decided that rather than miss the concert they would pop into the mens loos and dragged me along with them........ at which point quite a few other ladies joined us creating a queue at the mens such as they had never experienced before. One "lady" decided that she would work as toilet controller and quickly formed two orderly queues by shouting "if you need a cubicle queue to the right and "if you can stand and pee, queue to the left".. The men going in and out had a giggle when she bellowed " keep your eyes right ladies there's nothing impressive to see on the left hand side, I should know I've just had a good look" I was mortified but didn't miss a single minute of the concert !

gillybob What a funny story. I was on a very long bus journey in Crete many years ago. The group had been taken to an ancient monastry high on a mountain. Those who wished to use 'the facilities' were told to take the first turn on the left...to our horror we discovered a very large, niffy pit in the ground...and that, my dears, was where we "went"

Loved your story gillybob - gave me a huge smile - thanks for cheering up the day!

lucid if you have a disability whether or not it shows, you can use an accessible toilet [I see a 'disabled' toilet as one that's not working ] but I must admit it took me a while to get over my hesitation. Like you if I'm not in desperate need then I'll queue, but if I'm in trouble then in I go!

gillybob what a great tale. I wish more of us could take such a stance - and it worked, didn't it! Marvellous.

Wembley Stadium apparently has toilets which can be either male or female and so for football matches the emphasis is on providing more for men but for certain pop concerts the emphasis is on providing more for women.

I'm a great letter / emailer re: toilet provision and I do wish others would do the same. If we don't do anything we can't expect things to improve.

End of my lecture - for today

yogagran. I keep mine in the car but it's small enough to put in your handbag. Evidently urine is pure therefore I read that theres no need to clean the "she wee" after use. I have yet to try it out but the thought that I have it is enough to give me peace of mind!

Where you have ladies of a certain age there is always a good toilet story

I can't master a she-wee. It runs down my leg. Its a shame, its such a good idea.

It makes me wonder how mobile workers manage during the day but especially at night eg police officers, care assistants, lorry drivers and those who work shifts. Public toilets, shops and pubs are usually shut at night. It's not so bad for men as some areas have night time automatic urinals which pop out of the ground, but for women.........

jangly... she-wee me neither, what a mess !

goldengirl...24 hour McDonalds I guess. My daughter is the manager of a large branch and she tells me a lot of police officers,ambulance drivers etc. pop in for a coffee and a McWee !

hate them and am positively OCD about sitting on the seat or touching the door handles! Have people seen the film ' the Aviator'? in it the Howard Hughes character waits until someone comes in so that he can go out without touching the door. Thought it was brilliant! I'm not really that bad but some public loos make you feel like doing that.
Apart from shops and pubs there actually aren't any public loos left in my town! goodness knows what pregnant women do! there were some still around when I was expecting but the council has closed most of them.

I hate public loos too and use them only if desperate, I scrub hands and then after leaving vicinity, use an anti-bacterial and anti-viral hand rub to remove door handle germs. Bad memories of DH walking into service station loos where man was vomitting, DH spun on his heel and left, 10 seconds max. When we got home 2 hours later DH started being sick that's how virulent the bug was.

Most public toilets get vandalised, and it is very expensive to keep them looking acceptable. I think that is why there are so few public toilets. I have noticed that more shops have them now, but they do not always advertise the fact.

I have convinced my grandsons that they do not need to "go" as soon as they want to, since boys have bigger bladders than girls. They are so pleased with that idea, that they are ready to hold on a while. On the other hand, my granddaughter...

My pet hate in public toilets is touching. There are some great ones that you just have to wave your hands around the flush, but then, of course, you have to use your hands to open the toilet door. And when you have washed and dried your hands, you have to open the door to the toilets themselves. Why can they not open outwards?

agree Jangran-see Howard Hughes trick about re opening main toilet door!

I hate public loos that are so small you nearly have to stand in the toilet to shut the door, and as you do it is impossible not to let your clothes wipe round the edge of the bowl

Howard Hughes' trick???