Public toilets

weneedtheloo the epetition is a fantastic idea!! but to make the link easy for us you need to put it between brackets like this [[ ]]

epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/15258

Do hope all you inconvenienced :-) people out there are signing and publicising the national petition??

at present councils dont have to provide public toilets, and in the current economic climate closing them is an easy option. We think providing them should be compulsory...

Please click and sign the petition here:-
http://epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/15258

FACEBOOK – please "like" here:-
https://www.facebook.com/pages/We-need-the-loo/142266822533490

TWITTER – please retweet to as many as possible
http://twitter.com/#!/weneedtheloo

I just checked the link and for some reason the pics aren't showing I don't understand why and I'll have to seek help to sort this out, but in the meantime, if you click on the Home box at the top and then just scroll down through the other posts they seem to still be there.

Goldengirl I think we need to combine our efforts

https://phyzzezee.wordpress.com/2011/08/14/not-going-out/

Please, read the above bit of my blog, and if interested, the other posts, especially the ones about toilets!

I need to sort out the site so that it's easier to see what's there, but it's not my area of expertise plus life keeps getting in the way

I now only use a shoulder bag which I carry "sachel style" across my chest, it's not too much of a problem in loos as it can usually stay where it is

If it's a handbag can you have it on your knee perhaps? Otherwise I'm afraid your only safe option is to learn to juggle or only visit public toilets in pairs so that a friend can take care of the bag.
I'm very fortunate to live in a town which not only has plenty of public loos, but also a lovely man who keeps them all very clean.

On the whole I find public toilets to be smelly, dirty and the floor is always wet !
Now ladies I am sure you have come across this problem, where do you put your handbag when you are " spending a penny " , on the hook (if there is one ) on the door , no some one could jump up and make a grab for the bag. The floor ? no too wet! the only place I can come up with is around my neck !!! Any ideas ?

That's a great idea for a better loo door handle, I shall look forward to seeing them springing up all over the place hopefully. I usually try to open the door with my hand tucked up my sleeve - this makes perfect sense

i completely agree with Jangran - a lot of toilets now have automated soap dispensers, taps, paper towel dispeners and Dyson air balde dryers which is fantastic but then we still have to grap a disgusting and grubby door handle to leave - makes no bloody sense when half the people havent washed their hands and now i have to touch the handle. Good news is that I saw a recent article in the paper about a new hygienic door handle from pure hold that was designed for hospitals - apparently it cleans your hands when you use it by dispensing alcoholic hand gel - absoulute genius idea and i think they should start installing these in public toilets and restaurants. Found out the web site is www.hygienehandle.co.uk - i might even buy one for my local supermarket toilet because they are always disgusting!

The worst ones I have ever used are the "green" composting toilets. There are - or were - some in a car park on the A6 in Derbyshire, halfway round a walk we often do and they are dire. They have recently upgraded the public toilets at the bus station in Filey, which used to be pretty awful and they are now quite posh and very hygenic but, as the upgrade co-incided with Tesco having built a store on part of the public car park I am cynical enough to wonder whether the council footed the bill for it or whether Tesco offered to do it as a sweetener! Not that I'm complaining....
I was in a large department store recently where the customer toilets were kept locked - you had to trek miles to ask for a key to use them. I was not impressed.

I also hate the ones where the enormous loo-roll holder has been attached by someone who opened the door with his (must be a he) shoulder and leaned his back against the open door while screwing the holder to the wall opposite him. When you try to get past the holder and close the door you are squashed. Why not fix it on the same wall as the door hinge? With a low sanitary bin underneath it where your btm does not touch it?

The most irritating loos for me are the ones in airports. If you have to take your hand luggage into the cubicle (and, as a solo traveller, I do), they are almost always impossibly cramped.

Please don't ask your little ones to hold on for too long as it can cause bladder problems in later life.

With regard to vandalism there is a FREE downloadable booklet on how to reduce problems in public loos on the British Toilet Association website - I chaired the team . Councils and police authorities throughout the land have been informed of it - especially useful when refurbishing!

I hate small cubicles too - and having to half sit on the sanpro bin - yuck. There is a wall mounted bin suitable for use in a cubicle but I've never seen one in a public toilet. Have you? There are also one inset into the cubicle wall in some areas which I think are much more hygenic.

Howard Hughes' trick???

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

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

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?

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.

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.

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 !

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.........

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

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

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!

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