Public toilets

Primrose53

ViceVersa

The ones around here have all been closed by the council!

So where do people go?

I do know (and was surprised to learn) that councils do not have a responsibility to provide public toilets although most do.

Do you really want to know.

Behind the most convenient bush or dustbin, probably.

M&S who usually have a cafe, these days, have excellent toilets.No need to use the cafe though.

Our public loos in the town centre were closed some years back. But they were horrid and probably not safe at night. The town centre Tesco and Waitrose both have toilets which are kept clean and tidy. Both shops are open from 8 till 8 and there is a cinema where I expect you could pop in outside those hours as well as several pubs and restaurants. So we are well off.

Seaside toilets can either be immaculate or disgusting. I can't imagine what some peoples toilets must be like at home seeing the state some are left in. Horrid job to clean them. I hope they get danger money.

i never use them ever, disgusting animals use them, i try to find a nice store with toilets or wetherspoons whch are always lovely

I once read recently that it is not advisable to 'hover' over a toilet seat as the position does not allow you to empty your bladder efficiently.
I personally would give the seat a good wipe with loo roll and, once 'finished', make sure l give my hands a good wash.

We have very few Public Toilets in Bristol especially near the harbour,but we do have a community toilet scheme anyone can use. I keep the list on my phone restaurants,libraries ,city hall many places,there is always somewhere nearby.

We need a whole new thread for these.

Nell82

I haven't seen any decent graffiti for ages. The last I remember was written along the bottom of the door above the gap: ^Beware of limbo dancers^

The one I remember was at the bottom of the door in tiny writing, which you had to lean well forward to see - "If you can read this you are now sitting at an angle of 60 degrees from vertical"

My husband reported one above the urinals "The future of Scotland is in your hands"

I do find it a bit pointless to buy a drink in a pub or cafe just so I can use their loo…. it just perpetuates the original problem and makes for a rather expensive day out!!! I have an app on my phone which tells me where the nearest loo is, in desperate times I need all the help I can get!!

Also our supermarkets are now all outside the town centre so again no go

They won’t deny you You are wrong there Gingster Starbucks have decided not to let you in unless you buy something and Costa are a bit funny too as you have to ask for the key !
MacDonalds in our town has closed and opened up on the out of town malls, so there are few alternatives the railway station is at one end of the high street, the bus station (often closed for vandalism) is the other end, you don’t have a huge amount if choice if you need to go.

yanda

I clean toilets and it's a demeaning job and should be better paid in my opinion. If cleaners have to go and clean faeces off walls they need to be paid at least £25 an hour then they can feel valued .

Yes I completely agree, and if we want decent public services we have to pay for them. It’s only when they’re gone that we seem to appreciate them.

It seems to me that when a public place is kept clean and tidy it is more likely to remain that way, but if allowed to deteriorate it is not respected.

yanda

I clean toilets and it's a demeaning job and should be better paid in my opinion. If cleaners have to go and clean faeces off walls they need to be paid at least £25 an hour then they can feel valued .

absolutely.It was what a friend's father after he was made bankrupt when his grocery shop failed.

Primrose53

ViceVersa

The ones around here have all been closed by the council!

So where do people go?

I do know (and was surprised to learn) that councils do not have a responsibility to provide public toilets although most do.

Good question - I'm guessing they just pop into the nearest cafe/bar/restaurant or supermarket and use the ones there? I mean, don't get wrong, they were pretty grotty public loos even when they were open, but it was better than nothing.

I clean toilets and it's a demeaning job and should be better paid in my opinion. If cleaners have to go and clean faeces off walls they need to be paid at least £25 an hour then they can feel valued .

MT62

My friend brought me back a box of disposable loo seat covers from the USA as she knows how anal I am about public loos, (no pun intended).
I’ve never seen them here.
Worst toilets I have ever been in was Debenhams in Manchester. Just disgusting I complained.
I don’t know why some woman would wipe faeces up the walls.
I always use tissue to open all the doors & dry my hands as there is more bacteria coming out of those hand dryers, than using a paper towel.
Also for the hoverers, my urologist said it’s the worse way to have a wee & to stop doing it as it doesn’t empty the bladder properly.

To the amusement of my grandchildren when they were younger, I would drape sheets of loo paper over the seat before anyone sat on it.

I really don't like public toilets but when you really have to go, any toilet is a good one!

My friend brought me back a box of disposable loo seat covers from the USA as she knows how anal I am about public loos, (no pun intended).
I’ve never seen them here.
Worst toilets I have ever been in was Debenhams in Manchester. Just disgusting I complained.
I don’t know why some woman would wipe faeces up the walls.
I always use tissue to open all the doors & dry my hands as there is more bacteria coming out of those hand dryers, than using a paper towel.
Also for the hoverers, my urologist said it’s the worse way to have a wee & to stop doing it as it doesn’t empty the bladder properly.

I live on London and there are no public loos where I live. I go to the nearest shopping centre but I feel sorry for the cleaners as they have a thankless task s some people are so filthy.

Many years ago I was on a bus trip, I had chicken for lunch. Just made it to the loo and the results went everywhere, up the walls etc. I felt so ill, was so embarrassed and have never forgotten it. God help the cleaner.

I hate the toilet paper on the floor, usually in a puddle of water - well I tell myself is water 😬
We tend to avoid public loos and go in a cafe or pub, pay for a cuppa or soft drink and use the facilities.
I also hate sinks in public loos where there is also loo paper resting in water around the sinks. What is that all about??

One thing that is good about Australia is that 99% of public toilets are very clean. Not the case in many of our nearby countries ! Exceptions are the bush drops but not much can be done without water.

Our church toilets are always spotless, however when I go to check after Mass, I am shocked at the state, in which a few individuals leave them. I have an idea, who it is, but obviously can"t say anything.
Of course, I find myself cleaning up.

There is one parishioner in particular, who every Saturday, leaves the disabled toilet in a mess, often not flushing.
I am aware that there are hidden disabilities, my DIL has a stoma and I have RA and also diverticulitis.
However, I do not urinate on the floor, leave sodden toilet paper on the floor, and faeces for others to clean up after Mass.
It is disgusting.

On a positive note, the toilets at Silverburn Mall are always spotless.

Primrose53

ViceVersa

The ones around here have all been closed by the council!

So where do people go?

I do know (and was surprised to learn) that councils do not have a responsibility to provide public toilets although most do.

I do know (and was surprised to learn) that councils do not have a responsibility to provide public toilets although most do.

That surprised me, too Primrose53.

Because it's an 'optional' service, no surprise to learn that "widespread closures and reductions accelerated sharply after 2010 due to severe budget cuts and austerity measures."

I live in a small Cotswold tourist town - there used to be a public toilet on the main thoroughfare - close to all the shops, pubs and restaurants. Much used.

It's now been converted to a 'bijou' house and was snapped up almost the moment it came on the market...

The abundant flower-beds along the main street have also been abandoned, too. And the road and pavements are hardly ever swept. The town now looks decidedly shabby.

However, we do the best we can as a community to tidy, clean and maintain the flower-beds.

When tourists ask where they can find public toilets - we direct them to the nearest pub - or the nearest public toilet, which as a good 20 minutes walk away - or much longer if you are not fleet of foot...

I’ve never been in a decent public toilet. They are all disgusting.
I use cafes, pubs or restaurants if need be. They won’t deny you.

Greyduster

Some of the worst public toilets I have come across have been in hospitals!

Oh goodness, yes, me too.

I had the misfortune to spend 3 months in a hospital in Gloucestershire in a surgical ward mainly housing patients who'd had abdominal surgery.

I cannot describe the state of the patients' toilets, it was absolutely awful.

Unfortunately, the cleaning staff were only available at set times so it was left to the nurses - who were virtually always running with one or two nurses short - to maintain the toilets. There were occasions when it was almost impossible to set foot in them because of the numerous 'samples' lying around on the floor...

My OH used to bring me a constant supply of antibacterial wipes for the cleaning-sessions that were needed on most visits.

Never have I been so happy to get home to my own bathroom which my partner had kept pristine in my absence...