Public bathrooms need to come with a caution sign. We can all recollect moments when we’ve navigated bathrooms like we would a disease infested battlefield, pushing open stall doors with our elbows, flushing with our shoe covered feet and gingerly touching handles with the protection of paper towels.
The caution is rightly applied. Research has shown that large amounts of bacteria are found everywhere from the floors to faucet handles. Toilet surfaces in particular have bacteria that are commonly associated with feces.
“Honestly, I have a huge fear of public bathrooms,” Ashley Fakhouri, senior at UIUC, said.
However, coming across this problem is almost unavoidable. So, what is the best way to use a public bathroom while still escaping with your sanitation and dignity?
1. “Don’t sit on the toilet seat without protection,” joked Marya Jan, sophomore at UIUC.
Oftentimes, bathrooms have paper seat covers, and if they don’t, you can tear large pieces of toilet paper to use to sit on.
“I never sit on the seat; I always squat,” Fakhouri said. Squatting is another good way to avoid bacterial contact when using the bathroom. However, to dispel a myth, a lot of research says that the toilet seat is not the dirtiest part of the bathroom.
2. Avoid fabric on the floor.
Don’t pull your dress/skirt/jeans all the way to the floor, and keep anything you bring in the stall with you off of the floor. The floor has a lot of bacteria that can easily transfer to clothing if clothing is not handled properly.
3. Use Paper towels to touch any type of handle or faucet.
Door handles, the flusher and the faucet all carry the most bacteria in bathrooms because they are handled the most by people. Researchers recommend avoiding any direct skin contact with these things.
“I flush with my foot so I don’t have to use the handle,” Jan said. Fakhouri opens the doors with paper towels and even brings her own wipes when she goes to the bars because she doesn’t trust bar bathrooms, in particular.
4. Leave the stall immediately after flushing.
According to a Web MD article, Dr. Philip Tierno, director of clinical microbiology and diagnostic immunology at New York University Medical Center and Mt. Sinai Medical Center, advises that people leave the stall right after flushing to, “keep the microscopic, airborne mist from choosing you as a landing site.”
5. Wash your hands and sing the ABCs.
The most effective way to kill germs after using the bathroom is by washing your hands. According to Baylor Health Care System, washing ones hands while singing the ABCs is the best amount of time needed for scrubbing to eliminate germs.
Not all public bathrooms are alike. Jan pointed out that there are some bathrooms that are better maintained than others. “Some public bathrooms are cleaner than others, so I use that to my advantage,” Jan said. “For example, the bathrooms at Lincoln Hall are a lot cleaner than the Undergraduate Library. So, with that knowledge I’ll avoid one place and go to another.”
If some bathrooms are exceptionally unsanitary, it is best to inform maintenance for those buildings.
Although public bathrooms can be horrific, WebMD Health & Balance says that some drastic concerns about bathrooms, like contracting sexually transmitted diseases from toilet seats, are just a myth. The best way to survive a public bathroom is to simply maintain your personal hygiene.