Photo by: Jasmine Tovar
When you live in a dormitory with others, it’s common sense to be courteous to the others that live there, but that’s a story for another time. Today I want to focus on proper bathroom etiquette. I live in an all-girls dorm and it’s an interesting experience, but I’ve noticed that not everyone is as clean as they should be. Here are some tips to keep the bathroom a clean space for everyone else:
1. If You Pee on the Toilet, Wipe It Off!
I get that we share a bathroom with about sixty other girls, so I’m well aware of the “pop a squat” method. If you are using this method and you pee on the toilet, wipe it off, it literally takes less than thirty seconds. No one wants to be cleaning up pee that doesn’t belong to them!
Photo by: Jasmine Tovar
2. Flush the Toilet
This seems like common sense, but I can’t count the number of times I’ve walked into the bathroom to see someone’s bodily fluids in the toilet. It takes a second to reach back and flush the toilet. There’s no excuse not to flush unless something is wrong with the toilet.
3. Throw Away Personal Hygiene Products
Being a woman, most of us are visited by mother nature monthly. Most of us are also old enough to have had a menstrual cycle for years, so we know that it is proper etiquette to throw those products away. No one wants to see your bloody tampons or pads. Throw ‘em away!
4. Wash Hair Down the Drain
We share roughly ten showers, so keep them clean for the other people that have to follow behind you. I know washing your hair and shaving is necessary, but no one wants to find your body hair all over the showers. It takes no time at all to rinse it down the drain.
5. Clean the Sink After Brushing Teeth
After brushing your teeth, just run the water to clean any spit down the drain. No one wants to go brush their teeth and wash their hands with someone else’s spit in the sink.
6. The Custodial Staff is NOT Your Maid
It is true that people get paid to clean our bathrooms, but they are not our maids. We are grown women and it doesn’t take much to clean up after ourselves. They shouldn’t have to strenuously clean a bathroom that we could keep clean on our own.
These are just a few of the main things that I see in the bathroom and it definitely needs to be addressed. We are all adult women and it shouldn’t be that hard to keep the bathrooms clean. Be courteous of others. Would you leave your bathroom at home like this? I highly doubt it, it takes a few seconds to clean up after yourself. And I, for one, will thank you if you do!