Toilet Day!

For some reason today seems to be toilet day. First is discussion about the scrapping of public toilets here in England because we can’t afford them any more. Hmm, I’m not convinced that it will be any cheaper to clean up the inevitable mess that will result, to say nothing of the spread of disease potential.

Then not just one but two of the blogs I subscribe to picked today to blog about public toilets! So there you go, I’m just jumping on the bandwagon! (One with toilets on…)

I think there should be public toilets – free ones! I totally hate ones where you are expected to pay to pee. Not least because I don’t tend to carry a lot cash and most likely won’t have the right change. Also, those Belgian women who spend their whole lives sitting in toilets just so you can pay them – freaky! What a depressing way to spend your life.

I also totally hate ones where the flush is broken. If it doesn’t work, stick a sign on the door and fix it. Don’t just leave it to build up!

Flush flush

As an arthritis with feeble fingers, another of my pet hates with toilets is the flush flush button. My fingers are not strong enough to push this! Sadly, this is the kind of flush I have to live with in my home. I have to use a hairbrush to flush it!

Similarly, I also have problems with some kinds of taps.

And why do the doors have to open inwards??? Too often have I encountered a large room with a row of tiny cubicles whose doors open inwards so close to the toilet seat that you can barely squeeze in and out! So not logical!

I shall also spare a brief mention of the mirrors in ladies toilets obviously fitted by men. Tall men. I am short. What is the point of a mirror I can barely see my hairline in? I’m not especially short either, at 5 foot 4. Just as well I don’t wear make-up.

What else? Locks that don’t work; toilet paper that has run out and you don’t realise until it’s too late; noisy hand drying blowers; hand drying blowers that can’t see my hands so they cut out every three seconds; soap that smells nasty and lingers on my hands for hours. Oh and even worse – solid soap *shudder*! I can never forget the thing I saw on tv where they swabbed various surfaces and the solid soap had by far the most bacteria, way more than the toilet itself! Ugh.

And what about this one from Norway?

Norwegian toilet for people with veeeery loooong arms!

I don’t think I’ve ever seen the toilet paper dispenser quite so far away from the seat! I took some before doing my business.

But at least all that is better than having nowhere to go at all. You can die of a burst bladder you know! No matter how bad they are, having public toilets is preferable to not having public toilets.

What are your thoughts on public toilets? Is it OK for England to get rid of them or totally disgusting and extremely uncivilised?