Is it safe to use the public restroom?

Originally posted by Skywatcher2011
reply to post by FortAnthem

 

Those pictures look like they are from a third world country....but in modern civilizations it is safe to use public restrooms as long as you put toilet paper on the seat

I don't know... You'd be surprised of the bathrooms you might find here in the US, after a long road trip. Once on a long road trip and a few too many gas station burritos, I had to use the bathroom....Bad...

I stopped at the nearest place I could. A little bitty hole in the wall truck stop that looked like the kind of place Michael Myers might look for his next victim.

The toilet there made the pictures in the OP look luxurious! I still remember having to do the hover move... And when I flushed the toilet ( I used my feet...No way in hell was I touching that toilet ) It would not flush... Managed to get the lid off the back only to find 4-5 dead rats inside....

Oh and for toilet paper, they had a stack of old magazines from the 1970's.... Yep.


if I can help it, I admit I will try to avoid bathrooms like that one.... But hey, I had to see a man about a dog...And that was one vicious dog. When you got to go, you got to go.

That said, aside from places like that, MOST public bathrooms are reasonably clean and I would consider them safe. Sure, they will have germs, but germs are everywhere. Even on our own skin. We can't avoid them.

If I can survive that one toilet... Well, I doubt a public bathroom that actually gets cleaned every now and then will hurt me either.

So yeah, considering that germs and what not are everywhere, I would say that most public bathrooms are no more dangerous than the one in your own home.

reply to post by FortAnthem


What a great thread.Have always heard one of those nougats of införmatiom ~ you know there's more germs on your chopping board in your kitchen than your toilet seat.Seems it true.lol

reply to post by FortAnthem


A simple rule I follow; discipline your bowls and your bowls will look after you.

Try to go at home and avoid using public toilets. Why would anyone use public toilets?

I remember taking a microbiology course in college.

The first day of class we swabbed whatever we wanted to and then grew it in a petri dish.

I remember people being shocked to find that the swabs they took in the bathroom grew very few bacteria; presumable because janitors regular spray it down with disinfectant.

Even if there is a little bacteria around, you'll probably be fine most of the time and shouldn't have to worry too much. None of the swabs grew no bacteria, but you don't get sick constantly. Your immune system usually does a pretty good job of keeping you safe.

Eeurgh...and...bleaurgh at the images.

Damn if we haven't all seen some awful sights in the course of carrying out our restroom obligations.

Some folk like to leave their *calling cards* on the walls and I remember a city-centre pub in Liverpool where someone's *dirty protest* stayed for weeks. I'd name the place if it hadn't changed hands and upped its game since.

Washing hands is a must and yet we still have to use the taps/faucets and then open the door that's probably crawling with *life.* Back in the bar, it gets worse with most cash teeming with stuff we don't want to know about.

All in all, it pays to be clean and hygienic, but we live in societies and avoiding microbes and bacteria is impossible without getting carried away.

Interesting and informative thread. Its interesting to know how many germs are actually found in places that most would not consider - like a desk compared to the toilet in a public restroom. I must say though... I wish I had not opened this thread while I was eating. Yeah... I wanna go back 15 minutes in time now...

reply to post by FortAnthem


Explanation: S&F!

If astronauts can depend on Nasa designed Nappy ... then that should be a simple solution for all us to wiping out all this crap!

Personal Disclosure: Just for good measure OL provides this thread with a courtesy flush ...

Originally posted by Rubicant13
Interesting and informative thread. Its interesting to know how many germs are actually found in places that most would not consider - like a desk compared to the toilet in a public restroom.

I think the big differnce here is; everybody expects there to be all sorts of germs in the public restroom so it gets cleaned more often than any other place in the office building or the house.

Other areas, like your desk or living room probably don't get the thorough scrub down nearly as often (or ever) as the restroom. As a result, germs have an easier time living where we least expect them.

We expect to encounter germs in the restroom so we take precautions every time. Its other less obvious areas (like the shopping cart handles mentioned earlier) that probably transmit most germs that really get us sick.

reply to post by FortAnthem


I recall once seeing a comparison bacteria count from an average old kitchen wash rag vs swabs taken from a half dozen public toilet seats. Not extremes like your photos there, but public. It wasn't even close. The kitchen rag way dirtier.

This topic is priceless!

Amid increasing worries about infection control, I really think it is important that people become more aware of their daily activities that involve coming into contact with more germs than usual. The public restroom (or even the home restroom) is a great place to start!

Thanks OP!

I have the overwhelming need to clean now. I will be spraying every surface visible to my eye now. I'm so grossed out. Those pics are like an episode of hoarders.

Gak!,!.! Seriously, put a warning on the thread!


I just puked a little. Photos like that make me realize that I could never be a plumber. Now I know why they charge $200 to show up at your door. :-)