Ettiquette in portable toilets
Quite often, we are thinking of our own comfort, rather than good ettiquette that benefits all users when using portable toilets, following is a list of good tips for use in public toilets, as listed by a-to-z-of-manners-and-etiquette.com, adapted to suit portable hire toilets such as those provided by Rent A Loo.
Toilets can be germ ridden places and if enough care is not taken to adopt hygienic practices we can contribute to the spread of many types of disease.
We are put off by messy, smelly restrooms, toilets or urinals and public ones are the main offenders.
If you mess it; clean it.
Nobody likes to clean up someone else’s mess and so it makes sense for everyone to clean up after themselves throughout the day to maintain a high standard of hygiene and cleanliness.
Some people who are the first to turn up their noses in dirty, smelly toilets are themselves to blame for breaches of good toilet etiquette.
Is this because of their ignorance, indifference or upbringing?
For your information, we have listed the following common sense and logical rules of restroom, urinal, or toilet etiquette to bring us back on track:
Top rule therefore – clean up your own mess
Unfortunately not everyone practices good hygiene, so –
Next rule is, be hygienic – ALWAYS
Then – respect the rights of others to privacy and cleanliness
Toilet Etiquette – Public toilets
Most of the rules of toilet etiquette that follow aim to achieve the above:
Do not take reading material into the toilet, the toilets are busy and people will be waiting
If you are unsure if someone is in a cublicle (i.e door has been locked but no one exiting or entering that youve seen) – knock politely and ask if they are ok. This serves to check on the welfare of the person but also to alert them to that fact that people are waiting.
Lock the cubicle (stall) door when you enter. You may embarrass someone
Guys; choose a spot at the urinal farthest from anyone already there or at one end if you are the first
While at the urinal, never turn to look directly or sideways at anyone standing there.
Especially, do not look in his direction any lower than his face
Stand close enough to the pan or urinal so you don’t dribble on the floor
Concentrate when you pee so you don’t wet the seat, walls or floor
Sit on the pan if you are unsteady on your feet.
Girls; sitting is compulsory.
Squat only on squatting toilets, pedestal toilets are for sitting on only
Avoid messing the toilet seat. If you do, clean up after yourself – properly
Remember to flush the toilet after use
Don’t leave toilet paper, soilage or sanitary items for someone else to clean up after you
Ladies’ handbags pick up lots of germs if taken into the toilet and placed on the toilet floor or handled by germ laden hands
Please, never place them on dining tables or kitchen bench tops if they have been taken to the toilet
Girls’ sanitary napkins can be flushed down the toilet if an alternative is not availbale, but ideally these should be wrapped and disposed of in bins provided nearby. They should not be placed behind seats, vent pipes or down the sides of sinks for others to clean up.
Don’t graffiti the toilet; it devalues your name and talent
If you use tiolet paper to cover seats or taps, do not leave these behind, they now have your germs on them
Ensure the door latch is showing green as you leave – to indicate that it is unoccupied
Wash your hands thoroughly after your business – whatever it is
Don’t litter the place
Don’t smoke or take drugs in the cubicle – you are exposing these substances to the next users (and not fooling security either)
Be Quick
Don’t dawdle in the toilet especially in the toilet stalls
Try to accomodate those with dire need to move ahead of you in the queue. Not everyone is capable of waiting, while you may be.
Don’t use the disabled toilet because you have a pram, kids, or don’t want to wait. Disabled access toilets have less capacity than normal toilets and are harder to refill. Using them inappropriately means those that are disabled have no toilets to use at all, all because it was more convienient for you.
Adapted from http://www.a-to-z-of-manners-and-etiquette.com/toilet-etiquette.html