Poll #25:  Public Restroom:  Use a “Routine” / Don’t Use a “Routine”

Results:

11 Responses / 8 “Routine” / 1 No “Routine” / 2 Unclear…

Josh....

your question is one that begs a serious answer...did you know that hepatitis lives for 7 hours on hard surfaces...well it does and if you get it its a nasty ass disease and cannot be cured...oh sure you can get drugs but it can keep you lame your whole life and destroy your liver...That said.....I use elbows when possible....or torn off paper towel or TP to touch handles and then you get to the door and it looks worse than my cars undercarriage...so I say a prayer and go back to the table and wash in my water glass....life sucks sometimes...gary

GARY MITCHELL, GENERAL MANAGER

Use a Routine, Kill the GERMS!!!  Fue

Let's just say I am not so much a creature of habit.  My "routine" depends on the specific room in question.  The ladies' at the local bar - I'm not touching anything except with my shoe.  The ladies' up at WWU, which I witness being cleaned on a daily basis, and I'm pretty carefree.  I've made it this far (40) without contracting any dread diseases from a toilet seat, so it's a little late to worry.  ~laurie 

Routine!
1.  open door with foot if possible
2.  2-seat covers for pee, 3-seat covers for poo
3.  do business by not sitting on seat
4.  put seat covers in bowl with foot
5.  flush toilet with foot
6.  wash hands with hot water and soap - keep water running
7.  get paper towel and begin drying (in blow dryer - get seat covers to improvise)
8.  turn off water with paper towel when done drying hands
9.  use paper towel to also get out of restroom if needed
10.  pray to God that you made it
It is so much easier to take a shit in the woods than to use a public restroom.
Thea

Poll 25:  In gas station and bar bathrooms, I always use a routine.  It usually consists of using the very annoying paper thing, or squatting.  A good thing to do for hand washing, is to get some paper towels all ready first, and then wash your hands.  Dry your hands, and then with the towel you just used, turn off the water and open the door with the towel still in your hand.  Kick the door to keep it open, and find another garbage to throw your towels in.  I do find myself getting lazy with my routine in familiar places however... work, the school library, etc., even though I know they have "germies" too.  I guess I go on my gut instinct whether the routine goes in effect or not.  HOWEVER... just this Friday I stopped in North Bend to go to the bathroom, and the entire town had lost power because of wind.  The restroom was pitch black, and even though I was feeling uneasy, I had to throw my routine out the window, and feel pretty much the entire bathroom so I didn't fall and hurt myself.  Desperate times call for desperate measures.  Maggie

yes i do have a routine in the restroom.  if i sit, definitly cover the seat with toilet paper, or a seat cover if available.  always use my foot to flush, never my hand.  then i roll out paper towels before I wash my hands so that i don't have to touch the paper towel dispenser it with my clean hands.  then i turn off the water with the paper towel.  also i use a paper towel or my sleeve to open the door.  less contact with germs the better!  Krista

Those kids are innocent. 

 -rAZoR

My routine usually is that I try very hard to avoid using public restrooms, but if I do I have to have a fairly empty one or else I freeze up.  Maybe too much info, but I wash my hands twice most of the time and I never push on the metal piece when I leave.  Somehow that metal piece invites hands to touch it, so I chose another part of the door where I feel doesn't get as much contact.  Jeremy

try to avoid public restrooms if at all possible. But if i must venture into one, and use the terrific facilities,,, i take great caution while entering...the door handle....i try not to touch it,,,,cause then you'll get germs...when you touch .......right...... after the evacuation of my waste. i wash my hands. always, IF YOU DON"T WASH YOUR HANDS<<< YOU SHOULD BE SHOT. soap is a must. if you can get a paper towl without touching the 'push/pull' to receive paper towell button/knob thats good....OR..do it before washing hands,,,so its ready for you to grab. dry off the hands and toss drying thing into waste recepticle. opening the door while leaving the restroom....i use the foot. otherwise you touch with clean hands....and you get germs from FREAKS who don't wash their hands.    Golf is a great game. --tyler

Yeah, so here’s the deal.  Say I go to use a public restroom and I only need to make a number 1…I scope the bathroom on the way in.  If it has a fairly high level of cleanliness I’ll use the facilities, flush with the foot (though so many restrooms are automatic now), get the paper towels, wash hands, then in one flowing motion open the door and toss the towel in the nearest receptacle…when I’m feeling vigilant…otherwise, I may slack here and there…for example:  I often forget to crank out the paper towels until after I wash and sometimes throw them away before I get to the door.  I will never touch the doorknob with my bare hands, however.  Still I can’t help but wonder if the other parts of the door that I touch ever get cleaned at all…there could be 6 month old poopie bacteria on the door where I’m touching it…at least the knob gets cleaned from time to time….such a dilemma it is.  Now, suppose the bathroom is not so lovely…then, provided I have bathed that day and that I haven’t partaken in any rigorous physical activity, I may simply walk in, do my business and walk out.  I realize this goes completely against the rules of bathroom use/hand washing, but seriously, if I can get away with only touching myself and nothing else, I really feel like I have won the battle against the germies.  Keep in mind, this is only for a number 1.  I can generally avoid number 2 while in the public arena and just hold it until later.  Tyler, in a related subject, I have some statistics for you.  Josh