RANT: Architects & Contractors: Stop building dumb bathrooms!

[sniffles]

What I hate about airport bathrooms is that when I'm traveling alone, it's very difficult to get my small (carryon-able) rolling suitcase inside the stall and the door closed without alot of struggle and swearing. I can't just leave my suitcase sitting in the bathroom outside the stall, because security might run off with it, and if I'm alone, I don't have anyone to watch my suitcase for me.



OYE! I hated these while traveling. There's alot of them in Italy, too. I learned to go to the Mac Donald's to go to the bathroom. I couldn't figure out how to successfully use those hole-in-the floor ones - you men have an easier time of it, but imagine being a woman! Not only do I have to worry about peeing on my shoes, but I have to figure out how to keep my pants out of the way. I guess women in those countries don't use public bathrooms.

/ali

Women in those countries apparently don't wear pants. I found the same problem in Japan. The Japanese have lovely home bathrooms overall - the tub/shower area is in a completely separate room, so no problems of the hubby needing to take a leak while the wifey is in the bath, and water heaters that heat the water as it flows instead of storing it up, so you can never run out of hot water even if 8 people take a shower one after the other. But those hole-in-the-floor toilets are the worst, especially if you've had a bad reaction to strange water...

Women have worse problems in public restrooms than men, IMHO. First of all, why has it never occurred to builders of public spaces that you need more and larger bathrooms for women? We have to get partially undressed and sit down to pee! And I think it can be scientifically proven that women go to the bathroom more often than men. Surely that would tell the architects that they should include more than three stalls in the restroom. Many womens' restroom stalls don't offer enough room to get in with a large purse, let alone luggage, as Jubilee points out. There's no place to put your purse and coat, or insufficient space for both. You have to lean over the toilet to close the door. And often the stall doors are so small that you barely get any privacy at all. Then there's only one sink in a bathroom with four stalls. And don't get me started about how much I despise the air dryers...

 

[frankthedm]

Women have worse problems in public restrooms than men, IMHO. First of all, why has it never occurred to builders of public spaces that you need more and larger bathrooms for women?

The people designing the building hate women? This is Japan you are talking about after all.

 

[fusangite]

Almost all problems with men's bathrooms could be solved by making them identical to women's bathrooms. Sure, lineups would be a little longer at peak times but because men are almost always given equal public bathroom space to women and capacity is judged by how long the line to the women's bathroom is, such events would be rare in the extreme. And I'd be happy to line up for 5 minutes after opening night of a movie if it meant that society were working to eradicate a whole lot of instances of me witnessing things I'd rather not.

 

[Harmon]

You are accepting thier idiocy as your own when you choose to craft it.

It really sucks when you have to build something that your laughing at- "what was thie idiot thinking when he drew this," you show the boss and he laughs and calls the architect, and he gets mad cause they are like Doctors- Gods in the own mind.

When I was building a hospital here in Salinas a few years back one of the architects would seek me out and I would point out all the stupid stuff to him (fire doors that had no rail on the botton, and had a reaction to convection through the halls, or the chevrons that had cancer causing materials on it right infront of the air in take).

You think bathrooms are badly designed. I could tell you lots of stories of buildings that I have worked on- okay, stopping there.

 

[Xath]

One issue I have with public bathrooms is doors. I hate, hate going into a public bathroom, taking advantage of the facilities, washing my hands, and then having to touch the door handle. I know that a lot of people do not wash their hands before exiting the bathroom, and I can only imagine what grossness I am touching every time I have to open a door to leave the bathroom.

I've seen some bathrooms where you follow a winding path to get in, and there are no doors. I love these, though I understand that they're only practical for large public facilities.

 

[LightPhoenix]

I've become very good at opening bathroom doors with parts of my body other than my hands. And not just because I work at a hospital.

 

[Harmon]

One issue I have with public bathrooms is doors. I hate, hate going into a public bathroom, taking advantage of the facilities, washing my hands, and then having to touch the door handle. I know that a lot of people do not wash their hands before exiting the bathroom, and I can only imagine what grossness I am touching every time I have to open a door to leave the bathroom.

Wash your hands- keep the paper towel in you hand, grab the door handle, open the door, stop the door with your foot and toss the paper towel towards the garbage, step outside the bathroom without touching the handle after you have washed your hands. Works for me (when I remember to wash my hands) .

 

[Xath]

That only works when the trashcan is near the door.

 

[sniffles]

One issue I have with public bathrooms is doors. I hate, hate going into a public bathroom, taking advantage of the facilities, washing my hands, and then having to touch the door handle. I know that a lot of people do not wash their hands before exiting the bathroom, and I can only imagine what grossness I am touching every time I have to open a door to leave the bathroom.

I've seen some bathrooms where you follow a winding path to get in, and there are no doors. I love these, though I understand that they're only practical for large public facilities.

Washing before you leave is good, and I would definitely support that, along with using a paper towel to cover the doorknob. But I would like to take this opportunity to ask you all to practice another hygiene improvement: when you cough in public, do NOT cover your mouth with the palm of your hand!!! First you spit germs on your hand, then you touch doorknobs, handle office supplies or merchandise, touch your family members... This spreads disease much more than not washing after toileting! Cough into the front of your jacket or the crook of your elbow, or a napkin or tissue if you have one available. Please!!

Okay, health/hygiene rant over.

 

[PowerWordDumb]

You wash your hands in the urinals when drunk? Ugh!

As long as you don't help yourself to the free breathmints afterwards, it's all good.