May 21st, 2018

WHEN YOU GOTTA GO...

I visit a lot of public and private bathrooms. Not because I need to use them so much as my 4 year old does. I try to avoid them as much as possible. I use the bathroom before leaving home and just hold it if I have to go while out and about, but I guess little boys aren't as good at holding it as I am. 

Noah and I have gotten into this little routine where we go into a bathroom and he will say what kind it is. “Mom, this is a YUCKY bathroom!” or “Gasp! This bathroom is NOT yucky!” 

Most of the time its the first one. When we go into a “yucky” bathroom its always the same thing, I say “Noah, don’t touch ANYTHING. I will help you, just don’t. touch. anything.”

When we were on vacation last year I took Noah to a bathroom that had fancy sinks and flowers on the counter. Clean, nice smelling, paper products galore. He couldn't stop saying “MOM!!! This is NOT YUCKY!!!! It's a NICE bathroom! I can't believe this!” Soak it in kid, soak it in. 




Above is a picture of a typical Bathroom here.

It got me thinking about what makes a “not yucky” bathroom.

1. Not wet. Here, they love everything to be wet. Wet apparently equals clean. Bathrooms here are generally made of all tile. Tile walls, floor, a tile water basin to scoop from, and a porcelain squatty potty. The floor is always sopping wet since after someone is finished, they scoop water from the basin and splash it all over the place to clean up (I always hope that what I am standing in is indeed water.) So yes, a dry floor, walls, and toilet seat is definitely what I consider “not yucky”.
2. A raised toilet seat.  About 75% of the time the toilet is a squatty. But sometimes there is actually an American style toilet! I still don’t actually “sit” on said toilet seat because, well, its wet. Not many people know how to use an American style toilet so they still climb up and squat on top of it and of course splash water all over it when they are done. BUT, an American height toilet is much easier to “hover” over than a squatty potty! 
3. Toilet Paper. 95% of the time this is just a dream. Its always a must to have tissues in your purse since the chance of actually having toilet paper be available is next to none. Also, if it IS there it will probably be, you guessed it, wet. 
4. Soap. There are lots of soap dispensers, but if they have anything in them its 90% water mixed with 10% soap. Hand sanitizer is also a must in your purse.
5. Paper towels. Sometimes in the fancy malls in other cities there are actually hand towels!!! (It makes me feel like royalty). But normally a shake of the hands and a quick pat on your pant legs has to do. 

Yeah, I think those are the basics of what help a bathroom be “not yucky”.

ps. I hope this did not come across as disrespectful! Just because it is different from how my home culture does things, does not mean it is wrong. Not wrong, just different! Plus, public bathrooms anywhere in the world are not most people's favourite place for comfort or cleanliness!

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