Toilet and cleaning after yourself

[Pen^2]

I was recently in a public restroom where there was a sign explaining you had to hold the lever down instead of just pushing and releasing in order to get a complete flush. I can see somebody using those toilets and not realizing their flush didn't "take". I think there are also some pele so used to automated public toilets they don't pick up on those that don't self-flush.

I'm the opposite. Self-flushes don't always pick up on me for some reason, which makes me stand there and stare at the thing until I figure out where the manual flush button is hiding. Or it'll flush when I'm not quite done yet, and won't do it again after I'm done, cue the same stand and stare.

I'm the same. They'll fairly consistently flush as I'm sitting down (spraying me with toilet water, thanks) but never when I actually need it to flush. The best I've seen was one where you wave your hand (no touching) over a black panel on the wall and then it would flush. Much better. Woman have cabooses of all shapes and sizes, and apparently some aren't compatible with auto-flush detectors.

[Venus193]

I did send an e-mail to Starbucks about the sign.  Here's hoping.

[EMuir]

Addressing the "skidmark" issue itself, I would not want there to be a toilet brush in a public bathroom.  I just watched a special on TV showing how some hotel maids will clean a toilet bowl with the brush, then swipe it over the seat.  I'd rather not risk the cleaning knowledge of the public as well!  That skid mark under the water won't hurt me, but feces on the seat might.

[Sneezy]

The bathrooms in the office building where I work never have skid marks. I don't know if the inside is coated with something resistant, but the flush itself is something between Niagara Falls and a pressure washer.

We had an employee a few years back who demanded that I, as the person designated as acting HR person at that location, do something about ladies being unladylike in the restroom. I told her in no uncertain terms that pooping was a normal human function and that not everyone can hold it for the 8-12 hours a day that most people work. Not to mention, we only rented about 10% of the space in that building and I wasn't about to go around demanding that no one else poop. That led to a nasty battle with her buying and demanding everyone use Lysol spray in the stalls so not to offend her. Hello, asthma attacks and chemical sensitivity issues because someone can't handle the smell of poop in a well ventilated bathroom where the smell would dissipate in ten minutes or less for the worst of incidents! 

[nuit93]

The bathrooms in the office building where I work never have skid marks. I don't know if the inside is coated with something resistant, but the flush itself is something between Niagara Falls and a pressure washer.

We had an employee a few years back who demanded that I, as the person designated as acting HR person at that location, do something about ladies being unladylike in the restroom. I told her in no uncertain terms that pooping was a normal human function and that not everyone can hold it for the 8-12 hours a day that most people work. Not to mention, we only rented about 10% of the space in that building and I wasn't about to go around demanding that no one else poop. That led to a nasty battle with her buying and demanding everyone use Lysol spray in the stalls so not to offend her. Hello, asthma attacks and chemical sensitivity issues because someone can't handle the smell of poop in a well ventilated bathroom where the smell would dissipate in ten minutes or less for the worst of incidents!

  Does she not realize that ladies poop too?

[Venus193]

Oh, good grief!  I would pay to see her face when her doctor talks about a colonoscopy.

[baglady]

I'm in the U.S. and the idea of cleaning the toilet I'd just used in a public bathroom would never occur to me unless I'd left something *on the seat*, in which case I'd use toilet paper to wipe off the damage. Most public toilets don't have cleaning supplies at the ready, and those that do (say, in a gas station or convenience store) it's assumed they are there for the staff to use.

Given a choice between a bathroom stall that had some skidmarks below the water level and one that didn't, I'd choose the latter. But that sort of skidmark can be done away with by an extra flush or two, especially in a high-traffic public restroom with killer water pressure. Heck, even my home toilet is pretty efficient at flushing away most of them.

[perpetua]

Having done a bit of research (things I never thought I'd search for on the internet!) I can absolutely see where the disparity on this subject is coming from here between the non-US and US posters. US toilets seem to have *far* more water in them than ours do, hence why people keep referring to marks 'under the water level'. I was really surprised to see how high the water level is. Ours maybe have a couple of inches in the bottom and also the bowl is a different shape. I don't want to speak for everyone, but I'd bet a lot of non-US posters are talking about marks *above* the water level, ie on the sides of the bowl. They often won't be removed by flushing alone, and they can look really gross if they're left for the next person.

[Bashful]

I don't want to speak for everyone, but I'd bet a lot of non-US posters are talking about marks *above* the water level, ie on the sides of the bowl. They often won't be removed by flushing alone, and they can look really gross if they're left for the next person.

This. As a non-US poster, I was talking of marks above the water level.
And the toilet scrub is a part of the bathroom furniture just as tp holder, towel rack or soap dispenser. It can be even pretty!
http://www.awhiteroom.com/normann-copenhagen/normann-copenhagen-ballo-toilet-brush.asp

[perpetua]

This. As a non-US poster, I was talking of marks above the water level.

Yep. That's what I've always been referring to, because that's where they tend to happen in our loos. I really (personally) think it's bad when people don't clean this up after themselves. I wouldn't even want to use a loo that had marks left on the bowl above the water. For one thing there isn't the physical barrier of the water bewteen you and the... residue. Perhaps that's explaining the difference in culture around this. The water level and shape of the bowl in all the pictures of US loos i've seen would seem to make it really difficult for anything to even get on the side of the bowl in the first place.

For comparison, here's a picture of a typical UK loo:



The sides of the bowl are steep and narrow and there's only water in the very small bit at the bottom, whereas the US ones I've seen pictures of seem to be far flatter, not as deep before you get to the water, and with a much higher water level.

[Sophia]

Not only would I not expect to have to use a brush after I use the toilet, I am a bit grossed out by the thought that others in the same bathroom might have.
 
I think the difference is that here (Texas), if the toilet doesn't have enough water to avoid skidmarks, it is deficient.  Think about it.  If you use a brush to clean skidmarks, then there is poop on the brush.  Which you then set aside.  With poop on it.  Then what?  It sits there next to the toilet.  Until you replace it.  Does anyone spend any time really cleaning the toilet brush?  Which is a gross thought in itself. 

I would rather the toilet have enough water to take care of the skidmarks, and leave the toilet brush for sanitizing. 

[Teenyweeny]

Not only would I not expect to have to use a brush after I use the toilet, I am a bit grossed out by the thought that others in the same bathroom might have.
 
I think the difference is that here (Texas), if the toilet doesn't have enough water to avoid skidmarks, it is deficient.  Think about it.  If you use a brush to clean skidmarks, then there is poop on the brush.  Which you then set aside.  With poop on it.  Then what?  It sits there next to the toilet.  Until you replace it.  Does anyone spend any time really cleaning the toilet brush?  Which is a gross thought in itself. 

I would rather the toilet have enough water to take care of the skidmarks, and leave the toilet brush for sanitizing.

This explains so much! I have always thought toilet brushes were gross, but I suppose it's for exactly this reason. As I said before, I use a good handful of loo roll to wipe off marks, and because I'm in the UK those marks are on the bowl but above the waterline.

I'm using loo roll to wipe poo off a surface. It's not objectively any dirtier than wiping it from a more 'personal' surface. Hands are getting throughly washed anyway.

[alkira6]

Um, I always put down a layer of "cushion" paper in the toilet before I go if I go in public. I am of the opinion that toilets are to be used for their primary function but marks are not nice.

At home I have the eco-unfriendly scrubber with the disposable head - grab the handle, push it into the little loading shoot, a head snaps on already loaded with cleaner, you clean, put it over the trash can, push a button and the head snaps off into the can.  You never touch anything.

[fountainof]

In public washrooms here most toilets have more water in them than home toilets so skidmarks are less an issue.  I would probably try to second flush and that is it.

In a home toilet, I would wipe with paper and second flush.  I would even get my hand wet and then wash my hands before leaving a mark. Our low flow toilets at home work pretty well, even though the water level is low the swish of the water is pretty forceful and unless the toilet is left full for hours the swish washes most everything off pretty well.

[MrsJWine]

I'm kind of grossed out by the idea of who knows how many people wiping out the toilet with the scrubber and then putting it back in the holder. When I clean my bathroom, I rinse the brush out in hot water, then don't put it back in the holder until it's dry.