Public Restrooms – A Rant

After enjoying a blogger’s tale of woe about someone’s inability to place clothes in a hamper, and the lengths she has gone to correct this character flaw, I began thinking about one of my pet peeves. Why are public restrooms are so disgusting?

Most of the men’s rooms of the employers I have worked for aren’t hideous, but as the day progresses, a parabola of pee appears on the floor in front the urinals. They start out as random drips and evolve into mini-puddles. It isn’t big deal for most people to avoid these, assuming they notice them, but for someone who has walking and balance issues, they can pose a challenge. I don’t want to step in the stuff, but sometimes the liquid is positioned in such a way that I have to almost straddle the urinal or contort my body in some fashion to keep my feet on dry ground. Therefore, I need to select the urinal that will allow me to keep my feet fairly close together, which is typically the one that is farthest from the entrance because it is used the least. Finding pristine floor space can be more of a challenge if there aren’t a lot of urinals in the room.

I try to be coy about it, because I would be embarrassed if someone saw me examining the floors before deciding where to go. But since my balance is so bad, I need to keep my feet fairly close together to stay upright without the aide of a cane, and, you know, my hands are otherwise occupied. So unless someone can tell me how to grow a third arm, I use as much stealth as possible when making my selection if others are in the room.

Be that as it my, why are the drips/puddles there to begin with? I mean, this is not a complicated process.

Why don’t you just go into one of the stalls, you might suggest. There are two reasons. The first is I need more space than the average bear. The handicapped stalls are limited, and you’d be surprised how many non-disabled people use them. I don’t know if it’s because they are claustrophobic or like to spread out, but the reason is irrelevant. The main reason why I avoid the stalls, especially later in the day, is because they can be disgusting.

I’m not going to get into the details of some of the stuff I have seen, but let’s just say that there can be all sorts of shit, figuratively and literally, laying about. It’s almost getting to the point where disposable hazmat suits should be available for all who enter. Oxygen masks would help too.

And if you are at a large venue, like a sports arena or stadium, forget it. Those are the epitome of filth. Bars too!  Maybe that’s because  people can’t see or stand up straight from the alcohol they’ve consumed, but that’s being generous. I don’t care how polluted you are. How hard is it to aim, fire, and hit the target at center mass? Or sit where you’re supposed to? And if you aren’t hammered, shame on you! These venues also include stomach contents to the smorgasbord of stuff you can find in a different areas of their  restrooms.

And ladies, don’t think for a minute that men have cornered the market on being slobs. From the stories I’ve heard from other women, you are as bad if not worse than men at every level. Women’s restrooms also include a unique level of grossness that men can’t match. On two separate occasions at various places I have worked, women have bitterly complained about someone leaving a used tampon somewhere on the bathroom floor.

I know women who simply refuse to use a public restroom, but haven’t heard the same from men,  Maybe that’s because we have a higher ick tolerance. Either that or we’re too macho to admit it.

It this the result of laziness, nonchalance, or do people just not care?  Can it be bad parenting, brain damage, or are people too busy looking at their phones instead of  paying attention to what they are supposed to be doing? Are the perpetrators angry the world or their situation in life, and this a form of anonymous protest?

Whatever the reason, I pity the people who have the job of cleaning these cesspools every day.

Author: Steve Markesich

I am loving husband, a doting father, a Red Sox fanatic, an aspiring novelist and MS advocate. Feel free to check out my stevemarkesich.com web site. View all posts by Steve Markesich