My one word review of this post...

Yuck.

that's it.

Exactly, Randy.

My own disgust at the lack of hygiene of the general populous is what prompted this post.

Yuck.

This is the second post on the subject of restroom cleanliness I've read recently! I always knew when we were in Canada because there were no toilet seat covers. Then you have to line the seat with toilet paper, which takes some time, especially if all you have are those little squares of paper some restrooms have.

TMI

Oy Rae, I am with you on this one. Though I will say that I became a pro at using paper in place of "texas t-shirts" (as my Nebraskan family calls them) when I lived in Mexico for a month every year. All I can say it you definitely cultivate an appreciation for the sanitation conditions of this country. I do wish more people were conscious of of their own hygiene and others.

Eeeewww

i work on a cleaning crew during the summer at a college in Minnesota, and the first thing I do every morning, for an hour, is clean all the bathrooms in the administrative building. i do this with another girl, and i do the toilets every morning. if i find a mess later, i end up cleaning the bathroom TWICE in one day.

Ith- I hate those stupid squares. I have heard that taveling outside this country does make one thankful for home.

David-TMI from the artist? I don't hear from you for weeks and then I get is TMI? ;)

Jenn-Heh, "Texas t-shirts."

AG- exactly!

Amelie- thanks for visiting and commenting. You gave new meaning to "two-a-days." :D

Let's say there are no "cowboy hats". What's with squatting? Why not bring a wet and dry paper towel or toilet paper and wipe down the seat? I know that it is not disinfected, but I'm sure it's clean enough. Use some soap if it makes you feel better.

As a mother of two young boys I must tell you I am also disgusted with the unsanitary nature of our public restroooms. I hate lifting that seat for him as he does his buisness, using a "square" of toliet paper to do so.I must say I do make sure that I wipe up his dribble as you call it. Mainly bacause I usually have to go right after him but also cause its just wrong and gross not to do so. Nothing like getting a little of someone elses' urine on your pants or other places! EWWWWW

I'd prefer the little squares - even though it takes a year to grab enough to do the job - to the crepe paper in Italy. Seriously, pink or purple crepe paper. And you had to squat over a HOLE on the floor.

I had a friend who lost his hard contact on the floor of a bus station and we looked on our hands a knees for 30 minutes in the bad light only to find many "droplets" that looked like his lense. That was long before disposable contacts. A clean "Froom" is a rarity in any public place.

Sean, I think I said that I use soap. Frequently. Oh, you meant to clean off the seat? Well, I have been known to do that, too.

Sally-I know you are a conscientious mother, but there are so many out there....

GB- I have heard about the squatting holes in the floor in Japan, but never in Europe. Hmmm, it's now seeming less romantic.

R- I remember that story. The things we do for friends....Heh: "droplets."

Oh dear... I work in a tertiary institute and it's amazing how many people leave 'messes' on the seat. It's simply amazes me.

I'm so with you on this one. Can't stand to even look at a messy seat. I usually have to go find another loo in a completely other building!

I'm remembering the time my brother got home from the Middle East (or was is Asia?) and he was telling me of the "restrooms" that consisted of a hole in the ground with two footprints and one hand print to get proper placement! (can you imagine?) One thing we can be glad of no matter how disgusting public restrooms are, at least they have plumbing.

Rae - Remember, I'm visual.

A Different Rae- I once suggested to several other bloggers named Rae that we begin a Raeng (A web ringof Rae Bloggers). Thanks for visiting and commenting :D You have a lovely site.

Joyella-No. I can't imagine. Ick!

David- yes, the artist would be visual. I, too, am visual, and thus the even deeper disgust....one thing to imagine, another to see or clean it.

Back in "the day", my mom tought me to lay out toilet paper on the seat so I didn't touch it, but to lay it out without coming within 2 inches of the actual toilet. And finally, she tought me the "flush kick", so one's hands never come into contact with the handle.

I wondered if I was the only person on earth to do this, until Sunday night at dinner out, the restroom toilet's handle was close to the wall. I saw many a fine ladies shoe print left behind on the wall behind. ;)

Ooooohhh, yes, Jo, The Flush Kick. All the ladies in this house flush kick in the public restrooms. I also line and have the girls line when no cowboy hats are available. I just hate having to do it and so sometimes resort to, ummmm, the squat. ;)

Interesting how we comment on a topic like this. We can all relate to this becuase down deep it is the basics that make us alike in our condition. High and low brow alike deal with what you have described. Interesting.

Next time you use the "Foot flush" method, consider that the next person (who may prepare your food) may use their hand and touch everything you just walked in. I suggest a kinder, gentler method of a few squares of T.P. It just may save you a case of Hepatitis.

And another thing. . .

When they have those signs that say, "Employees must wash hands after using restroom," do you ever wonder if that is a reminder for the employee or reassurance for the customer?

Because I do.

Good question, Craig. Know what's really scary? When the soap dispenser is completely out of soap, as in, dry for a few days, and that sign is hanging over the sink.

Just las week I was at a local restaurant and when I found the ancient soap dispenser to be lacking, I actually found the hostess and asked her to retrieve some for me. She brought it out in a small, plastic cup. It was slightly yellow. When she handed it to me, I smiled and told her due to the color and container, I felt like I was at my physician's office. I left it sitting on the sink. I returned after my lunch to find it untouched and in the same place.

at work and places i'm real familiar and the bathrooms stay pretty clean i don't even care anymore, i just plop my butt down and relax. that is only if there is nothing on the seat when i get there. Butts are weird cause most of your butt is pretty far away from your butthole but if you get any part of your but anywhere near someone they can flip out, its basically just like the skin on your or hand but people touch peoples hands all day long willy nilly. i am a big fan of the washing the hands in a manner that you don't have to touch anything to get out of the restroom.

bye bye

If no one squatted, we wouldn't need the seat protectors in the first place. Right?

If the toilet is icky, I make a mental note to shower when I get home. And if people are going to pee on the seat, I wish they'd wipe if off. But, again--no peeing on the seat means no having to use those stupid paper thingies.

But, really, the only part of me that touches the toilet seat is my thighs--most American toilets have that cut-out in the front to make sure nothing gets near one's genitals. So what's the big deal?

I also don't understand the business about not touching the door handle of the restroom. Let's say, hypothetically speaking, someone had a BM, didn't wash her hands, and then walked out of the restroom, touching the handle. This same someone could then touch anything else in the restaurant, including the back of the chair you touch as you return to take your seat.

And the "kick flush"?--I used to do that, until I realized that 1) it often damages the plumbing, so it's antisocial, and 2) what do I care?--I'm about to wash my hands anyway.

AG, what can I say? There are some complusions I cannot overcome. Thus my Hep A vaccination :D

Eeeewwwwww, Attila Girl, that's just, well, eeeewwwww.

Thrifty Midwestern mothers taught their daughters how to put toilet paper on public restroom seats long before commercial covers were available.8)