Sitting on Public Toilet Seats...do you?

[atlast30]

I was raised to NEVER sit on a toilet seat that is not my own or has not been cleaned by me.  I still use that training today and do not sit on public toilet seats anywhere. (I will teach my kids to do the same).  I've noticed that a lot of women have no issues plopping down on a public toilet seat.  I want to know where the YM ladies stand on this issue.  DO you sit or do you squat?   Fellas, feel free to answer whether you sit or squat for #2.

[NoNamePerson]

Well, this is not the answer to your question, but I have no clue whether the lady in the next stall is sitting or squating!!       Me personally, I try like hell to avoid public bathrooms cause most stink to the hills from either pee or the nasty perfumy stuff that they use to keep it from stinking 

[Blonde Granny]

Squat...always.

[milee]

Squat.

Intellectually I understand that unless I have a cut or otherwise broken skin, even if I do sit in something unmentionable it's unlikely to hurt me, but I'm just grossed out by the idea. And that was one of the hardest things for me to deal with when my boys were little - public toilets.   Not only did they want to touch everything, but then I'd have to carry them and/or put them in my car and the idea of them basically rolling around in what I consider the sewer and then touching me was sickening.   Yes, I have issues. 

[nutty]

Oh Gosh no, I have perfected squatting even in a onesie and that takes talent.

[qofcc]

Wipe everything down with a big wad of tp then line the seat with tp then sit.

[chiver78]

Apr 9, 2014 21:06:22 GMT -5 qofcc said:

Wipe everything down with a big wad of tp then line the seat with tp then sit.

what sucks about this lately is that there is some "lady" in my office that insists on peeing on the seat. I'm about ready to put up a sign asking said "lady' to use the seat covers like the rest of us.

[Shooby]

Lol! Btw which stall do u choose as well? The first, the middle, the last one? Do you feel like one might be cleaner or less used?

[Shooby]

I carry a small bottle of $2 hooket spray. Strawberry scent. Just in case that bathroom reeks it helps me make it through!

[sarcasticgirl]

Most places I go have toilet seat covers. Otherwise... Squat and hover.

Sent from my Nexus 10

[milee]

Apr 9, 2014 21:14:03 GMT -5 Shooby said:

Lol! Btw which stall do u choose as well? The first, the middle, the last one? Do you feel like one might be cleaner or less used?

The first one. Again, probably irrational and maybe out of date but I remember years ago seeing a study that showed the middle (2nd one in) was the most used of all the toilets followed by the end ones, and that the first one was the least used.

Again, I know - I have issues. 

[NoNamePerson]

Apr 9, 2014 21:15:40 GMT -5 Shooby said:

I carry a small bottle of $2 hooket spray. Strawberry scent. Just in case that bathroom reeks it helps me make it through!

I misread that to say "hooker spray"  

[NoNamePerson]

Apr 9, 2014 21:14:03 GMT -5 Shooby said:

Lol! Btw which stall do u choose as well? The first, the middle, the last one? Do you feel like one might be cleaner or less used?

Depends on how bad I have to pee  

[Shooby]

Oh I did mean Hooker spray! Lol. Typo.

[ՏՇԾԵԵʅՏɧ_LԹՏՏʅҼ]

what sucks about this lately is that there is some "lady" in my office that insists on peeing on the seat. I'm about ready to put up a sign asking said "lady' to use the seat covers like the rest of us

She's probably a 'squatter'. Woman can't master the technique of aim as well as men - especially if we're straddling the porcelain throne.


Most restrooms now have seat covers - if not, there's TP - some restrooms still use paper towel dispensers for drying hands too - those work as well.

I also carry a small bottle of hand sanitizer in my purse.

I haven't been in a dirty public restroom for quite a while - most in the past were at gas stations when we were traveling and needed a pit-stop.

I was raised to NEVER sit on a toilet seat that is not my own or has not been cleaned by me. I still use that training today and do not sit on public toilet seats anywhere.

You don't even "sit" when visiting friends or family and need to go?

[atlast30]

You don't even "sit" when visiting friends or family and need to go?

Scottish_Lassie my "no sit" policy applies when visiting friends and family.  I have issues, too, apparently.   However, if I'm really in a very desperate situation (i.e., diarrhea, etc.), I may put TP on the seat and then sit on my hands.

I can usually tell when a woman using the restroom in my office is sitting because I can hear the weight transfer if her stall is next to mine.  My office restroom does not have white noise of any type... you can hear a pin drop in there.  In a lot of cases, I don't think that a lot of women are using the TP as a barrier because the sound of their sitting on the toilet happens almost immediately.

[Deleted]

I sit.  Never gave it a second thought.  I'm a farm girl.  Not much grosses me out. 

[Deleted]

There actually was a study once and first was consistently found to be cleanest. I choose first. Of course I wonder if the results of the study impacted enough people that the results today would be different? 

[whoisjohngalt]

OMG, i try not to touch ANYTHING in public bathrooms.

I am trying to teach the kids the same, but evidently they haven't inherited my "grossness" gene

[ՏՇԾԵԵʅՏɧ_LԹՏՏʅҼ]

Apr 9, 2014 22:22:49 GMT -5 minnesotapaintlady said:

I sit.  Never gave it a second thought.  I'm a farm girl.  Not much grosses me out. 

I'm on the same wave-length. As a kid I was healthily exposed to germs and dirt, bugs, and bacteria - even though we were hygienically clean, we weren't cut-off from "life" and the dirt/germs that come along with it.

I'm probably healthier for it today - It built up my immune system.

Too many people are "protecting" their kids from germs these days - and placing them in a bubble - and that's why so many today are getting illnesses and syndromes/conditions that weren't even on the radar in the past. They have no (or weak) immune systems in their bodies that can't ward off many things we did as kids.

The reality is, they're doing their kids a disservice - and their kids will (possibly) face several health issues in the future from not being exposed to a bit of bacteria.

[kittensaver]

I always wipe the seat with TP, then put down a cover. If no cover, then I "make" a cover by laying down strips of TP.

If no TP and no covers, I go somewhere else. In a REAL emergency, I have a small roll of TP in my trunk (in my emergency and earthquake duffle bag). It's actually been handy once or twice at beaches, public parks, etc when the stalls are gross but ya GOTTA go . . .

ETA: I agree that the people who squat are the ones who make and leave behind the biggest mess

[weltschmerz]

Apr 9, 2014 22:22:49 GMT -5 minnesotapaintlady said:

I sit.  Never gave it a second thought.  I'm a farm girl.  Not much grosses me out. 

I sit, too. I'm a nurse. Not much grosses me out. Toilet seats are the least of my worries.

[sunshinegal1981]

For me, the probability of sitting is an equation that considers two factors: 1) the cleanliness of the bathroom and the locale in general, and 2) how desperate I am to relieve myself. 

I've had the pleasure of urinating in some of the finest hotels and event venues in Manhattan. Some of these lavatories are so luxurious that I take my drink with me, and relax on the throne as I admire the crown mouldings on the ceiling, and wonder if the cleaning staff waxes the floors between EACH toilet-visitor, or if they're on a set every-15-minute schedule.  Sheer pleasure. I'd sit on those glistening toilets even if I DIDN'T have to pee.

And on the other end of the spectrum are the grimy gas station toilets where you'd never set foot unless diarrhea was threatening to spew in 30 seconds or less. (Undercooked hamburger 45 mins earlier?)  You don't sit on these, EVERRRRR.  Hovering over a disgusting, reeking toilet to do #2 is a very humbling experience indeed. Makes you appreciate your quadriceps.  I have learned it's best to spread one's ass cheeks apart with both hands, to achieve some clearance between one's buttocks and ...well, you know.   (Normally, the toilet seat kinda does that for you.)  These are the places where you kick the door open with your shoe to exit, and don't bother washing up after because touching the taps would get more bacteria on your hands than pooping on them ever could. 

Oh, the contrasts of a life richly lived. 

 

[Phoenix84]

I can't say I like it, but yes, I do sit when I have to. In general though, I try to avoid having to go #2 in public.

[resolution]

Apr 9, 2014 21:18:38 GMT -5 milee said:

Apr 9, 2014 21:14:03 GMT -5 Shooby said:

Lol! Btw which stall do u choose as well? The first, the middle, the last one? Do you feel like one might be cleaner or less used?

The first one. Again, probably irrational and maybe out of date but I remember years ago seeing a study that showed the middle (2nd one in) was the most used of all the toilets followed by the end ones, and that the first one was the least used.

Again, I know - I have issues. 

I think I must have read the same study, because I use the first one too. I wonder if enough of us have read that study to make the first stall the worst to use.

[JustLurkin]

Apr 9, 2014 22:22:49 GMT -5 minnesotapaintlady said:

I sit.  Never gave it a second thought.  I'm a farm girl.  Not much grosses me out. 

This reminds me of a rainy day I was waiting for a very delayed commuter train. After 30-40 minutes, I went to sit on a bench. One of the guys goes "Lurkin, you can't sit there, the bench is wet! "  I started laughing and said "Guy, I'm a mom, I've touched waaaaay worse than rain."  Everyone started laughing, and I soon got company on the bench. 

I haven't even seen a gas station bathroom since I was a kid.  My previous job was in a very uppity business-like atmosphere...nastiest bathroom ever.  Guys are always shocked to hear about it...but women are nasty.  And, even though I was on a floor with about 6 women, you could never, ever, go in there and be by yourself.

When I hurt my back and went to PT, they had me do this weird squat exercise that I just could not get, and was so scared I was going to fall.  The therapist leaned in real close and whispered "pretend you're peeing in the Walmart bathroom," never had a problem with that exercise again!

[Shooby]

I tried the toilet seat covers but I just find them annoying.

[Deleted]

Apr 9, 2014 22:22:49 GMT -5 minnesotapaintlady said:

I sit.  Never gave it a second thought.  I'm a farm girl.  Not much grosses me out. 

totally

unless the toilet is disgusting, I put some paper on the seat and plop down......all of you who are squatting I hope you check to make sure you didn't pee on the seat.  I had a friend once who was a hoverer and she peed on her shoes when she missed.

everyone does know it's a myth that you can catch something, right?

[Shooby]

It's not a myth. You can pick up germs in many ways. If you touch contaminated surfaces you can possibly ingest germs or contract an illness through a break in the skin , etc. But most healthy people stave off most germ exposure.

[Deleted]

Apr 10, 2014 5:44:40 GMT -5 Shooby said:

It's not a myth. You can pick up germs in many ways. If you touch contaminated surfaces you can possibly ingest germs or contract an illness through a break in the skin , etc. But most healthy people stave off most germ exposure.

how many people have a cut on their a$$?  and exactly how long do germs live on a dry surface?