Do you sit on the toilet seat in public restrooms?

[OceanAnnie]

Hover if you wish, but lift the lid rather than leaving your waste on the seat. You would not want a male leaving urine on the seat at home. Consider the same rule for yourself in a public bathroom.

Isn't that annoying!?! I can't count the number of times I've been to a public rest room and had to skip past 1, 2, 3, or more stalls because someone is just gross, leaving a mess behind. They think of themselves and no one else. Makes you wonder about people.

 

[BellePrincessBelle]

I hover however I make sure the seat is clean before I leave(no I don't touch it with my hands I use a BIG wad of TP). AS far as touching carts, door handles, etc. well I don't. I use my sleeves or in the summer I go with someone who can do it for me.

 

[jenm2878]

I sit! But I also use bedspreads at hotels, walk around the room barefoot and use the hotel glasses.

Like to live dangerously!

I do all of those things too, (except the hotel glasses) and I'm sick far less then people I know who are germaphobes. I get maybe one cold a year. I also don't use hand sanitizer or wipe down the hotel room with antibacterial wipes. I think being exposed to some germs is good - it builds the immune system. (in healthy people - I understand why people with compromised immune systems are cautious)

 

[MIGrandma]

AS far as touching carts, door handles, etc. well I don't. I use my sleeves or in the summer I go with someone who can do it for me.

Are you serious?

Do you make someone go grocery shopping with you too, so that you don't have to touch any of the vegetables, cans, boxes, etc.?

 

[DancingBear]

You have to believe Mythbusters. You just have to.

But really it wasn't all that bad:

Many objects that people touch every day are dirtier than a toilet seat.

confirmed

Adam and Jamie chose a total of 8 objects to test for cleanliness: toilet seat, money, kitchen sponge, hotel room remote, computer keyboard, light switch, cell phone, and shopping cart. They swabbed each surface for 10 seconds and created Petri dishes from the swabs that incubated overnight. Their first method of measurement was to count the number of microorganism colonies on each dish. They found that the toilet seat sample actually had the fewest colonies, while the kitchen sponge sample had more than they could count:

kitchen sponge (most colonies)
money
light switch
computer keyboard
hotel remote
shopping cart
cell phone
toilet seat (fewest colonies)
However, they always wanted to account for the “nastiness” or harmfulness of the types of organisms on each Petri dish, so they had a microbiologist re-rank the samples. The list was as follows.

kitchen sponge (most nasty)
money
light switch
computer keyboard
toilet seat
cell phone
shopping cart
hotel remote (least nasty)
Finally, Adam and Jamie decided they needed a larger sample size to provide better results. They enlisted a group of biology students at UC Berkeley to collect more samples from the top five dirtiest surfaces. After collecting and analyzing these samples, the final list was as follows.

kitchen sponge (most dirty)
money
computer keyboard
toilet seat
light switch (least dirty)

I don't remember the details of the episode, but it also seems relevant that mostly you transfer germs into your body with your fingers. You touch the dirty money, etc., then later you rub your eyes or your nose or your mouth. If the germs are on your backside seems it's more likely that they'll stay there until the next time you bathe.

 

[puffkin]

I do all of those things too, (except the hotel glasses) and I'm sick far less then people I know who are germaphobes. I get maybe one cold a year. I also don't use hand sanitizer or wipe down the hotel room with antibacterial wipes. I think being exposed to some germs is good - it builds the immune system. (in healthy people - I understand why people with compromised immune systems are cautious)

Agreed! My family is freakishly healthy. We practice common sense hand washing and hand santizing. But I sit directly on the seats unless they are gross/questionable and then I paper or find another bathroom. I think hovering is abosolutely disgusting and disrespectful to all those that come behind you because most do not clean up after themselves.

 

[claudia]

I think hovering is abosolutely disgusting and disrespectful to all those that come behind you because most do not clean up after themselves.

 

[tar heel]

Hoverers are a major reason that public bathrooms get nasty.

I work in a public building in which the bathrooms are cleaned every single day and thus cleaner than most of us have at home. There's nothing that irks me more than going to the bathroom outside my office and sitting on some hoverer's pee. What in the heck is wrong people? They are so precious that they can't sit on the seat but so nasty that they won't bother to clean up their mess for the next person?

 

[KiKi Mouse]

Hover if you wish, but lift the lid rather than leaving your waste on the seat. You would not want a male leaving urine on the seat at home. Consider the same rule for yourself in a public bathroom.

ITA!!! Too many times I have walked into a public bathroom and then walked out because the person before me dripped on the seat or worse.
Lift the seat so that others don't have to look at what a pig you are.

 

[Judy in Texas]

ITA!!! Too many times I have walked into a public bathroom and then walked out because the person before me dripped on the seat or worse.
Lift the seat so that others don't have to look at what a pig you are.

I agree. While women complain about men, SOME women are far worse than any man... and why do some throw the soiled TP and sanitary products (sorry if TMI) on the floor? That's what the recepticals are for. Pick up after yourselves women!!! These people who are leaving the stalls a mess are probably the same ones walking out without washing their hands.

 

[carmiedog]

I usually hover due to the piddles left by people hovering before me. If you choose to hover, why is it so hard to hit such a big hole? If even I have good aim when it comes to toilets, I'd think anyone could do it.

(at work I do sit in the upstairs bathroom that is piddle-free. But the downstairs bathroom is shared with a gym whose women members need more practice at the fine art of hovering.)

 

[torinsmom]

I sit on the sit unless it is noticeably soiled. Do you really think the porous TP will protect you from any germs anyway? And are germs that get on your backside likely to make you sick, unless you routinely put your hands down your pants and then in your face? It's gross to sit in someone else's pee, but I don't worry about the invisible germs.

I worry more about the toilet flusher handle and the doorknobs, as people often touch these without washing their hand first. I just wash my hands well afterwards and open the door with paper towel if it can't be pushed with my shoulder.

The bottom of most women's purses and our cell phones are much more germy than a toilet seat, or so I have been told.

Marsha

 

[ICF]

AS far as touching carts, door handles, etc. well I don't. I use my sleeves or in the summer I go with someone who can do it for me.

please tell us you arent serious and you dont have a "helper" that you have to do all those things....

 

[Wall-E1]

Here is the procedure I go through(I have been accused of being a little off).

1. Know the area that you are in. If possible seek out a restroom in a bank or upscale department store. Never, and I mean never enter a gas station or convenience store restroom, even for #1.

2. Upon opening main door to restroom, take in the scent. Be sure there are no offending odors. If there are, move on to a different restroom.

3. Perform visual inspection. With this, I look at the floors and sinks to assess the general upkeep of the restroom. If there are any other restroom patrons using the facilities, I go back out and wait for the restroom to clear. I need full concentration while using a stall, and I find their movements and noises very distracting.

4. Open each stall door using a paper towel as a barrier between my hand and the door. Mentally grade each stall and pick the winner.

5. Before entering the winning stall fully, extend my leg to flush the toilet. It doesn't matter if the water looks clean. I pre-flush anyway.

6. Line the seat, either with provided seat cover(double layer, of course) or double layer of toilet paper.

7. At this point, I am able to sit. I do my business as quickly and efficiently a possible.

8. Flush toilet(again with foot) and exit stall.

9. Wash hands in sink. Make sure to soap all the way up to the elbows.

10. Use a paper towel to open restroom door and exit.

 

[wdwfan16]

I will use the seat covers if the seat is also dry. Otherwise I hover.

 

[Ember]

I sit. Then I wash my hands. People are too afraid of germs these days. Yes, they can make you sick, but they also challenge your immune system which is what keeps you healthy.

 

[disney1990]

I sit. Then I wash my hands. People are too afraid of germs these days. Yes, they can make you sick, but they also challenge your immune system which is what keeps you healthy.

Absolutely.

 

[PelletierBears]

Years ago one of my friends was an adament hoverer and she not once but twice tinkled on the back of her pants cause she didn't move them enough out of the way We all just had to laugh then told her to just sit down for goodness sakes so she never had to wash her pants out in a bar bathroom sink

 

[Stacerita]

I always use a potty protector sheet.

 

[momrek06]

HOVER!