When out and about, I always accompany whoever I’m with on their washroom visits, so I can look around and learn about the facilities. How clean are they? Whose equipment and consumables are being used and are they any good? What’s missing that should be there? It’s something I’ve done for years, and as an ex-guest Loo of the Year Awards judge, I know what to look for! As you’re probably aware, my main grouse is how facilities are treated by the public. 'Leave them as you’d wish to find them is, sadly, missing from many people’s radar. I can’t imagine how others can leave a cubicle without first having flushed, or who’ve wet the seat (or worse!) or dropped toilet tissue on the floor and left it for others to clean up. 

  

I also hate lid-less toilets. I realise there’s a consensus, thanks to new research, that says shutting the lid doesn’t prevent faecal matter etc from whooshing around the room, but I know from experience - and testing - that in some cases flushing in itself can leave the seat wet. Yes I realise there’s less to clean if there isn’t a lid and that this cuts both hardware and cleaning costs, but if users then choose to use toilet tissue either to wipe the seat dry, or to cover the seat with a protective layer of tissue prior to use, then that’s an extra cost in itself, and a practice which leads to longer queuing times and potentially bad reviews. 

  

The instant high volume of many modern warm air hand dryers is dangerous in my view. It can create excruciating ongoing pain to those suffering from tinnitus, hyperacusis and the like along with further irreparable damage. I know folk suffering from these painful conditions and am quick to exit noisy washrooms, drying my newly washed hands on my clothes as I go, so my ears don’t become damaged too. 

  

One of this week’s news items covers ‘the unusable restroom’. When I came across the concept yesterday, I thought: “Why hasn’t anyone done this before?”. Of course it may have been done and has somehow passed me by, but either way... In a nutshell those involved have launched a campaign to spotlight what they refer to as ‘hidden barriers to hygiene’ in washrooms, based on pretty comprehensive research carried out in several countries. The results show that these ‘barriers’ impact more than 50% of people every day – a number that’s surprised me and shown me how ignorant I’ve been over the issues so many people who appear to be just as healthy as me, have to suffer, when using a washroom. The campaign’s organisers designed an experiential, non-inclusive washroom reflecting their research results and filmed users’ reactions, to help get the point across to the rest of us. We’ve long known that a business’s success or failure can depend upon the quality or poor state of its washrooms. This campaign takes the concept to another level entirely…