The overwhelming majority of public bathroom experiences are pretty neutral – they certainly aren’t anything to get excited about, but they usually aren’t absolute nightmare scenarios, either.
However, if you have ever found yourself in the middle of an embarrassing moment in a public bathroom, you know exactly how uncomfortable these situations can be. And if you’ve ever been involved in an embarrassing moment in a public bathroom, you’re going to want to make sure that you do everything you can to avoid it from happening again in the future.
Hopefully we are going to be able to help you do exactly that!
The “Courtesy Flush” is a very, very real thing
We’ve all been there – we bite off a little bit more than we can chew at dinner, and we need to expel a little bit of waste to feel comfortable again.
But if you have a bit more to expel than you imagined and things are starting to stink up the place you’re going to want to use the “courtesy flush” to keep the bathroom as comfortable as possible. A lot joke about the courtesy flush, but it’s a real deal tool to keep peace in a bathroom – especially a public bathroom that may get crowded at any point in time.
Make sure that you leave BOTH lids down
Men have an almost impossible to understand compulsion to leave the toilet seat up no matter how many times they are reminded to do otherwise, but even ladies have to be reminded from time to time that BOTH of the lids on public toilets should be dropped to keep things as clean as possible.
If you’ve ever stepped into a bathroom stall and had things look more like a crime scene than a comfortable bathroom, you know exactly why it’s beneficial to drop both lids for the next one in line.
This is not a place to make friends or for idle conversation
There aren’t any signs plastered all over public bathrooms, but the number one “unwritten rule” is that once you cross that threshold you enter into a “flying solo area”.
Cut down on your conversations (especially when you’re going about your business), and do not try to make new friends when you’re sitting in a stall or standing at the urinal. This is one of the most embarrassing things people do in public bathrooms, and it’s a sure fire way to make everyone feel uncomfortable.
Ignore your cell phone when you’re in a public bathroom
For unknown reasons, a lot of people seem to have no real problem walking into the bathroom jabbering away on their cell phone – but that’s just as rude and just as uncomfortable as striking up a conversation with the folks next to you using the public restroom.
Private conversations are best left private, and even though most people are only going to be able to hear one side of your conversation, the bathroom isn’t the place to conduct your business – outside of “that” business.
Ignore the phone when you’re in the bathroom and you won’t have to worry about it taking a swan dive into a urinal, either.
Personal space is at a premium when you visit one of these bathrooms
Most men instinctively understand that you are supposed to choose an unopen urinal as far away from another man as possible, just to make sure that everyone stays comfortable and so that no one’s personal space feels violated.
This isn’t always going to be possible, but the last thing that you’re going to want to do is sidle up next to somebody when there are a handful of empty urinals available. This approach is the fastest way to guarantee that you don’t walk out of the bathroom with a black eye that you didn’t have when you walked in.
ALWAYS wash your hands
Even if (for a variety of crazy reasons) you don’t normally wash your hands when you leave the bathroom at home, you’re going to want to make 100% certain that you do when you use a public restroom.
Not only are you going to want to stay clean and hygienic, but you’re also going to want to make sure that you wash up to make sure that you haven’t picked anything else up in the bathroom that you’d really rather not carry on your hands for the rest of the day.
Seriously. Get in the habit of washing your hands after you leave the bathroom already.
Wandering eyes deserve to be blinded
When you walk into a bathroom the role is to keep your eyes focused on your target, and to NEVER allow those eyes to wander around – especially if it’s going to violate somebody else’s private space. Again, this is the fastest way to get yourself a brand-new shiner that you weren’t expecting.
30 seconds at the sink is all that you usually need
We’ve all bumped into those people that love to cobble up as much time as possible at the sink in the mirror, gumming up the works and really creating a bit of headache and hassle for everyone else that needs to wash their hands.
30 seconds at the sink is almost always enough time to get in, get out, and stay sanitary – so make sure that you keep your visit in front of the sink and mirror as brief as possible.
NEVER bring food in with you
Look, public bathrooms are usually kept pretty clean – but remember what these rooms are made for.
There’s absolutely NO reason whatsoever to bring food into the bathroom with you, and since there isn’t going to be anywhere to set your food down that hasn’t been completely overrun with germs, just think about what you would be inviting into your body even if you only place it down for a moment.
NO. FOOD. IN. THE. PUBLIC. BATHROOM.
Just don’t do it.
Do your best to never miss your mark
There are a couple of different things that could throw your aim off the mark when you go to the bathroom, but you’ll want to try and keep things just as steady and as reliable as possible.
If you do “color outside of the lines” a little bit you’ll want to contact the maintenance staff immediately, giving them a heads up so that they can clean the bathroom quickly for the next patron.
At the end of the day, it is a lot easier to make sure that you aren’t embarrassing yourself or others in a public restroom than some people make it out to be. Pay attention to the inside information we broke down above and you’ll be in picture-perfect shape!
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