Top 10 Rules in the Bathroom
When it comes to bathroom etiquette, the best bathroom rules flow from one simple principle: Do your best to avoid behaviors that are likely to embarrass yourself or inconvenience others. While you can't control how others behave in the bathroom, you can apply common sense and follow good bathroom etiquette yourself.
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The Occupancy Question
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Assume the locks on bathroom stalls don't work. Rather than peeping through the crack, pushing the stall door open or even knocking, find your voice and say, "Excuse me, is anyone in there?"
Personal Space
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Respect the personal space bubble. Imagine that the stall walls go from floor to ceiling, and do not cross the imaginary line or communicate with the person on the other side of the wall.
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One for the Guys
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Put the seat down when you finish. A man may feel inconvenienced by always having to raise the seat, but a woman can fall in when the seat is left up.
Electronic Devices
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Do not use electronic devices in the bathroom. For many, the solitude of the bathroom stall is the last bastion of privacy. Don't interrupt by talking on the cell phone, answering email or texting. If you won't do that for your fellow bathroom goers, do it for your phone. Untold numbers of cell phones go to their watery porcelain graves each year when their owners drop them in the bathroom.
Finish the Job
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Clean up after yourself. No one wants to walk into a stall and find your leftover droplets, bits of toilet paper or worse. Always leave bathroom facilities at least as clean as you found them, and even a little cleaner when possible.
Wash
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Wash your hands after using the bathroom. We all touch germ-laden surfaces every hour of our lives, and bathrooms are one of the worst places to come in contact with germs. Periodic hand-washing helps to reduce the spread of all germs and lessen illnesses.
The "One-Holer"
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Do not accompany your friend into the bathroom when there is only one toilet. Wait your turn outside. And don't talk back and forth through the door.
Switching Spaces
Sometimes you just have to go, and the opposite gender bathroom is the only one available. It is okay to use it---if four conditions are met: The bathroom in question must be a "one-holer." Be sure the door has a working lock, and lock it behind you. If it does not have a working lock, have someone stand guard for you. Do your business quickly and move on.Toilet Paper
If you use the last of the toilet paper, replace the roll, if you can. If no toilet paper is available, and someone is going into the stall as you are coming out, let her know there is no paper.The Good Samaritan Rule
If you see someone walking out of the bathroom with her skirt tucked in her pantyhose, don't just snicker behind her back. Tell her. The same rule applies if you see someone leave the bathroom with a length of toilet paper stuck to his shoe.
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References
- Photo Credit Image courtesy of Creative Commons
