Etiquette in the Women's Restroom

Restrooms can become a dirty place without proper etiquette.

Most women have been in public bathrooms with deplorable smells, disgusting floors and ill-working toilets. Most likely, the women who have been using these bathrooms have not been practicing proper etiquette in a women's restroom.

Checking for Vacancies

If you have entered a communal bathroom with several stalls, check for occupancy by bending over and checking for feet in the stall, rather than pushing the door to see if it is locked. Many bathroom doors have broken locks and sometimes women simply forget to lock the door. In any event, checking by pushing the door will only cause the person inside to cringe and hope that she remembered to lock it.

Brushing Your Hair

Some women carry travel-sized hairbrushes in their purses so they can spruce up their coif in the bathroom in the middle of a date. If this sounds familiar, remember that even if you have the kind of hair that women would fight over, no one wants to see strands of it in the sink. If you are brushing your hair, wipe up the counters and throw away the fallen strands.

Talking

We know that women love to go with each other to the bathroom, but resist the temptation to chat between the stalls. This is especially important if you glance under the stall wall and recognize the shoes in the next stall. Remember that most women are uncomfortable having a tête-à-tête between stalls. Along these same lines, refrain from talking on your cellphone while in the bathroom.

Flush

Always flush the toilet so that the bowl is filled with nothing but water. For some toilets, this may require more than one flush. For those who simply blew their nose, flush the toilet anyway and leave the bowl clean for the next user.

Courtesy

Courtesy will never be unappreciated in the bathroom. Form a neat and orderly line if all of the stalls are empty. If you skip a stall because you notice it does not have toilet paper and someone runs in there before you can warn them, simply wad up a piece of toilet paper and pass it beneath the door.

Clean Up After Yourself

Perhaps the most important unspoken rule in a women's restroom is to always leave the stall as clean as when you entered it. If you left a little something on the seat, always wipe it away before you leave. Remember to always throw away paper towels in the trash can provided and not on the floor.

References

• Women's Health Magazine: The WH Bathroom Etiquette Guide
• Salon: Women's Bathroom Etiquette
• The International Center for Bathroom Etiquette: Women's Bathroom Issues