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This topic comes up a lot but I refuse to let men off the hook that easily.

First - women actually use the restrooms more - therefore more people, more mess.

Second - they really use them - it ain't that easy to strip off all your clothing unlike the male version and there are other requirements that men do not deal with.

Third - we also must accept/allow little men in the ladies room. They make quite an interesting mess also.

Fourth - women actually wash their hands and even use soap occasionally. Unlike the mens room where the soap is hardly ever changed and the sinks are never wet so I know they don't wash their hands.Ugh!

BTW - Men's room is most likely to get "vandalized" and little boys are highly likely to make it necessary to mop the walls!

[This message has been edited by BECKWITH1 (edited January 24, 2002).]

The Women's room at the driveins seems to get the brunt of the damage. Constant grafitti, plugged toilets, etc. One location they actually ripped the Kotex vending machine off a cinderblock wall!

From my mother, a renowned expert on pottys.

"I agree with you about the best arrangements for paper towels - not only
because it makes them more accessible, it keeps people from having water
drip down their sleeves. One of my biggest gripes is a row of sinks at one
end and one paper towel dispenser at the other - what were they thinking?
Most women carry a purse - with the towels all the way across the room, the
area around the sink gets wet - where does one put oen's purse? As for hand
dryers - the only use I've ever found for them is for warming mittens and
ski boots - they do a good job of that, lousy job of drying.

I have heard that women's restrooms get trashed much more often than men's
could it be that men aren't washing their hands?

I haven't run into the not enough stalls very often in movie theatres -
perhaps because not all movies get out at the same time. In live theatres,
however, it's a nightmare! Ditto sports venues."

You guys with the clogged toilets - do you have proper disposal locations for sanitary napkins? Can they be reached easily? Are they clean?

Do your Kotex machines really work? Do they take the money and run? These are really important details!

How many times have you seen someone beating a pop machine because it took their money and did not give them the pop? Men probably do this most often, but women do also get frustrated. Considering that most people are alone and unsupervised in the bathroom - they will take out their frustrations on you and the equipment they find in the bathroom. They may not feel like explaining what they need NOW to some pimpley faced usher who doesn't even know what they are taking about. Sorry, I don't mean to be mean just trying to explain what may be happening.

I love the idea of putting the paper towels right by the sink. I also carry a purse when I am away and can never find a dry to place to put it while I go looking for a paper towel not to mention that someone might steal it while my back is turned. But I am also intrigued by the Japanese faucet,soap dispenser, dryer combination. I was going to ask you to invent the necessary machinery to take care of all these valet functions - but we seem to be half way there.

BTW - I checked with my better half who insists that HE cleans the bathrooms 6 day per week. He agrees completely that the mens is worse on average than the women's. See - I told you that those flowers help.

I've seen... well... a lot of interesting stuff on the stall walls...

Andy

I really like the wall-mounted toilets. They're sharp, easy, modern and look great.

Andy

Beckwith1

It's great to get the women's point of view. I don't have to entirely relie on my wife for this anymore. Many well-designed washrooms have a narrow shelf just under the vanity to place your purse, or a series of hooks mounted under the cabinet to hang your purse on. I, like many other men I know, also carry a purse, so we experience the same problem as most women. I think that a combination of a puse shelf and a dryer at each sink would go a long way to reducing the problems.

Many of our clients use completely electronic controls in their washrooms. This applies to faucets, flushers on toilets and urinals, hand dryers, and even soap dispensers. These devices satisfy the concerns of the clean-fanatics who won't touch anything in the washroom. Not having doors also helps. Some States have regulations which require seat cover dispensers in all public washrooms. We don't, here in Canada. Another good idea I've seen is vending machines for all kinds of products like bacterial wipes, hand lotion, etc. Also, we always include fold-down baby changing tables in women's and men's washrooms.

Mesbursmith - Thank you for being interested in the petty deails of how bathroms are actually used by people. I give you a lot of credit your interest and willingness to incorporate in your designs.

One those disposable seat covers - we don't have them, but I have noticed personally that they are usually discarded on the floor rather than properly. That is one reason why I would probably not stock them in my ideal restroom. I hope for better luck with other vending products like antibacterial towels or lotions, but I haven't seen this concept used. If there is one thing that I really regret about our bathrooms besides size, it is that we have no possible place to put a baby changing table - foldout or otherwise. Parents have to make do in other ways. I know we have had a few changed on our bench in the lobby.