to think it would be common courtesy and common sense to that? possibly tmi.

[someonestolemynick]

To put a bin next to the toilet.

This makes me irrationally angry: My job involves going to people's houses. Normally I will be with them between a and 4 hours, so occasionally I will have to use their toilet.
Today I'm on my period and have quite heavy flow. I was on a longer job (3hrs) and bled through my tampon. I discovered that there was no von in the bathroom. Just to be clear. I try to avoid having to change my tampon in client's houses by changing in public loos, McDonald's or Starbucks and carry scented plastic bags with me tobwrap the offender in when I have to do it at someone's house.
So, anyway, i was in the very awkward position of having a soaked tampon and no way of getting rid of it. I was in charge of a very young child - so no way of nipping out to the bins or a pub (to use the loo) and ended up stemming the flow with toilet paper and going back to working with their dc for another hour.
I will not flush a tampon down the loo because I don't want to block the clients toilet.

So, aibu to ask you all to provide a bin for female visitors?

I didn't have a clue that tampons weren't flushable until a couple of years ago when I read it on here. Obviously haven't flushed any since but I genuinely had no idea. When we learned about it at school, read about it all etc while going through puberty (not THAT long ago thank you) it always said one of the main advantages of tampons over towels was that the former could be flushed.

This thread has turned out even more controversial than workmen-pooing-in-your-toilet type threads

I think if I had someone routinely coming into my home like a carer then I would, but then I'd have to have the foresight to think of it and for some people this isn't something they'd think about.

I don't have a bin. I don't need one. My dog would soon get in it anyway so it'd be a no no.

Double bag and put in handbag. I wouldn't put in clients loo bin or Especially not kitchen bin! No to flushing too. Totally disgusting but our old dog used to pick them out of bins and chew them (boak) Knowing that alone I'd never put one in any bin in a house that wasn't mine.

Flush you are really NOT supposed to flush tampons.

I wouldn't like to live it in a bin in someone's house either if I could help it. I usually wrap them and bag them and put them in my handbag unless I can surreptitiously bury them at the bottom of their kitchen bin.

Someone should manufacture a little snappy plastic box that can store a loo-roll wrapped tampon in a clean way without smell or leakage in your handbag until you get home.

Tippy what about one of travel plastic bar soap containers? That would work.

Yes, perfect!

We should start an MN awareness campaign and branches of Boots up and down the country will be bewildered about why they are suddenly selling out of travelling soap containers.

That's brilliant!

Why would a toddler rummage through a lidded bathroom bin though? confused You wouldn't leave them in the bathroom unsupervised.

Not for a long time, no. But there are moments where the bathroom door is open (eg moving baby bath with 2 hands, etc) and a moment is all it takes for a Tasmanian devil DC to go into the bathroom and empty the lidded bin. There's nowhere convenient to put it apart from the floor (window sills too narrow, etc).

Now I could concuct a way to wall mount it, or buy and put up a wall mounted bin but why should I? Frankly I've got better things to do with my time. I'd rather take the bin away than bother. If I had hoards of teenage girls staying of course I would provide somewhere to dispose of whatever they needed to but I don't.

The point is it's my house, setup in a way that works for me. OP is visiting houses to work, therefore is presumably supposed to be helping not expecting it to be arranged for her convenience and then bitching about it afterwards on mumsnet
If OP was visiting my house and asked where to put her used sanitary products I'd tell her to put them in the nappy bin - it's emptied regularily and I know to keep the Tasmanian devil DC away from it.
I don't think a private house has to be set up for anyone other than the people who live there. I don't have anyone staying over at the moment, and I wouldn't rearrange things for an occasional visitor that's supposed to be helping.

Ps off to take out shares in Boots travel soap boxes

I had my awareness raised about the non flushability of tampons at university, when my upstairs neighbours exploded the pipe that ran past our bedroom window with the sheer force of built-up tampons etc. We had several summer days of the smell and sight of a shitfat soup with dozens of tampon croutons outside our window. And then we got the benefit of the plumber's opinion while he fixed it! We are all very careful about drains now!

Oh god it's brought back the horrible memory of me tearing up a sanitary towel and flushing it down my nan's toilet when I'd first started my period aged 12. My mum had taught me to do that! It was fine at home but my nan had a weird Saniflo toilet so it blocked up and she had to get a plumber out to dig the towel out. I was MORTIFIED and my Nan went mental at me. I still flush tampons though, I genuinely thought you could... I'll stop from now on.

Anyway yes, every bathroom should have a bin. Not just for sanitary products but for wipes, ear buds, empty toiletry bottles etc. Bit weird not to have one. I have had to carry soaked sanitary products wrapped in toilet roll around in my bag a few times though so that's the last resort.

Why the hell should we buy 'special bags' with bunnies on to dispose of our disgusting foul female emission cloths sanpro?
Just a simple small lined wash bag, like a makeup bag is perfectly adequate.
I have a plain purple one. It's really not that much effort to avoid any difficult situations.
If I had daughters or lots of female visitors who didn't know me well enough to ask if they could use my kitchen bin, then I might consider putting a bin in the bathroom, but it's rare I have an unknown female in my house. I am not going to set my house up for those rare occasions when the knock on effect is that I would have to buy bin liners and it would discourage other people to recycle.

Anyway yes, every bathroom should have a bin. Not just for sanitary products but for wipes, ear buds, empty toiletry bottles etc. Bit weird not to have one.
Don't use wipes or ear buds and most empty bottles need to go into recycling.
Whatever rubbish you generate when you are in a bathroom can very easily be carried to the correct bin, which is not very far from the bathroom.

Why the hell should we buy 'special bags' with bunnies on to dispose of our disgusting foul female emission cloths sanpro?

If you buy Charlie Banana reusables then you get a black bag in the box.

I wouldn't leave bodily fluids that are capable of causing disease in someone else's bin without telling them, so they can at least be aware they have to empty it asap. There is a reason public toilets and hospitals etc put waste like that in a yellow bin which goes on to be incinerated.

What's wrong with putting it in a nappy sack and putting it in your bag? If you don't I think you really have to make your host aware that there is bodily fluid in their bin- my own dd has gone through the bin when I was showering and I didn't notice. I would be horrified if she had found a used tampon.

I think bagged and in the kitchen bin is normal? ! Or leave it in the bathroom but tell someone it will need emptied! I use a mooncup so only empty my bathroom bin when it's full, maybe once every2 weeks? So if it has something in it ( even a nappy) I would like to be told and actually ime people do.

I wouldn't leave bodily fluids that are capable of causing disease
Is period blood capable of causing disease? I genuinely don't know.

Yes if it's fresh. It's probably unlikely but can you imagine if it was your baby you found with a tampon full of blood of unknown origin in their hand/mouth?

But I don't have a baby or use tampons. Do I still need to worry?

Zoe can't answer what he does with his sanitary products because Zoe is a man and has never had to deal with it. Only a man would imagine that public toilet bins are emptied at 'appropriate intervals'. FYI Zoe they are emptied much less frequently than a bathroom bin and they generally smell because of that

What a bizarre post!

Some people on here have a very poor idea of the overall picture. I have a friend who was employed to empty these bins, I know how the system works. I have done the same myself in hospitals.

This is done according to specific standards and rules, such as PPE, to keep the operator safe

Used tampons are a biohazard.

Someonestolemynick is claiming to be some sort of professional, yet doesn't seem to be educated to the most basic standard.

She is claiming not to be able to prevent children going into her hand bag - a professional working with children who has so little control and boundaries?? I don't think children's services would be delighted that you are in peoples homes.

She is claiming that these apparently uncontrollable children are perfectly safe from her leaving bio hazardous material in the bathroom bin?

And she is claiming that this thread "reassures" her, and is apparently blind to the number of posters that think she is completely in the wrong.

Many people would be horrified and disgusted, OP, no matter what you think about your behaviour. You really cannot go around doing that

Pipbin, yes! one of the worst biohazards!

Why do you think it has to be expelled from our bodies! It can't be retained, like most tissues.

I've always flushed tampons and all my friends and family do too! Is it really that bad to do so?

I've also never had a bin in the bathroom, I think they are vile. Whenever I've used one at someone else's house there always seems to be something I'd rather not see staring back up at me like a bloody sanitary pad, used condom and other equally horrid items. Why would I want my friends and family who come to my house to see these things?

Thanks for your last post, zoe: absolute comedy gold.

I'm a bit surprised that some people don't make accommodations for people coming to their houses - trades people or not. I we or just as part of being a nice person. Everyone who comes to my house gets offered a drink. I can count the clients who didn't offer me a drink on one hand and they all turned out to be awkward in other ways: calling me late at night and expecting a response, haggling about price, cancelling frequently at short notice... I don't expect a drink btw but I notice when someone doesn't offer one on principle. I'd tidy up before someone comes to visit. A bin in the bathroom is just a very small gesture to make women's lives easier.

Drinkup, i generally don't looking a bin for pleasure. What aesthetically pleasing things do you find in your bin?

'Why do you think it has to be expelled from our bodies! It can't be retained, like most tissues.'

Zoe, hun, why don't you sit down and look up the birds and the bees. Menstrual blood is not poop.

LogicalThinking
'Whatever rubbish you generate when you are in a bathroom can very easily be carried to the correct bin, which is not very far from the bathroom.'

Are you talking about your own house layout, or assuming everyone keeps their kitchen bin not far from their bathroom?