To put paper on the seat when using the loo in public?

[BrownEyedGirlv2point0]

I've had people argue that it is ridiculous to do this. I, personally, feel more comfortable. I know it wastes more paper but it's better than squatting to avoid actually touching the seat. Plus, if someone has left a mess there before me, I'll know. They say you can't catch anything from touching a seat but it still creeps me out. What do most people do?

You can buy thin plastic covers for toilet seats- amazon or Ebay.

And just when people are starting to get the message about unnecessary plastic use, we have another totally pointless plastic product on the market.

Dare I ask where people are disposing of all these toilet seat covers and wipes, which aren't flushable, no matter what the packet says?

And what do you do about touching the cover that's touched the toilet seat and your own arse? When will it end?

I wouldn't walk bare feet in a public toilet, and wouldn't sit on a public toilet either. Others are free to do as they please ,just sound too grim to me.

Not read full thread but my first thought when reading your post title was it was preferable to hovering so that those of us who use toilet seats the way they were intended to be used don’t end up with wet bum cheeks from hoverer splash back.

Plea to all hoverers - please wipe your wee off the seat before you leave the toilet.

YANBU
I do the same

Nothing can happen to skin if it touches germs unless you have raw wounds. I sit on public toilets and my nether regions remain infection free.

You just never know. It only takes the one dirty person. To what?

You can buy thin plastic covers for toilet seats- amazon or Ebay. The world has moved on. Most people are trying to reduce their unnecessary single use plastic consumption, not pander to paranoia.

Yanbu I do this every time.

@HesterShaw

It only takes one dirty person to infect the entire universe with the dreaded BUM DISEASE of course.

...considering that the paper used in public toilets is usually the cheapest of cheap, spit thin rubbish, what exactly is it going to protect against??

I'm sure all of us have walked into a cubicle and witnessed purely disgusting things left behind from a previous user. Knowing that that has happened possibly to all toilets everywhere and not knowing how the mess has been cleaned up (did they use disinfectant or just wipe it off with loo roll?) I just can't bring myself to sit. I agree that you can bring your own disinfectant wipes/sprays, etc. but surely that will take much, much longer than hovering or putting some paper down.

I feel that people (maybe just a small portion hopefully) are just utterly disgusting and disrespectful in public toilets that the majority who just want a clean place (hoverers and sitters) to go are out of luck. Maybe it's these people who create this downward spiral. Hoverers can't sit because they think of what was once on the seat so they make a mess which some don't clean up and then a sitter sits on the mess and gets upset. Wish there was some kind of solution. Maybe bring back attendants who go in after each person?

I also know it could be much worse. I've been to other countries that don't even have loo roll (and they make you pay even) and the anxiety around needing to pee is very high!

Not to mention that the paper is not somehow hygienic in the first place.

Just buy that antibac hand cleaner and have a squirt of that on the loo seat , a quick wipe around with some paper and your good to go ! (literally )

Wish there was some kind of solution.

There is. People. People are the solution.

Just don't be a manky bastard when you use the toilet. Job done.

(Not you personally)

Apart from using a few extra sheets of loo paper

When you think about how much wastage the ‘few extra sheets’ per person each time anyone uses a public loo adds up to, this is actually not a small issue.

On thinking about it, the vast majority of public toilets that I have cause to visit have toilets that are...ok. They're not as clean as my own at home, not exactly sparkling white, but adequate. And almost without exception they also have scrumpled up toilet paper on the floor, often a wet floor, making a nice sticky dirty stomach churning mess.

I've often wondered how disgusting people could possibly be that they wipe then throw the paper on the floor instead of down the toilet. But it seems that actually I've got it all wrong and it's maybe the nest builders. Presumably if it falls on the floor it is then rendered too disgusting to touch?

In my experience, soggy toilet paper on the floor is a far more common experience than a toilet smeared in filth.

Can someone please tell me what disease it's possible to catch from putting your bare arse on a toilet seat? So what if it collects a few bacteria; are you planning to eat your dinner off your arse??

Some people are really weird.

I carry antibacterial wipes and dry wipes in my bag for public toilets, give them a good clean before I go on them. Usually with a doggy bag used as a glove

Sounds like way too much effort!

You don't touch a toilet seat with your private parts though do you. The parts that come into contact are your buttocks and thighs. The dirtier areas are probably the door handles etc which is why good handwashing is important.

If everyone used the toilet noramlly they'd be a lot cleaner and the toilet roll wouldn't always be empty because of people covering the seats with it.

People who are that bothered should use an antibacterial wipe.

I just sit on the fucking seat.

FFS.

I cover the seat with loo roll if it looks sticky. Isn't that interesting?

So that's why we all have to stand in a queue with our legs crossed. For the love of God, wipe the seat, sit down, pee and flush so we don't all nearly wet ourselves waiting for you.

Instead of arguing here why don't you all do some online research for the facts :)

Last time I looked into this, in the days when people thought you could get STIs from loo seats, the consensus was you could possibly pick up skin infections on your bum if someone had sat on the seat and they'd had boils or oozing cuts or sores.

I tend to lift up the plastic seat and sit on the porcelain; on the basis that not many people do.

When you hover you ate going to make more of a splash because the piss has further to fall. May I suggest to anyone who absolutely must hover that they put the seat up so that it is not left covered in piss for the next person?

Most of the pissy toilet seats seem to be caused by unsupervised children. Parents really should check that their child has flushed and not left lots of drips on the seat. I just sit on the seat if it is clean and if it is not I move to a different cubicle. I am constantly amazed at how long some women spend in the cubicles, it is al you hoverers and nest makers that cause the long delays.

Here we go again with this paranoid nonsense 🙄.
Not sure what kind of toilets you have encountered but I find most not to be smeared with shit or covered in piss!
Sit down ffs!!
Perhaps a protective body suit with breathing mask is the way to go?