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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

No bathroom bin

828 replies

Veeveeoxox · 25/12/2021 19:54

If you are at relatives house with no bathroom bins where do you put your used sanitary stuff? I've been wrapping my tampons putting in handbag and putting them in the outside bin. I would always empty the bathroom bin and my periods are very heavy so need changing frequently., SIL isnt menopausal even my dad who lives alone has bathroom bins ??!!

OP posts:
DdraigGoch · 26/12/2021 00:26

They're not just for used sanitary towels or tampons, what about the cardboard roll from loo rolls and empty containers for other things you use in the bathroom?

Toilet roll inners get used for other purposes (seedlings for example). Everything else is reusable/refillable. No need to worry about visitors, the only female visitor I get is my mother and she hasn't had a bathroom bin in her own bathroom for years.

zoeFromCity · 26/12/2021 00:28

Ok, I see now that in a house with upstairs bathroom with a toilet inside, extra bin there gets handy. Either in a room or as a floor's bin. Even more so with regular sleep over guests.

I totally see the practicality in a work/public setup as well, with many users, strangers to each other, and being emptied by professional cleaners.

Still not missing one at our flat, main bin isn't too far away and gets emptied often enough, so potential san pro gets away in it without us needing to even notice it, compared to adding extra bin and having to open it, check whether it is empty (majority of the time) or not, put away if used, bring in extra linen, not forget about it... However, sanitary bags might be a good compromise, make carrying to the main bin a bit more convenient.

LaBellina · 26/12/2021 00:30

We do have a bathroom bin. However I can see why people wouldn’t have one and wouldn’t like providing one for guests. If someone throws a used tampon in it, it can get smelly really soon if nobody realizes it’s in there for example because the house owner throws her sanitary waste directly in the bin outside. Or they might not like the idea of someone else’s sanitary waste in their bathroom bin. Their home, their rules.
My advice would be to put your tampons in a nappy bag inside your handbag so you’re always prepared for this kind of situation. Sometimes people have an open bin in their bathroom (like my in-laws) and it’s usually empty so a wrapped tampon after I visited their bathroom is an obvious signal and I feel uncomfortable about them seeing this so I take it home and throw it in my own bin.

coodawoodashooda · 26/12/2021 00:32

@LoveGrooveDanceParty

No, I don’t have a bathroom bin - everything goes directly into the kitchen bin.

Even if I was at someone else’s house, no way would I leave used sanpro in their bathroom bin.

Snap
VanGoghsDog · 26/12/2021 00:35

In the old days, my dad took the paper up to his nightly loo visit and read it for about an hour, then left it at the side of the loo. My mum then used strips of the pages torn off to wrap her sanpro and put them in the bathroom bin (which was actually an old lidded nappy bin!).

She emptied the bin once a week and took the papers down. And.....emptied the bathroom ashtray!! It was the70's!

I think the newspaper bit was quite good.

RoyalFamilyFan · 26/12/2021 00:36

@LaBellina I dont normally carry a handbag. No way am I carrying used sanitary towels and tampax in my coat pocket.

LaBellina · 26/12/2021 00:38

Then you’ll have to use my in laws open bathroom bin Grin @RoyalFamilyFan

shamalidacdak · 26/12/2021 00:42

All those with no bathroom bin have got a screw loose Grin

avamiah · 26/12/2021 00:44

@shamalidacdak

All those with no bathroom bin have got a screw loose Grin
Yes 100 percent Lol
RoyalFamilyFan · 26/12/2021 00:45

@LaBellina although I think it is disgusting, I would use it.

MoiraNotRuby · 26/12/2021 00:47

All my toilets have lidded bins in them, part of being a welcoming friend is making sure everyone can use the toilet and dispose of whatever they need to.

ItsNotChristmasTilSomebodyShou · 26/12/2021 00:48

@coodawoodashooda

What do you do with it then? Put it in your bag??

LaBellina · 26/12/2021 00:48

I grew up with a father who ridiculed periods so I would feel incredibly uncomfortable if my FIL could see my used tampon in the bin. So I’d rather be taking it home in a sanitary bag. It’s a bit gross, I know.

NorthAndSouthern · 26/12/2021 01:07

@pigsDOfly

I've always had bins in every bathroom and loo in the house.

I live on my own and I'm way past the age for having periods.

They're not just for used sanitary towels or tampons, what about the cardboard roll from loo rolls and empty containers for other things you use in the bathroom?

Does everyone take them down to the kitchen bin every time you have something bathroom related to throw away.

You can put the cardboard inner tube from a loo roll and most containers in the recycling
GhoulWithADragonTattoo · 26/12/2021 01:15

This is the same as when people say toilet brushes are gross. They are mainly for guests to save any embarrassing mess. Same goes for bathroom bins. They are for guests convienne even if you don't use them.

TheMilkyWeigh · 26/12/2021 01:16

@Mittenmob

I never have visitors, so the no bin issue is no problem.

Do people have separate recycling bins for the bathroom?

Yes. We have two bins on every bathroom. One puffed one for waste. One basket-type one for recyclables such as toilet roll inners, toothpaste boxes, etc.

For those who think bins are only for female guests and claim “I don’t have any females of menstruating age that visit” or “all my guests use moon cups” what about things like used condoms, dental floss, hair, etc? We treat our guests like family. They can do here whatever they would do at home. And we provide bins for whatever they want to dispose of.

Ajl46 · 26/12/2021 01:18

@pigsDOfly

I've always had bins in every bathroom and loo in the house.

I live on my own and I'm way past the age for having periods.

They're not just for used sanitary towels or tampons, what about the cardboard roll from loo rolls and empty containers for other things you use in the bathroom?

Does everyone take them down to the kitchen bin every time you have something bathroom related to throw away.

Aren't they recyclable?
XelaM · 26/12/2021 01:56

How gross that people actually wrap their sanitary products in loo roll and carry them through the house to the kitchen Confused eww!

Why on Earth wouldn't you just have a bathroom bin and place them there?!?

FreeFrenchHens · 26/12/2021 01:56

well this is fun.

We do have a bathroom bin but what's surprised me most here is the level of disgust so many people seem to have for taking their waste home with them. I'm about 18 years into reusable pads, and we did cloth nappies. You just take a nappy or pad home and wash it. All this angst and shame about "having" to, shock horror, exit the bathroom with a used tampon or pad seems more misogynistic to me than having a binless bathroom.

A dental floss bin though Grin

MerryChristmas21 · 26/12/2021 02:10

@shamalidacdak

All those with no bathroom bin have got a screw loose Grin
Nowt wrong with my screws thanks!

I don't need a bathroom bin

RoyalFamilyFan · 26/12/2021 02:17

@FreeFrenchHens when you have a baby you are used to carrying lots of stuff.
If I go to a friend alone I usually just have a coat. No I don't want to carry a blood-soaked tampax and towel in my coat pocket.

AlwaysLatte · 26/12/2021 02:20

Weird lot that expect their guests to walk through the house to put their pads in the kitchen bin (possibly to an audience).
We have tiny bathroom bins which are lined with compostable liners, change them every day or so. Much more civil.

NumberTheory · 26/12/2021 02:42

@FreeFrenchHens

well this is fun.

We do have a bathroom bin but what's surprised me most here is the level of disgust so many people seem to have for taking their waste home with them. I'm about 18 years into reusable pads, and we did cloth nappies. You just take a nappy or pad home and wash it. All this angst and shame about "having" to, shock horror, exit the bathroom with a used tampon or pad seems more misogynistic to me than having a binless bathroom.

A dental floss bin though Grin

I don’t think it’s particularly misogynistic to not want to take messy stuff home with you in your bag. It’s not simply because it’s period blood. I wouldn’t want to take the food from my plate that I didn’t eat, either.

It seems more misogynistic to think it’s okay to think women should have a bag with them so they can carry waste home instead of using the facilities where they are as men almost always do.

NumberTheory · 26/12/2021 02:51

I use period pants most of the time, but the first few days they don’t last the day so I use tampons while I’m out of the house.

I ask where I should dispose of them if there’s no bin. Most people say to flush, so I’m guessing that’s what most people without bins actually do.

We have a bin in the bathroom at home.

RoyalFamilyFan · 26/12/2021 03:08

So flush sanitary towels as well?