Page 4 | Toilet separate to the bathroom

Eatthecakes · 2023-03-14T09:53:05+00:00

I’m downsizing to a 2 bedroom now it’s just me and one child left. Every property I have viewed so far has a bathroom with a separate toilet. Ok, useful if someone is in the shower. But, why is the sink in the bathroom and not the toilet room? So you do your business and leave the toilet room to go into the bath/shower room to wash your hands. Or to the kitchen if someone is using the shower. Is this a normal set up or am I just being ott in thinking it’s very unhygienic?

viques · 14/03/2023 15:03

I prefer a separate loo/ bathroom, I would rather wipe down a couple of door handles than put a poo contaminated toothbrush in my mouth.

Smells are particulate.

PurBal · 14/03/2023 15:04

Our house has a separate toilet and bathroom. No chance to knock through because of layout. Would not go back! We do have sink in the toilet though, could you put one in?

CrunchyCarrot · 14/03/2023 15:53

Fromwetome · 14/03/2023 11:12

@CrunchyCarrot

Another Aussie here, yep I have the same problem with it, in a one bathroom house currently and I don't think I'll never get used waiting for whoever is in the shower to get out so I can get in there for a number 2. Exactly the same when the situation is reversed and showering in the stink is also depressing.

In fact I don't think I will ever get used to a one bathroom house ever, even when I was dirt poor in Australia most houses have 2 loos at least.

I know right? And here are all these Brits knocking their nicely isolated loo through to the bathroom! 😂

maddy68 · 14/03/2023 16:06

CrunchyCarrot · 14/03/2023 15:53

I know right? And here are all these Brits knocking their nicely isolated loo through to the bathroom! 😂

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It's not that having a separate loo is the issue (that's definitely a bonus). It's the lack of acaibk in the loo that people are bothered about

CrunchyCarrot · 14/03/2023 16:09

@maddy68 acaibk

OK you got me, what does that stand for?

Natsku · 14/03/2023 16:35

CrunchyCarrot · 14/03/2023 16:09

@maddy68 acaibk

OK you got me, what does that stand for?

I'm going to guess "a sink"

Having a separate loo is great, but only if there's a sink in the same room

NotEvenSlightlyReasonable · 14/03/2023 16:59

We had this, 1950s house. Tiny toilet room, but we managed to tuck a very small basin in. It's not palatial, and tall people lose a bit of leg room, but it works. Tbh, I'd rather that than the only toilet in the house be in the bathroom!

Rumplestrumpet · 14/03/2023 17:07

It's gross. I lived in a rental like this for a year and hated it. Wouldn't do it again.

Hankunamatata · 14/03/2023 17:08

I'd love that but would have one of those toilets with sink on the back

JenniferAllisonPhillipaSue · 14/03/2023 17:12

1950s semi here and I love that the toilet is separate as it means I'm not crossing my legs when DH has a long bath. When we re-model (at some point in the future) my plan is to have a toilet in the bathroom and another separate (with tiny basin), so we get the best of both worlds.

bigbluebus · 14/03/2023 17:13

I was brought up in a house like this. There were 5 of us and it was the only toilet and bathroom. I can honestly say that we were very rarely ill - maybe we built up good immune systems due to our frequent exposure to germs!
Hand sanitisers wasn't even a thing then. My parents lived there for 53 years and never changed the arrangement. The chap who bought it when my DPs sold it took out the wall in between the 2 rooms to make it one bathroom with toilet.

Original poster

Eatthecakes · 14/03/2023 18:37

I’m going to view one of the houses again, (that I liked most) to see how I can work around it. Doesn’t it feel strange having a sink in with the shower/bath that looks out of place? I mean I know you’d use it for brushing teeth etc, but two washing facilities in the same room seems like a waste of valuable space. A shower or bath alone in one room seems more practical if the toilet is separate.

OP posts:

VegetablesFightingToReclaimTheAubergieneEmoji · 14/03/2023 18:40

I had this in my old rental. Was weird to start with, soon got used to it (always left sink door open) and realised having my toothbrush away from the loo was cleaner.

the toilets with the sink on look brilliant though

Mammyloveswine · 14/03/2023 18:53

Faircastle · 14/03/2023 11:22

How are you supposed to navigate this set-up if you use a menstrual cup?

Presumably there wasn't much demand for menstrual cups in the 1930s when my house was built... im just guessing here but in your home surely you'd just pop into the bathroom that is next to the toilet to rinse?

In our house we just keep hand sanitiser in the loo then pop into the main bathroom to wash hands with soap and water.

honeylulu · 14/03/2023 19:21

I prefer separate loo though definitely with a small basin. The only bonus I can see to having the loo in the main bathroom is when supervising small kids in the bath I can sit on the bog lid and have a rest!

EnthENd · 15/03/2023 01:34

YANBU. It's common, but it's clearly minging to have a toilet without a washbasin in the same room.

Hop27 · 15/03/2023 03:16

It's a common Australian thing, I disliked it initially but when we built our home we put washbasins in the the toilets. Just not in the master, because that's all contained in one large room and didn't make sense to have 3 sinks in one room.
Now I feel a bit weird going the loo in the middle of someone's bathroom 🤣 It's nicer to be in a little designated space!!

HandScreen · 15/03/2023 04:03

Eatthecakes · 14/03/2023 10:40

I’m glad it’s not just me. They’re all very tiny rooms so if I added a sink the door wouldn’t fully open or close. I’d rather knock the wall through but it would be a big job in terms of pipes. I guess I’ll have to keep looking until I find an actual bathroom! I’m downsizing from a lovely 4 bedroom so I don’t want to sell myself short so to speak.

Get one of those toilets with a sink built in over the cistern.

ZeldaWillTellYourFortune · 15/03/2023 04:34

CrunchyCarrot · 14/03/2023 10:49

This was the normal setup where I grew up in Australia. Separate toilet room. Our bathroom (next door) had a sink, bath and shower cubicle. I was quite horrified when I came to England to find the loo was in with the other things! I am still not really happy with it, 40 years later!

So you'd use the toilet and then go into the bathroom to wash your hands. I would really love to have a separate loo again!

Agree; I love a separate toilet. Especially with a window.

magicthree · 15/03/2023 05:15

EnthENd · 15/03/2023 01:34

YANBU. It's common, but it's clearly minging to have a toilet without a washbasin in the same room.

It's clearly not, as in some parts of the world it is common and we all survive. I struggle to understand how some of you cope with public toilets. Do the toilets in your workplaces have a sink in the same room, or do you have to walk out the door to access one?

I never realised how many hygiene obssessed people there were until I discovered MN, and have certainly never met people like this in real life. I'm not in the UK, maybe we are more relaxed here?

Natsku · 15/03/2023 07:47

magicthree · 15/03/2023 05:15

It's clearly not, as in some parts of the world it is common and we all survive. I struggle to understand how some of you cope with public toilets. Do the toilets in your workplaces have a sink in the same room, or do you have to walk out the door to access one?

I never realised how many hygiene obssessed people there were until I discovered MN, and have certainly never met people like this in real life. I'm not in the UK, maybe we are more relaxed here?

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Public toilets in my country usually have a small sink in the cubicle (to provide water for the bum gun bidet) - makes life so much easier when you use a cup and need to empty it when out.

IHaveaSetOfVeryParticularSkills · 15/03/2023 07:49

It's clearly not, as in some parts of the world it is common and we all survive
It's actually funny because I asked my mum, a woman without sink in toilets, about norovirus and she was like "you had that once. Whaddaya mean it's common in schools there. Ew". Maybe it helped us build up immunity😂

"I'm not in the UK, maybe we are more relaxed here?"
Nah. I carried hand gel years before covid because while the sinks are there, they are greatly underused. It's just MN.
Though dates on food obsession is actually outside of MN thing

EnthENd · 16/03/2023 10:47

magicthree · 15/03/2023 05:15

It's clearly not, as in some parts of the world it is common and we all survive. I struggle to understand how some of you cope with public toilets. Do the toilets in your workplaces have a sink in the same room, or do you have to walk out the door to access one?

I never realised how many hygiene obssessed people there were until I discovered MN, and have certainly never met people like this in real life. I'm not in the UK, maybe we are more relaxed here?

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Fair point.

But counterpoints: Public toilets often are minging, I want my home to be cleaner. And I'd only be touching the cubicle door with dirty hands, not the cubicle door and the toiletless bathroom door.

My workplace has all individual toilet rooms, no cubicles.

Aposterhasnoname · 16/03/2023 10:51

We had that. It was relatively simple to knock the wall down separating them and create a larger bathroom with loo in it.

mistlethrush · 16/03/2023 10:57

We had this in a previous house - the toilet was on the opposite side of the staircase from the bathroom. We managed to get a very small basin in the toilet, and we also managed to redesign the small bathroom so that we could get a slightly short bath, basin AND toilet in there - so we ended up with best of both worlds!