Loo bins - do you have them and what is the etiquette for visitors?

[cosmicdomestic]

We had SIL to stay over Xmas. She is always a polite house guest and generally tries to fit in with what we do. This time though she kept on hinting that we needed a bin in our downstairs loo (which is tiny) - we don't need one in our opinion.
Anyway, as if to make her point, when I went to put my Quality Street wrappers in the kitchen bin on NYE, I had horror moment when right there in the bin, on top, partially covered with one thin tissue was a (heavily) used tampon (bin is in the cupboard next to the dish washer - so it gets warm and we never put perishable waste in it - but the cupboard actually smelt of the offending article!!). It could only be SILs and I did not mention it
Even if we got a bin in the loo, is it polite to put used sanitary protection in it - surely she should flush or wrap in tissue and quietly put in our wheely bin?
What do other households do for female guests?

Or just soak your hands in warm water for a minute or so.

Yeah why not?

Honestly some of you are sooooo squeamish
Your attitudes contribute to menstrual shaming

(Sorry, couldnt help it)

I'd probably use mooncup plus a washable pad for leaks, so it'd hand wash and not be a big deal, but i honestly find my mooncup to be the best thing ever for periods. I'd forgotten all about this stuff on this thread about finding a bin for sanpro etc

I haven't got a problem with re-usable anything. It's more the consideration of guests I was thinking about and the "we don't need a bin so there aren't any for anybody" approach I'm sure I saw somewhere a few pages up.

I was probably one of those posters. Its never really occured to me tbh. We all just sorted ourselves out n put stuff in the outside bin. And i havent needed even to do that for at least 10 years. But i think i will get one for when dd is a teen, for her and her friends, so its been a useful thread from my pov

Honestly I wasn't having a go - my home is in no way a shining example of perfect hostessing. Friend yesterday had to ask her son to make the coffees as I'd completely forgotten!

RaisingSteam In my case it simply never occurred to me to have a bathroom bin until DD started her periods as there was never any need for one by me or visitors.

I clicked on this thread thinking "who the hell doesn't have a bathroom bin?", but clearly lots of people don't. Sanitary products aside, where do you throw things like cotton buds, tooth pics, dental floss, empty toothpaste tubes etc?? We have a bin in virtually every room in our house.

Mooncup was the worst sanpro ever for me, it leaked every time, complete waste of money. I never tried washable pads, I don't object in principle (used cloth nappies) but don't really want them on display while drying.

You rabbit, like me, have 'rubbish satellites' which are a 'nightmare' to empty. Apparently.

I have satellite bins because when I have a cold or allergy I need a place to put the millions of tissues I go through without walking to the kite every five minutes or creating a white fluffy and snotty floor cover.

Seriously, putting used sanpro in your handbag is much more disgusting than putting it into a receptacle designed for it
I'm not that precious. Wrap it and put it either in a nappy sack or I had a little waterproof lined bag that I bought with the washable pads.
Yes I still used them away from home, packed them and transported them. I would normally rinse them through if I couldn't wash them the same day.

I have no problem if a guest wants to put wrapped used sanpro in my kitchen bin (you have to walk through my kitchen to get to the cloakroom), but I don't see why I should provide a bin and liners for someone else's benefit when no-one in my house has use for one. Wrapped in toilet roll is fine. I have ecological issues with using more plastic bin liners than is absolutely necessary. (I try not to use any at all)

I can hardly be accused of being uptight about periods when I am a fan of mooncups, washable sanpro and have no problem with used sanpro being put in my kitchen bin as long as they are wrapped. I don't think that's being overly precious. I don't mind disposing of a guest's shit down the toilet, but I draw the line at it appearing unwrapped in my kitchen bin.

It is ridiculous to suggest that a guest was embarrassed by having to use the kitchen bin, but would be happy to throw it in unwrapped.
Why should the guest even feel embarrassed about having a period?
It's a normal bodily function.

wowfudge, that's madness! It takes 30 seconds to empty. We have a big kitchen bin (or "recycling centre" as it was called when we bought it) and then a waste paper basket in the living room & computer room, each bedroom and then a small pedal bin in each bathroom.

The little waste paper bins are only used for dry waste. Stuff like tissues, wrappers, bits of paper etc. You know the kind of thing I mean.

I'd rather have a little bin in the corner of each room than have to pick up bits of litter from every possible surface left by my little darlings.

*I wouldn't want vaginal fluids in my kitchen.
*
How do you deal with not being able to go in your own kitchen?

I agree! I'd rather anyone visiting or staying at our house used the bins than packaged their waste up and took it home with them. Why would you?

wowfudge, or worse than taking it home, leaving cluttering up my table!

Thats the trouble with those little bins in every room - stuff doesnt get recycled. Its a pain going through them sorting out the paper/plastics etc. I cant imagine one in every room - it'd drive me mad. This bathroom bin thing - I guess its just a 'known thing' that its for sanpro? Or it gets all the other stuff thrown in too?

Prime, I think you're unreasonable for not having a bathroom bin for guests and thinking it's normal to put used sanpro in your handbag. Not for being squeamish about menstruation. You use washable sanitary towels/mooncup etc. Good for you. I don't, so don't have a special bag, nor do I want one.

I don't want to put used tampons in my handbag, thanks. Just as I wouldn't put used loo roll in there if the loo wouldn't flush. I am glad to hear you don't mind people using your kitchen bin to dispose of their sanpro if adequately wrapped. That is what I would do. My post was also addressed to other bin-hating posters, like the OP, who were definitely squeamish and expected female guests to go outside and put their tampax in the wheelie bin, day or night.

Has the concept of a bathroom bin genuinely never occurred to you before this thread, otto?

"where do you throw things like cotton buds, tooth pics, dental floss, empty toothpaste tubes etc?"

We don't use cotton buds, tooth picks or dental floss. Empty toothpaste tubes and used tissues go into the bin in our bedroom.

"Thats the trouble with those little bins in every room - stuff doesnt get recycled."

It does in our house. We are very much in the habit of not throwing paper or cardboard in the waste bins. If a loo roll needs changing whoever goes downstairs just takes the empty cardboard tube with them to lob into the cardboard recycling bin. It isn't difficult.

I was thinking about this just the other day. As I use a mooncup I have no need for the bin, but for some reason I thought about what female guests do. Its only taken 8 years for it to dawn on me that it could be a problem. So maybe I should get that bin and stack of biodegradable nappy sacks, at long last. Having said that no one has complained. Hope they haven't been flushing them down the loo!

Honestly, no, i've never needed one or used one at a friends house either. Frankly i dont even remember seeing one in friends houses. Certainly none in my family or dh's family, altho mil has open bins in rooms, which i dont use either as it is just as easy from my pov to use main bins and saves her a job.

(We compost used tissues)

(Just upping the yuck factor)

Frankly i dont even remember seeing one in friends houses

Normally they won't be very obvious unless you look for them.
You might start noticing if you look for them now.

Oh yes lweji i am planning to look already

Although I wouldn't have a problem wrapping it up and putting it in my bag either. I'm thinking back to when I put a used tampon in my rucksack, put the rucksack in my bedroom and forgot about it for a day or so. . Anyway, someone broke into my house when I was out and used my rucksack to fill it up with my husbands cd collection. Amongst the utter devastion that I felt because someone had broke into my home, was the tiny piece of glee that they hopefully came across and unwrapped that tampon not knowing what it was.