Mumsnet users share their experiences of public loos with Domestos

[EllieMumsnet]

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Trying to find a loo when you’re out and about with your kids can be challenging. How many times have you asked if your DCs need to go before you leave the house and then they are demanding a toilet not even five minutes into your outing? We’ve all been there! Which is why at Domestos we want to know about your experience of public loos.

How often do you need to locate a loo when you’re out with your family? And how difficult are they to find? How do you feel when you have to go in and ask staff to use the loo in a pub? Or a café you weren’t planning on buying a coffee from? Or do you even ask? Are you ever met with resistance from staff when you ask to use their loo? What would you change to make this experience easier?

Here’s what Domestos have to say: “Domestos believe everyone deserve access to a clean, safe toilet. In the UK the problem is locating a public toilet when we’re out and about, in other countries the problem is far more serious. Domestos is committed to providing solutions, and have an ambition to help 25 million people around the world get cleaner, safer toilets by 2020.”

Whatever your experience is with public loos, post them on the thread below to be entered into a prize draw where one MNer will win a £300 voucher of their choice (from a list).

Thanks and good luck!
MNHQ

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I just wish planners would put enough ladies toilets so that queues were the exception not the rule.

There really aren't enough loos when out and about with kids, the assumption by many councils seems to be that you'll just use cafe/ restaurant/pub ones, but that does rather assume you'll be buying food/drink them - most places hate people coming in just to use the loo.

That said, national trust loos are always plentiful and clean!

Vile! We have to use disabled toilets but they are usually filthy and in really poor condition. The sinks are also tiny!

The words 'Public Toilet' make me cringe, they are just that 'Public' so I always take anti-sceptic wipes and hand gels wherever we go now, It's horrendous the state of most public toilets and whilst I can usually wait till I am home the younger ones can't

There are some lovely clean ones and others that are stomach churning.

I always end up using the loo in department stores or supermarkets.

i think our public loo facilities on the whole are quite good and clean . The worse public toilet i went to was on a beach in greece. It had no bin and people had left used tampons all over !! it was the most disgusting thing ive ever seen. I had my daughters who were 1 and 13 at the time with me and we didnt end up going to the loo after we saw the horror what awaited

i have 4 boys so someone always needs the toilet when we are out and about. I hate using them as I have seen so many people just leave without washing their hands. If we need to use a pub or café we haven't used we usually sneak in and out quickly.

We need to go every couple of hours and have bought many a coffee for this reason, but we do just sneak in and out if it's busy

there's never enough - really wish more shops had public toilets! and so many aren't big enough to get the pushchair in...feel like I spend half my life wee-ing with the toilet door open so I can keep an eye on the pram.
my heart goes out to anyone with a disabled child as there clearly aren't enough facilities for them

A day out has to include using some kind of public loo, however much it can be unpleasant. Council type facilities are normally lacking, closing down or very unpleasant...normally find this out on holidays or have the expense of paying when it's a tourist type place..which always baffles me as it's the public/tourists providing most of the places income tbh. Shopping centres normally quite convenient and not too bad, unfortunately some previous users have no manners and leave a mess. I normally find it too embarrassing to ask to use a pub/cafe/restaurant toilet when I'm not eating there. Some larger stores have handy loos...places I'm used to shopping I know where to go to or avoid...John Lewis handy.

Generally rubbish! When I'm out alone with my daughter it's my biggest fear really, hearing her say 'I need a wee'! I always look out for a local fast food restaurant, hotel or clean looking pub if I hear those words!

Can never find one when you need it.Little boy needed to go when we were in the park only to find it was locked so had to go behind a tree. why lock the toilets in a childrens play area how silly.

It is difficult to even find a public toilet with councils having to cut budgets back. Morrisons do half hourly checks on their toilets to ensure they are clean & serviced correctly which is great, but in the minority. Many shops do not have public toilets, & do not like to have to allow access in staff areas for them as it means a member of staff waiting outside the door to escort them back to the shop floor. Most public toilets leave a lot to be desired for cleanliness, quantities & amenities so only desperation encourages a visit.

Our town has fabulous public loos and I don't find it that much of an issue finding them now. What does annoy me is cubicles so small you are touching the sanitary bin, and making it impossible with small children.

Hate using public loos, they are usually smelly and not clean. However, I am constantly looking out for the nearest one when the family are with me.

Public loos can be grim. We're out and about quite a lot so rule of thumb is, if possible, use a loo you have to pay for, they are generally ok; or a decent shop.
If we're caught short I've found that local cafes can be fairly accommodating.
We've found recently that a couple of ' public loos' in or near community attractions close to us have been taken over by the communities themselves, and they are always exceptionally clean.

I have been to some really horrific toilets, the worst one was in Hong Kong. There was no paper and someone had done a poo on the seat! My boyfriend at the time really needed a poo and couldn't go as they only had the hole in the floor toilets! I always try and go to a nice establishment if we need toilets when out and about, places like Jonh Lewis or M&S, but the other day DD2 wanted to use a portaloo, she didn't tell me she needed a poo though, a wee wouldn't have been too bad.

I always find the the nearest coffee shop, McDonald’s etc so when the kids ask to use the toilet I know where it is and I have my handy sanitizer wipes and hand gel with me always as we all know public toilets aren’t nice and I don’t want my children using dirty toilets

Hate public loos, there is usually mess or the toilet has not been flushed and usually wiffie. Really need more cleaning on a regular basis

Don't think I've seen one in years, thought they were extinct! Even when I was a small child I remember walking passed the public toilets in our small village and they looked dark and dingy. Vaguely remember going in once and they were full of graffiti and metal splash backs. Yuk! If we are calling shopping centre toilets public, then generally these are acceptable...at least they usually have an attendant.

We tend to use mcdonalds for mcpoo and mcwees

I think public toilets are generally ok, but one thing I have noticed is that Baby Changing rooms very rarely have a toilet in them, meaning if in feeding/changing little one I cannot go to the toilet and indeed non of the ladies toilets in my experience are big enough to accommodate a pram meaning that mums/dads/grandparents etc shopping on their own with a pram need to use the Disabled toilets.
I find this shocking especially in new build centres that no one has thought of this, a room where a baby can be changed and an older child/parent can go to the toilet seems like a basic idea surely?

I have not found a decent public loo yet with adequate clean baby changing or the correct size sinks for children.

They are rare and/or cost too much (So much for spending a penny).
But mainly they are disgusting and I'm rarely left feeling they should be 'cleaned more often'. Usually it's becuase somebody has done something in them that leaves me thinking 'do you behave like that at home?'