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

Standard Insight T&Cs Apply

I always keep some toilet wipes in my bag to wipe the seat. I can't believe the state some people leave public toilets, I would never leave it like that for others.

Usually dirty, no toilet paper, wet floors, nowhere to hang your bags, not enough room and definitely not enough of them. Can't stand it when there is a charge to get in and there just aren't enough public toilets in general.

Public loos have declined massively in recent years.
I remember we had public loos dotted all around the town and in 3 different locations in the park.
Now I can only think of 1 public toilet in the town centre and it is very poorly maintained and 1 public loo in the park which is ok.

There has been a petition recently for a public loo to be brought back over on the beach after a recent spat about a pub landlord refusing to allow a woman and her children to use his loos unless she bought something for them all.

I've been refused access to a toilet before now so I'm always wary of asking in a shop or cafe but when you need to go you need to go.

I find when out shopping you can easily access toilets. I struggle when taking the kids to the park where they sometimes have toilets but they are locked.

My experience has been quite good, servers have been great with directions and I don't get any funny looks like some people seem to get. Most of the time I tend to wash my hands only anyway.

Not enough of the. I live n a rural area and many village loos are getting closed cos of cuts in council spending. You can go about 40 miles between loos. It really isn't good enough. Mind you, I find most so distasteful that I find it far more pleasant going outside eg in a wood or somewhere. Dig a hole and bury the lot though, paper included, so leave no trace. And don't put your backside on a nettle.

Not enough of them. And where there is a public toilet, the costs can be costly.

I don't think there's enough. There are no public toilets in my village which has been fun with a potty training child.

it's a regular occurrence for us with a 6 year old, there definitely aren't enough. We often use supermarkets and feel it's then polite to buy something in exchange for the convenience (ha!)
That "use our loos" sticker in the window is something I've never seen but would be great.

I work out and about so have seen em all good and bad...

I find the public toilets in the main towns are really grim. Bad smells, some people cannot even use the loo paper and wipe their mess on the walls, always seems to be urine drips on the floor. Have seen used pregnancy test in there as well as alcohol bottles at 10am in the morning, unless its a case of really needs must I do not go anywhere near. It is utterly disgusting.

After being out & about again over the last few days, I think my new gripe is how long it takes most public toilets to refill so they can be flushed again ... 4 times in 2 days I have entered a cubicle, done what I need to, redressed & then had to stand there waiting for 3 or 4 minutes aware of the queue outside till I can flush because the cistern refills sooooooo slowly ... there will still be those people who somehow seem to take 1/2 hr in there but many of us could be out 10 times quicker & reduce that queuing time if we could actually just flush when we are done!

The worst one I have ever seen was in Kenya, and i was basically a shed with a tyre over a hole. After that British public toilets all seem fine

There are nowhere near enough in Peterborough town centre where i am based. Everyone ends up heading to poor old McDonalds to use theirs so you can imagine what theyre like!

I have had so many bad experiences of public toilets. Since having kids I have lost count of how many times I have said Does anyone need the loo before we go! It would be great if all cafes, shops, restaurants could maintain their toilets to a universal good clean standard, although it also depends on the user (people that don't flush/ stick wipes/ sanitary towels down the loo doesn't help, so from the outside this would be a great initiative

I hate public loos unless they're managed efficiently and cleaned regularly like in shopping centres and at service stations. Otherwise, I hate using them. I normally find them smelly, dirty and hate my DD going in them!!

Try to plan in advance to avoid them as much as possible

Public loos :/

I avoid them at all costs unless I'm absolutely desperate and there' s no alternative. For those times I have to use them I always keep a bottle of anti bacterial gel in my bag.

I often think if I lived in a town and had a spare shed I'd love to open my own public toilets and keep them ultra clean. But then I think again, the state of some of them and the people who must use them to get in that state, would I want them in my garden shed.

Public loos are hard to find, and when you do they never seen clean or looked after. I would rather try and find a department store when I'm out shopping, at least loos there are more likely to be clean and in good condition.

It's always a bit of a pain. Cafes/pubs etc really frown upon you using their toilets and not buying anything, which I do understand. However, there definitely needs to be more public toilets available, and toilets which are clean and well looked after.

Love some of the comments but really the ladies have no idea about disgusting until you've used a gents :)

It would be great if more shops had public loos. The ones I have used are not kept as clean as they could. The ones in the motorway service stations are ok, but again could be kept cleaner.

I just have a list of go to places where you know the loos are generally clean - certain shops & pub chains.

Some of them are good considering the amount of traffic but some are just grim. I always seem to pick the loo with the floater or broken lock, doing a pee whilst doing some yoga position to keep the door closed is really annoying. I am disabled so sometimes use the disabled toilet but it really isn't worth the looks if you're not quadriplegic you're not considered disabled according to the toilet queue doctors.

First of all I'm appalled by the decline in the number of public toilets. I understand that where I live (on a coastline) this is because of vandalism and drug use which is a really sad sign of the times.

My Dad has been set upon by some awful people for using disabled toilets despite the fact he has an NHS card explaining that he has the right to use them. People forget that not all disabilities are visible.

Finally, I feel disgusted by the state that people leave toilets in - from work to public toilets.