Mumsnet users share their experiences of public loos with Domestos

[EllieMumsnet]

This activity is now closed

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

[ifigoup]

New cities worry me for this reason, because I have the world’s tiniest bladder - and, especially abroad, public loos aren’t always signposted very well. Now I have a recently potty-trained toddler I’ll be even more conscious of it (though at leadt he’s still okay to sit on a potty somewhere inconspicuous for now!)

I keep meaning to look into buying a Shewee for use in grottier public loos (and on trains!) but I haven’t got around to it yet.

[forcookssake]

Yeah, this is a challenge when I'm out running errands. I have MS which means increased and sudden urgency, which is really hard to manage if I can't see any public toilet/café/pub.
I end up buying lots of drinks, I feel I should if I'm using a shop's toilet facilities.
Where to be able to use a toilet/how much I've drunk before being outside is always on my mind.

[foxitude]

Like many others I too think provisions for those in wheelchairs or with other physical disabilities are atrocious.
Myself, I have three small dc so when I have to go to the loo they all have to come too. That means using a disabled toilet (unless I want to leave my baby in the buggy outside alone, which I won't do). If I need to change my baby sometimes the changing facility is in the disabled loo anyway. But baby change (outside of big shopping centres) only have the table and no toilet....I think the design, planning, development and management of public toilet spaces really highlights who's in charge....able-bodied men who only have experience of using the toilet alone and need nothing more than a hole in the wall.

[TheGirlWithGlassFeet]

I've got a potette I take out with us as there aren't always public loos available

[TweetleBeetlesBattle]

I want to be able to walk into a toilet with my child and have enough space that we dont bang into the loo roll dispenser, the toilet, the sani bin and be able to close the door behind you without having to contort. I think the flusher should be easy to operate....not too hard to push so children on their own are physically able to flush the loo, that way the loos aren't permanently in a state. My gym is the worst for all of these things, it enrages me.

Sadly public toilets don't seem to be designed by anyone with common sense.

[biffyboom]

Availability of toilets and baby changing facilities are always considered when going places for a long amount of time.
I have to ensure my 4yr old goes to the toilet before leaving the house, and encourage him to use them when out if we have the opportunity.
If the toilets were badly kept though, I would not use them, and look for an alternative.
I'm really glad more places are having the sensors installed for flushing and hand washing!

[Bacere]

When on holiday in Belguim I was so amazed to find leaflets in a tourist office which mapped where public toilets coukd be found I kept it as a souvenir.

very cold icy morning, arrived at the local library. Winter coats, scarves, gloves etc off just settled down, to spend a leisurely time browsing the book shelves and eventually choosing a few to borrow, when my DS suddenly announced he urgently needed the toilet. I asked the staff but they could only point us in the direction of the stainless steel icy public toilets 10 minutes walk away. Needless to say, i survived without my winter coat etc on, we only just made it.

and, don't talk to me about the number if people who leave public loos without washing their hands! I really have to stop myself from becoming obsessive about keeping our hands away from our faces and not washing them far too often.

[tigga61]

I hate public loos but sadly sometimes needs must for this i always carry and disinfectant spray in my bag and one i the car. so i can always clean the seat before and my hands after ive left

[OnlyToWin]

There never seems to be enough ladies’ toilets in shops/restaurants/venues and there is something oddly humiliating about having to queue. Most places could do with triple the amount of toilets.
I love it when public toilets are clean, but often they are not and it’s a case of hovering over the seat or even deciding to wait until I get home.

[TheExamStartsNow]

Can't stand public toilets! Have just come home from a holiday in France, where all the public toilets I used were basically a hole in the ground that you have to squat over

My top tip would be: always carry antiseptic wipes and tissues in your handbag. And don't go to France if youre suffering an IBS flare up.

[Thistly]

I have learned how to use the public toilets without treading the bottoms of my trousers in to the dirty wet floor, without touching the toilet or other surfaces unnecessarily, I carry tissues and can get them out of my bag (which I hung on the hook so as not to get wet on the floor) but my toddler has not learned any of these things. Yesterday he lifted the seat up and the underside was filthy, and he just doesn’t understand why I had a problem with it, as he lifts and puts down his toddler seat at home no problem. I guess I’m trying to say that we don’t realise how complicated it is using a public toilet until we see our kids negotiating them. Anyone designing or planning the maintenance of toilets should do some site visits with children of different ages to have their minds opened.

[ohlittlepea]

So glad to hear that Domestos are going to be helping so many people in less well.off countries, amazing!

The council here have sold most of the public toilets which is gutting as you have to try and find a local business who doesn't mind you using there's, at the beach this leads to huge queues and high charges. Last weekend the only one we could use did t even have a toilet seat and there is rarely soap. I always take hand gel out.

[TanFranceFangirl]

I've always found cafes and pubs really helpful if we need to pop in and use the loo. My worst experience was in a shop when my son was potty training and he ended up using the potty in a changing room to avoid soiling himself. Staff wouldn't let me use the shop toilets and there were no public toilets anywhere nearby . It was very embarrassing but I'm not sure what would have been better.

[sarat1]

Having suffered from IBS for a number of years, I know of all the local stop offs for emergency toilet issues. Hotels are really useful to know about as they are always open and always have clean toilets available just off from the main foyer.

[Strawberrybelly]

I find most public toilets are really disgusting. I once found a poo on a toilet seat once, not just a little one, a whole one. 😱

[ShotsFired]

I don't mind paying for toilets if they are clean and well maintained and SAFE.
(although I fully accept that we, the general public, are overall a really disgusting lot when you see the state some people leave facilities in.)

Make loos spotless and offer contactless payment of they are chargeable.

• Have cubicles where sanitary bins are not wedged alongside the toilet pan, where there are hooks or ledges to put bags and coats, where there are staff who work there, not just pop by as part of another job.
  
• Ensure the supplies are well stocked and soaps don't drip and toilet paper is on a roll not those little slips which always end up on the floor.
  
• make sure they are brightly lit, well located (i.e. not down a long dingy corridor ) and staffed so the users feel safe any hour of the day or night.
  
  I could go on and on...

[foxessocks]

I've had a few bad experiences but on the whole I don't worry about them much! I always appreciate a nice spacious loo for taking the dc in with me especially when I have the buggy

[Emmasmum2013]

It had too many bad experiences with public toilets in the UK. They're generally clean and well maintained.

However when I was in Disneyland Paris the toilets were awful. I know they get a lot of traffic, but even the ones in the Cinema in the Park were disgusting and it wasn't very busy in there at all. They all smell really bad, all have wet floors and leaks. Grim.

[llamaparades]

In my local area all public outside toilets where shut and are now not in use. I

[llamaparades]

Didn't mean to post. I have colitis so often need access to toilet quite quickly due to this I tend to avoid going out during flares to avoid the lack of toilet but also lack of privacy that toilet cubicle provide.

With DS1 and potty training with actually found quite a lot of supermarkets provide a baby space which includes a toilet inside which has been really useful and they often more cleaner then the women's toilets,

[ThreeTimesMama]

Having three children when going out toilets are our necessities. But some so dirty that even an adult can't use them not talking about children.

[Queenofthedrivensnow]

Our favourite beach is about to lose it's very clean and civilised public loo due to a discourse between the parish and county council. I'm gutted.

Usually public loos are horrid.

[ncullinane]

The public toilets in our town have in the last few weeks been closed due to drug users using them, so instead of treating the problem they have closed the toilets. If we're in the town now we have to go into a cafe and ask which is ok but you do feel a bit awkward doing so.

[FreshEyre]

Sporting venues are the worst, they seem to be planned with the assumption that very few females will be there.

There are always huge queues for the ladies whilst the men just waltz in and out.

And I do wish that the designers would make toilets with doors that open outwards; sometimes it's almost impossible to get into the cubicle with a small person and a couple of bags.

[Thatforagameof]

As someone who suffers with bladder problems this is something i deal with alot! I have to wee 45+ times a day and have to plan my days out around where there are toilets. I hate getting stuck and having to go hunting. Some kind man took me in the staff toilets at aldi the other week as i was bursting. I always hate going in pubs and restaurants as i feel bad that i am only there for the toilets.