Don't Talk to Me While I'm Peeing (and Other Restroom Etiquette)

Do you consider restroom time as private time? I know I certainly do. For this reason I hate using public restrooms. Public restrooms smell, crawl with germs and to top it all - have other people in them besides me. To add more insult to injury, the people in them have no restroom etiquette. To help the restroom illiterate, please heed the following advice.

If you enter a restroom with more than two stalls and I am occupying one of them, pick the stall farthest away from me. It is bad enough we have to do our business in public, but to have someone occupy the stall next to me when there are other stalls available is unacceptable. Next, do not talk on the cell phone while in the stall. This is just plain wrong. I do not want to hear your conversation in a regular setting, not to mention while you are using the bathroom.

Lastly, always flush the toilet before you leave the stall. Nothing induces puking more than going into a stall and finding remnants of the last tenant.

If I am using the urinal, the same rule applies as the stall. Pick the urinal farthest away from me. Stare straight ahead at the wall. Do not look around, whistle, talk on your cell phone, or worst of all - talk to me. The exchange of pleasantries and small talk has no place when you are peeing. And always flush the urinal when you are done relieving yourself. It is not that difficult and only takes 2 more seconds out of your day.

When you have finished doing your business, always wash your hands. And the most important thing to remember when washing your hands is: use soap. I find it amazing that most people don't wash their hand after using the restroom or just run their hands under the water without using soap.

Do you realize how many germs are on every surface in the restroom? How many different people have used it? How the janitor doesn't take the care to clean and use anti-bacterial cleansers as you would in your own bathroom? Your germs might not make you sick, but they certainly can make me sick.

To sum it all up, just use some common sense when in public restrooms. When possible, don't talk to me, don't stand/sit next to me and for God's sake make you mother proud and wash your hands.