Public toilette

[u/No-Kiwi-3663]

I wonder why 95% of public restrooms are so disgusting. Is it really that hard to be civilized and show some respect for others? I’m talking about women’s restrooms.

I’m lucky enough to be able to hold it in for ages, so I almost always avoid using them. Yesterday, I was driving back from a wedding that was a three-hour drive away, and after holding it in since 5 a.m. (it was 11 p.m. by then), and having drunk quite a bit, I just couldn’t take it anymore. We stopped at a highway rest stop, but I only had to put one foot inside the restroom before deciding to leave without going, and wait to reach home.

Just needed to vent a little.

[u/Dependent-Toe-3359]

I completely understand the restroom part. Some public bathrooms are absolutely disgusting, and I genuinely don't understand how grown adults can leave a toilet or stall looking the way they sometimes do. 😭

But the part that actually worried me more was you saying you held your pee from around 5 a.m. until 11 p.m. Please don't make a habit of doing that just to avoid public bathrooms. Being able to hold it for a long time doesn't necessarily mean it's harmless — regularly holding urine too long can affect your bladder muscles and can increase the chance of a UTI.

I'd honestly rather carry a little emergency bathroom kit — disinfecting wipes, tissues/toilet paper, hand sanitizer, maybe disposable seat covers — so you can make the least-awful stall usable when you absolutely have to go.

And yes, people seriously need to clean up after themselves. I can understand an occasional mess or an accident, but some of the things people knowingly leave behind for the next person or the cleaning staff are unbelievable. 🤢

[u/No-Kiwi-3663 → u/Dependent-Toe-3359]

I fully agree with you. What people are able to leave behind them is hard to comprehend sometimes.

I have been avoiding public restrooms since a long time, and this habit has grown on me I believe. I'm no longer so young (32), but I find it almost impossible to enter in a public restrooms.

The fact that I am able to hold it for a very long time really does not help, because I know that I can push myself a little more in order to get home. Haven't really found a way to change this habit

[u/Dependent-Toe-3359 → u/No-Kiwi-3663]

I completely get what you mean. Once you've avoided public restrooms for that long, I can see how it becomes more than just “I don't like public bathrooms” — your brain basically learns that holding it until you get home is the safer option, so the habit keeps reinforcing itself.

Maybe instead of trying to change it all at once, you could start really small. Like using a clean single-person restroom somewhere you already feel comfortable, or picking a store/restaurant where you know the bathrooms are usually maintained well. Having wipes, hand sanitizer, toilet paper and seat covers with you might also give you a little more control over the situation.

I definitely wouldn't tell you to just force yourself into a disgusting bathroom 😭, but I also wouldn't want you hurting your bladder by regularly holding it for 12+ hours. Even slowly getting to the point where you have a few “safe” public bathrooms you can tolerate would probably be a good start. ❤️