Public
restrooms in airports, malls, restaurants, hotels and stores serve a very
useful purpose. When away from home, we all rely on the availability of public
restrooms. Unfortunately, public restrooms aren't always completely safe or
clean.
When you
dare to venture into the confines of the restroom (or toilet as we often call
it here in Naija) you may find yourself pushing open the door with your elbows,
crouching precariously above the toilet seat rather than letting your skin
touch it, and flushing with your shoe.
While
there's plenty of bathroom paranoia to go around, anxiety might be a little
overdone. Yes, there can be plenty of bugs lying in wait in public restrooms,
but if your immune system is
healthy, and if you adopt simple hygienic measures like hand washing, you
should be able to deliver a knockout punch to most of what you encounter and
perhaps put your "germ-phobia" to rest.
Before you
panic, the toilet seat is not a common vehicle for transmitting infections to
humans. Many disease-causing organisms can survive for only a short time on the
surface of the seat, and for an infection to occur, the germs would have to be
transferred from the toilet seat to your urethral or genital tract, or through
a cut or sore on the buttocks or thighs, which is possible but very unlikely
(Source: American Society for Microbiology Resource).
SAFETY TIPS
TO ALWAYS CONSIDER:
1.
Use
antibacterial wipes to clean seats before using the toilets. Hover above the
seats; do not actually sit on the toilet bowl.
2. Don't pull your pants too far down.
Pull them down about midway between your knees and feet.
3. Close the lid of the toilet bowl
with your hand covered with tissue/wipes before flushing. Flushing releases
airborne particles and germs which could be reduced by closing the lid.
4. Wash your hands after using the
restroom. Rubbing soapy water all over the hands and fingers for 20 to 30
seconds, including under the fingernails. As you create friction by rubbing the
hands together, you'll loosen the disease-causing particles on the hands. After
rinsing thoroughly, repeat the process.
5. Avoid touching taps, handles and
knobs after you have washed your hands. If your public restroom has doors, use clean
paper towel (tissue)/wipes to cover the door handle as you open it. Discard the
paper towel after you have left the restroom.
6. Children younger than 6 years old
should NOT be left unattended.
7. Use hot-air hand dryers with care.
In order to feel the hot air, you might have to get very close to the vents.
Don't let your hands touch the surface of the vents, however, or you'll risk
contamination.
8. Complain to management of the
facility you are in about poor restroom conditions. The more they know, the
better they should get at putting it in shape.
9. Lastly, be careful and vigilant when
using public restrooms as some people fall prey to petty thieves and other
unsavoury characters while in restrooms.
Give us a call on 08069648132, send a WhatsApp message to 08172860826 or send an email to safehavenrestrooms@gmail.com to discuss how we can help you keep a respectable restroom. You’ll be glad you did.
Give us a call on 08069648132, send a WhatsApp message to 08172860826 or send an email to safehavenrestrooms@gmail.com to discuss how we can help you keep a respectable restroom. You’ll be glad you did.
