I’m back with another pet peeve.
I was going to spare everyone a lengthy discussion about the correct way to place toilet paper but, since I have some new readers, I feel obligated to share the short version: it should be over, never under. The original patent paperwork is the final exhibit entered as evidence. I officially rest my case.
But despite my long history of vetting friends and family based on their toilet paper habits (joking), I’m actually here to discuss another bathroom pet peeve.
When we were in Portugal trying to turn a blind eye to the rather horrific toileting situation, I noticed a frustrating disparity which exists everywhere but came into sharp relief on this trip.
Indy and John could walk in and out of a bathroom with approximately zero minutes of waiting. Belle and I, on the other hand, sometimes waited for ten minutes in a very long line just to get a foot in the door, and then another five minutes to access a stall. Sometimes there were pregnant women in line and babies pushing on bladders are no joke!!
The bathrooms were clearly taking up the same square footage which is ridiculous. Urinals require less space than stalls, half the population CAN STAND TO PEE, don’t menstruate and urinate without the need for toilet paper, (I did not realize there wasn’t toilet paper next to urinals until about a month ago; *shudder*).
For the sake of my pea-sized bladder, I’m hoping architects start dedicating extra bathroom space for those of us who cannot (easily) stand up to pee.
Any recent pet peeves in your world? Do you have any bathroom horror stories?
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mbmom11
My kids are terrible about putting on a new roll when one is finished. Nothing like needing the bathroom urgently and getting caught without TP. Not life shattering, but definitely worth a grumble.
In a few emergency situations, I have been known to use the men’s room if it’s otherwise unoccupied. Years ago, my old office was next to the men’s room, and the women’s room was a floor above me. ( what were the archtects thinking?) Sorry, at 8 months pregnant, I was not going to make it upstairs.
Elisabeth
That would bug me too!!!
Can I admit I have little idea about my kids TP habits because they use the main bathroom in our house and I almost always use our ensuite. So…if they don’t change the toilet paper, they face the natural consequences (not me)! When we have company coming, I always clean their bathroom more thoroughly and make sure it is stocked with TP, but it almost always is. I have a sense that it’s the 13-year-old who manages it, not the 9-year-old? But maybe I’m selling him short.
If it’s a single stall/single door, I’ll use either gender of bathroom. The issue in Portugal was it was almost exclusively urinals in the mens (at one place with those urinals in a circle with a door wide open to the outdoors!), so that wouldn’t really work. I guess my main complaint is there aren’t enough toilets!
Kyria @ Travel Spot
Haha! You said NINE year old! Time flies eh?!?
Grateful Kae
Yeah, I agree wtih mbmom11…. my big pet peeve is when my kids will not replace a roll!! Otherwise, I guess my biggest pet peeve is when a public toilet seat is, um, wet. ewwww….. Even if we TRY to give the benefit of the doubt to “splashing water from the flush” (yeah right, sometimes you can just tell its urine….), it still is so so yucky. If I notice that after I’ve flushed any water splashes on the seat, I will grab TP and quick wipe it off. And I seem to be able to NOT pee all over the seat. I’m so talented over here. LOL. I can think of one time recently when the bathroom was kind of poorly lit and I was in a hurry and I just sat down without really looking and I immediately felt “wetness”. I just cringed and was like, deep breath, it’s too late now. Just finish going to the bathroom and wipe it off and try not to think about it… haha…
Elisabeth
I AM SHUDDERING OVER HERE. But yes, I know what you mean. I really dislike any and all public washrooms…but pee on the seat. I’m shuddering again. Also, a stall not having TP – a common occurrence in Portugal and I slowly got better at remembering to bring some with me in my fanny pack.
mbmom11
Oh, I hate that! Keep repeating to yourself – “urine is sterile – urine is sterile ” or is supposed to be – and just take a shower ASAP!
Nicole MacPherson
I have on occasion dipped into a men’s room when the line for the ladies’ was too long! Risky business but sometimes it’s an emergency!
Elisabeth
Me too…unfortunately I have not mastered the art of a urinal š Life would be so much easier if I could stand to pee. IMAGINE HIKING IN THE WOODS. OR STOPPING ON THE SIDE OF THE ROAD ON A CAR TRIP. Wouldn’t it be so much easier without the need to squat??!! *Sigh*
Jenny
Elisabeth, I have some exciting news for you: YOU CONVERTED ME TO THE TOILET PAPER OVER. I used to be in the “under” camp, but after your numerous posts on the subject (ha ha) including the one about how research shows that “under” toilet paper people are more submissive, I decided to try it your way. Not only do I like it better, but I get annoyed if someone in my family puts it on under now, and I switch it. So, your bathroom pet peeve is definitely annoying, but you can count my conversion as a major victory for yourself.
Elisabeth
You win, Jenny. You win for leaving the single best comment ever! I CONVERTED YOU. Though I’m sorry you now have to join me in being grumpy when encountering people who do not understand the only civilized way to place TP is over.
I am smiling ear to ear š
Kyria @ Travel Spot
I am with the others above in that I have definitely used the men’s room. Who cares what the sign says. In other news, there are a lot of places with unisex bathrooms and I am on board with that. Obviously it is a little weird if you have to go number two, but you get used to it, and it is so nice to have multiple options without having to wait! In San Francisco at a lot of the gay bars, even back when I lived there in the 90s there were unisex bathrooms, and you had to walk past all of the urinals to get to the stall!! However, you never really saw anything and even if you did, so what?
As far as gross toilets, I have seen a few in my day, and definitely plenty in the last year. Sometimes it is better to squat in the bushes than to use some of the portapotties I have seen. I always carry TP with me and have a dedicated trash pocket for dirty paper on my bike!
Elisabeth
I’m not a fan of walking by urinals, so wouldn’t opt for that unless absolutely in dire straits (and I know a certain teen in my house would HATE it and be mortified), so I wish there were just more stalls overall! Stalls for all! Also, I find most men’s bathrooms don’t have in-stall containers for sanitary products (fair enough, they don’t menstruate!) which is another oversight!
Ann
I’m right there with you on this peeve. We have a beautiful large performing arts center nearby — and MOST of the productions appeal to women more than men. So WHY…WHY…WHY? Why would they create the same number of men’s bathrooms as women’s? It is ridiculous how they designed it. The line for the women’s restroom is so long it snakes through a big part of the lobby. They have to have ushers stand with a signs, so that the line to the restroom is organized… and the men’s restrooms have no line whatsoever. Honestly, I try to avoid going there because of that. Architects should take that into consideration!!
Elisabeth
Yes!!! When we went to Broadway with the kids a few years ago, Belle and I gave up and went back to our seats because the line was SO long for the women’s bathroom (I also feel like women are more likely to deep-clean their hands after the bathroom, fix makeup and hair, too – stereotyping, I know, but it also clogs up bathroom space). Indy and John had zero issue getting in and out of the bathroom.
Is it all men designing these buildings?
Lisa's Yarns
Ugh the wait at women’s restrooms is really infuriating. Especially when you have a small child with you that often tells me they need to use the bathroom when it’s an emergency situation. We ran into this in DC where there was a very long line for the bathroom. Paul is pretty independent now so I tried to coax him into using the men’s room and he refused. There were a couple of kind dad-types that offered to help him out but he refused. Luckily he did not have an accident but I was STRESSED.
Most of my pet peeves in the bathroom have to do with toothpaste. Paul makes the biggest mess of the toothpaste tube and it drives me batty!!
Elisabeth
YES! You know that we have had our share of emergency bathroom visits (especially in cities) and it is very hard with kids in tow (who often will ONLY go in with their mothers).
Toothpaste residue in the sink is infuriating. In our case, the bigger issue is all the gunk that accumulates in braces. I had to deep-clean the drain last week after it wasn’t emptying properly. It’s not her fault (it’s the braces!), but it’s a nuisance…
Alexandra
OMG! You are so right about the over under thing with toilet paper. I’m another who rates people on their bathroom paper. It most definitely has to be over. And yes, toilets are a weird thing. Good luck finding a public toilet outside of a shopping centre or at the supermarket, there. are. none! And toilets through out Europe vary a lot. Germany was the best next to some Nordic countries. The closer you get to the Med the worse they are, if you can find one at all. And France? They were awful. But Greece takes the Gold Medal. Outside of the hotels you cannot flush toilet paper. Hygiene? š³
Elisabeth
Sweet victory! Another person who knows the correct placement for toilet paper.
It is so, so hard to find public washrooms. We had a family trip to NYC a few years ago and it was a real struggle. I guess for large cities there are apps with lists of the free/available washrooms.
When we were in the Algarve this summer there were signs about not flushing TP. I think it’s harder on the septic system, PLUS, they asked if we would not flush after every time we peed. They were trying to conserve water and toilets us a lot. So the thinking was to throw away the TP in a garbage can, and not flush as frequently!
Steve
The over vs. under conflict clearly delineates the unwashed masses from civilized culture (kidding, but yeah, still, the proper way is still over, not under).
Elisabeth
Over forever!
Alexandra
Yep, I’m a champion of the over, so much so, I’ve been known to turn someone else’s toilet roll the right way up! And I have no idea why it’s so hard to find a public toilet anywhere. What’s with that?
Elisabeth
I have at least one family member that does this! They will turn TP the “right way” if he sees it the “wrong way.”
Meike
It drives me up the walls that most toilet paper rolls are too big for our roller thingy – so we always have to start them off on the side perching somewhere or struggle to get any piece off the roll.
And yes, why oh why does no one seem to understand that there should be more women’s bathrooms or eliminate the urinals and make them gender neutral. This has been an ongoing issue and I just don’t get it. Maybe with more women going to men domains it will get fixed eventually but seriously. I am so with you on that one!
Elisabeth
YES! This, too. I have to make sure to always only get double rolls and NEVER triple or jumbo because they won’t fit and it is so annoying to try to balance them and then they fit but they’re too snug so they won’t spin. I feel your pain, Meike.
tammie
My biggest bathroom pet peeve is when there’s carpet in the bathroom. Disgusting!!!
Elisabeth
The place I rented during my undergrad had carpet in the bathroom AND THE TOILET OVERFLOWED my first weekend there…Ugh. It was a nightmare.
Tobia | craftaliciousme
AMEN to that. It’s so frustrating when you need to go.
I have always used the mens bathroom if I the line was too long and I didn’t care much. But it is not ok.
Tobia | craftaliciousme
oh and of course it is over. I hate it when it’s the other way and will change it. That sketch for the patent just proof s it. I will keep that in mind when there is a discussion.
Elisabeth
I feel like I should print off a copy of the patent and put it in every bathroom in our house? Although we always put it on properly, so maybe I need to make flyers and leave them in the bathrooms of places that put it on under?!
Gigi
Team Over here – always have; always will and I will NOT hesitate to switch someone’s tp if they have it in the wrong position at their house.
My biggest bathroom peeve (other than the lack of stalls for the amount of ladies waiting in line) is how absolutely disgusting my husband is in the bathroom. Toothpaste everywhere, water spots everywhere. Sometimes even pee everywhere (can’t you aim?!) Obviously, I just cleaned the bathrooms today – hence my disgust.
Elisabeth
I usually practice self control and don’t switch someone else’s TP, but I know some others in my family who will always switch it if it’s wrong (and yes, you and I agree it’s wrong).
Cleaning bathrooms is the worst. I once blogged about how I try to do it in fading daylight without turning on the lights. It’s less gross that way.
Melissa
As soon as I saw the title on this post I thought Elisabeth can’t be talking about under or over again, but yes you were. š As you know I don’t care, I do care when the empty rolls are left on the vanity. Yes to having more women’s toilets, although I noticed a lot more places are going with unisex toilets (obviously these are all self-enclosed and no urinals). When I was in Spain I used the men’s a couple of times at bars because there were no men waiting and the toilet was just a single enclosed one.
Elisabeth
Melissa, it is perhaps a bit too much TP talk for one blog. But I promise I had started without planning to write about my feelings (and just focus on the disproportionate lack of stalls for women), but couldn’t resist one final declaration on the topic…
iHanna
Mine is toilet lid or/AND ring being up after someone (read: a man) has been. How hard can it be to close-up before you leave? Especially in a work setting!? Gaah.
My toilet role holder has a lid, sorry, paper must go under.
Elisabeth
Thankfully I don’t often encounter the issue with the lid being left up, but it is frustrating! And a handful of times I have gone to use a bathroom at home in the dark (in the middle of the night) and discovered the hard way there was no seat. š
Michelle G.
I’m on team over! I hate public restrooms, and yes, they need to make women’s restrooms way bigger than men’s. And yes, there should be toilet paper next to the urinals, and men should use it to dab the dribble!
Elisabeth
Public restrooms are just…the worst. I am shuddering even thinking about them.
I honestly had NO IDEA there was no toilet paper next to urinals. My eyes have been proverbially opened and I’m horrified.
J
Oh god, the men’s room vs women’s thing never ends. My husband NEVER has to wait in line, and I almost always do. SO ANNOYING, and entirely avoidable.
Elisabeth
Annoying and avoidable. My sentiments exactly! And it’s even more frustrating with a spouse/child/friend can waltz right in and out and we’re left with bursting bladders waiting in long lines!
Lis
I used to care back in my pre-children days about the toilet paper going over not under. And would put it that way every single time it needed changing. Now, with two boys and a husband, as long as the roll gets replaced and actually placed onto the holder and not someplace else Iām happy. Iām usually the one to put a new roll into the holder, however my 8 yr old will do it sometimes which is appreciated.
Elisabeth
The role placed “incorrectly” is still worlds better than no toilet paper at all!
Kudos to your 8-year-old! It’s a helpful life skill to master at a young age and his future roommates/spouse will be very happy!
Ernie
My recent pet peeve is when we go to church. I don’t understand when a person or a couple enters a pew and then stands at the edge of the pew without scooting in to make room for people who might show up after them. If my family shows up and wants to enter the pew, because there is basically a full empty pew other than the 2 people perched at the edge, the people make us crawl over them – they don’t just slide over. What? Often they exit the pew and wait for us to enter the pew, but STILL. It seems so strange. Why can these people not slide over when they enter an empty pew? Silliness, if you ask me. I suppose they want to make a quick exit? Everyone is going to leave within a span of 5 minutes anyway. Ugh.
Oh, at Notre Dame, where Mini goes to college, there is a bathroom inside the basketball center which is next to the football stadium. We tailgate in the parking lot outside the two buildings. There are loads of porta potties, but I SO prefer the indoor facility. The line is always really long, but the women’s line moves at a remarkable pace. The men’s line is usually longer. My guess is that the women’s bathroom is equipped with 3x the number of stalls than the men’s bathroom has urinals/stalls. Someone was Thinking, and I love it. The morale of the story – you should probably tailgate at an ND football game.
Elisabeth
I should definitely tailgate at a ND football game. How much do you wanna bet it was a female architect?