Home: Toilet: Hygiene
Floor grate in front of toilet   (+7, -1)  [vote for, against]
Puddleproof.

Men's room toilets: they are not nice. Especially in kiddy establishments, there is often a puddle in front of the toilet. This occurs because on standing to urinate, the last bit of urine fails to make it into the bowl, because the adult is not standing far enough forward or the kid in not tall enough, or because either is lazy.

On actually sitting and using the toilet, one's dropped drawers then soak up whatever is on the floor. A problem for all, and especially those with young girl children who must be helped onto and off of the seat.

I propose that, at least in kiddy establishments, there be a grate in front of the toilet. Drips and drops will fall through into a common pipe traversing beneath the toilets. There would be at least a fighting chance of wiping the grate dry before sitting on the pot or helping someone else do so.

It occurs to me that the ladies room toilets in kiddy establishments must be just as bad or worse - the small set whom I suspect are the worst offenders must be accompanied by their moms and so must use the toilets in the ladies room. The grates would be good there also, although regular use by sitters probably helps keep the floors drier than is the case on the men's side.
-- bungston, Apr 21 2008

There is a simpler, behavioural solution, to the problem: sit down. It's more hygienic and you needn't wash your hands.
-- nineteenthly, Apr 21 2008


the grate would get clogged with shit
-- evilpenguin, Apr 22 2008


Baked for the urinals in one London establishment (at one of the railway stations, if memory serves). I always thought it was most eminently sensible, and puzzled why it has not been adopted elsewhere.
-- DrCurry, Apr 22 2008


A good place to sit if you're really ill and it's coming out both ends.
-- wagster, Apr 22 2008


<Jangle, Clank!> Oh no! My keys!

(No innuendo intended)
-- Jinbish, Apr 22 2008


//There is a simpler, behavioural solution, to the problem: sit down. It's more hygienic and you needn't wash your hands.//

You must be a woman, there are details of male urination which require the handling of said anatomy whether sitting or standing. Additionally public mens toilets are some of the most disgusting places on the planet since there is not a need to be seated the seat becomes an easy target, something that does not occur in a female only setting(or at least I would hope is far less frequent)
-- jhomrighaus, Apr 22 2008


Clearly what is called for is the Asian-style unisex hole-in-the-ground. With a grating in front.
-- DrCurry, Apr 22 2008


//You must be a woman, there are details of male urination which require the handling of said anatomy whether sitting or standing//

Just to be fair, there are some parts of the female urination process that require some handling as well. Unless you drip dry. Let's all just agree to wash our hands when we're finished, shall we?

I'm sure there's gotta be guys here that remember the ol' "to the floor" urinals? The big tall ones with the drain literally at floor level? Problem solved.
-- Noexit, Apr 22 2008


//I'm sure there's gotta be guys here that remember the ol' "to the floor" urinals? //
Visit the average British pub. No memory required.
-- AbsintheWithoutLeave, Apr 22 2008


But then wouldn't people just pee directly into the grating rather than the urinal, thereby necessitating a secondary grating, which in turn people would pee into, necessitating a tertiary grating, ad infinitum? Pretty soon, the whole country would be a toilet. Much like France, actually.
-- Mister Sketchly, Apr 25 2008


/the ol' "to the floor" urinals?/

Having just returned from Disneyland, this idea once again occurred to me. I am not sure why those to the floor jobs fell out of favor. Certainly they provide a fighting chance from little boys to get the pee where it is supposed to go.

Having infrequently visited, I am not sure, but I bet there are not urinals on the ladies side - although the littlest boys go in there with them and I am sure hose down the toilet area about as bad as they do on the men's side.
-- bungston, May 18 2009


Probably because they're (presumably) a lot more expensive to install and replace. You have to have someone to framing, someone to do tiling, and someone to do the actual urinal placing and plumbing. With wall-mount urinals, one plumber can probably do the whole job. Also, I feel like floor-length urinals require the floor to be tiled, and tiled floors are no longer in fashion for public washrooms—new ones I see all seem to have concrete floors or something else that's very smooth, which probably helps with cleaning. And regardless of the floor material, the floor has to be cut into or built to accept them, or a raised platform along the urinal wall has to be constructed to hold their bottom ends, which is problematic for wheelchair access.
-- notexactly, Mar 28 2019


// problematic for wheelchair access //

[not], please re-read what you've written and see if you can spot the logical error ...
-- 8th of 7, Mar 28 2019


Duckboards.
-- xenzag, Mar 28 2019



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