Janette Rallison's Blog: The problem with public restrooms

I know what you’re thinking after reading that title. The sentence shouldn’t say, "problem", it should say "problems" because there are clearly many things wrong with public restrooms. At least that’s what you’re thinking if you’re a woman. If you’re a man, it may have never occurred to you that there are any issues at all—and that is the root of the problems with public restrooms. I'm not talking about dirt, empty toilet paper roll dispensers, and such. I'm talking about the fact that men clearly designed these places. And anyone who thinks urinals are an acceptable way to relieve oneself is not going to design a bathroom that women want to use. Between a wedding and a family reunion, I’ve been traveling around a lot in the last two weeks, so this is an open letter of protest to whoever is building women’s restrooms. Dir Sir, 1. Restrooms are not a place where men and women are equal. Due to that gift of nature that makes women want to rip off your head once a month, women need to use the restrooms more frequently than men. Build bigger bathrooms for women. Because having to wait in long lines makes us want to rip your head off even more. 2. Hand sensors at the sink are more trouble than they're worth. In theory sensors are a good idea. They would be a great idea if every restroom had them, but since some don’t, I find myself automatically holding my hands out underneath the faucet and waiting there like some desert traveler begging for water. And then I feel foolish when the person next to me walks up and flips the faucet handle on. A public restroom is not the place where I want to explain to strangers that I'm neither crazy nor incompetent when it comes to plumbing--I've just been conditioned, like one of Pavlov's famous pets, to stand there with my hands outstretched waiting for something to happen. Also the faucet sensor is an especially annoying feature if you happen to knock your camera into the sink with your purse while you are wrestling paper towels out of a recalcitrant paper towel dispenser. This is not a time when you want the faucet to automatically turn on. 3. Automatic flush sensors at the toilet. This is a feature that men probably think women like. This is because men have never used these sorts of toilets in conjunction with the tissue paper toilet seat covers. Men, let me clue you into what happens when you use the two things together. Step one: pull out the tissue paper cover from the wall receptacle. Step two: tear out the middle so it will fit on the toilet. Step three: carefully place the now ready tissue paper over the toilet seat to protect yourself from germs, grime, and the invisible toilet monsters that lurk in public restrooms. Step four: start to do the necessary undressing. Step five: watch as the toilet sensor decides the tissue paper constitutes something that needs to be flushed and whisks it and the water down the bowl. Step six: repeat 4. Hand sensors on the paper towel dispenser. Are you noticing a theme? You should. I frequently look like I'm practicing a jazz hands routine while I wave pointlessly at the paper towel dispenser. Either I am actually a vampire and have no body heat, or those sensors are temperamental things that hang onto their hoard of paper towels with Scrooge-like diligence. Well, I'm back home now. Back to work and deadlines and my real life, but thankfully also back to my non-sensored bathroom.

Stumbled across this ladies ramblings about public toilets and the troubles they cause women - something i have heard about many times myself after my other half visits these - the queues are the worst though!

Antibacterial Soaps May Not Kill Bacteria

From childhood we are taught to always wash hands before eating habit. The mother at home, usually provides a useful anti-bacterial soap to kill germs and prevent illness. Apparently in a recent study showed that antibacterial soaps are no more effective than regular soap in preventing disease.

This antibacterial soap prices do tend to be more expensive when compared with ordinary soap. However, already from a few decades ago, anti-bacterial soaps have been widely used in hospitals and health clinics.

As quoted from Sheknows, came across a report from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) of USA. The report said that of all they are doing medical research and analysis, none of which showed that the association between use of antibacterial products to reduced infection rates.

Antibacterial hand soap is one of the sanitation or cleaning tools that have been added to useful chemicals to kill bacteria and microbes. Most of the antibacterial soaps contain a chemical called triclosan, which is often said to be harmless. Triclosan can not kill all types of bacteria, including bacteria. Our body also needs some bacteria. That is why foods that contain good bacteria like yogurt and probiotics, can help us to stay healthy.

When the good bacteria have been able to wipe out bad bacteria in the body, there are still some remaining bacteria seed and are in a hostile environment with no competition from other bacteria. Occasionally bacteria remaining alive and mutating, most bacteria are resistant to antibacterial products and antibiotics.

Overuse of triclosan is known to cause thyroid hormone disruption. This is because when triclosan mixes with the chlorine in tap water, these substances can be turned into some toxic substances that can cause several diseases, like cancer. In addition, the residual triclosan that ends up in sewage sludge is difficult to decompose for months even years.

Environmental Protection Agency recognizes the negative impact of triclosan that affect health and the environment. Therefore, they are currently reviewing a petition to ban it (trikolsan) for use by the consumer.

So, is there any way rely more effective to kill the bad bacteria? Maintain hygiene from an early is one effective solution to always maintain your health.

a piece of information which made me look twice, i was always under the impression antibacterial hand soap killed germs!

Public Washroom Etiquette Tips

Unless you are a hermit or a gambler who knows when a slot machine is hot and ain’t about to risk leaving it, chances are you will occasionally have no choice but to use a public washroom. (That is excepting those for whom the world is a toilet – the folks who give entertainment districts their distinctive morning-after smell.) It’s not an ideal situation – there is no option of positioning a television in front of an open bathroom door as there would be in the homes of craftier bachelors, for example. Still pub lunches and restaurants where the buffet is good value for money but only if you choose carefully mean that public facilities will continue to be disturbingly full. Here we offer 10 tips to help us all tolerate the fact that we’re laying one down within a couple of arm’s lengths of a total stranger. This is our handbook to bodily functions exercised in public — Public Etiquette Tips! 10. Mask Sounds by Flushing This one might not win us any fans among those who promote peeing in the shower to save on water usage, but until we’re all using soundproof stalls, consideration is needed for the neighborhood when you’re paying the price for your chimichanga craving. A particularly heavy meal comes with its own musical scale and it’s one that no human ear other than your own needs to hear. Flush the toilet to ensure that at least one sensory receptor is not being harmed. 9. One Stall, One Lock A UN high commission must condemn the one stall, one urinal and no door lock scenario. confined spaces, no urinal user (if they should use one at all – see below) should be subjected to the sundry sounds and odors ominously omitted from beyond the swinging door of the shitter saloon. By the same token, dropping a deuce is stressful enough without having to worry you’re within earshot of another user, who has invested only a fraction of the time you have setting up shop. Any bathroom with a one urinal, one stall design should have the two elements separated by enough space for a fairly athletic individual to throw a Hail Mary football pass. 8. Use Paper Towels, No Hand Dryers Technology is not to be relied upon in the terrible world of public washrooms. Dryers are broken at least 67% of the time on average and if they’re the motion-sensing kind, you’re left flailing like you’re under attack by locusts, before realizing all hope is lost and being grateful you’re wearing dark jeans. By the same token, we take umbrage with motion-sensing taps. Pity the poor soul who has to run the gauntlet of taps before finding one that actually works. 7. Stand Back This refers to horrific circumstances, such as outdoor concerts where port-o-potties risk being toppled by drunks and urinals in places where queues develop. Avoid these places. But if you can’t, approach the queues as if you are witnessing a building’s controlled demolition or are photographing Mount Rushmore — stand as far back as humanly possible. 6. Avoid Urinals It’s accepted by most civilized people that urinals are no place for acknowledging the existence of other human beings. But it is our contention that urinals themselves should be avoided in favor of the vastly underrated stall pee. Man was not intended to stand so close to other men while making water in public (water sports orgies excepted), and at home men regularly urinate into toilets, so it’s inexplicable why such an alien behavior should be foisted on us outside of the home. 5. Urinal partitions There are times when urinals are the only option – usually when something that would make big city homicide detectives grip their bellies and retch has happened in a stall. The only urinals that are acceptable are ones with partitions, with the following specs — as high as the tallest guy you know, and possibly double that depending on ceiling height, and protruding at arm’s length. It’s not a stall but it’s preferable to pissing in a trough. 4. Offer No Assistance We’re fairly confident that this only ever happened on Seinfeld, but should someone in an adjacent stall suddenly discover that the toilet roll is empty, do not reward this lack of foresight by offering assistance. If asked for toilet paper or, say, a mint, reply, “Sure, here you go,” and when the person reaches a hand into your stall stomp on it. Nobody in that situation is going to whip up their skivvies and go to war. 3. Don’t Linger Afterwards, just wash your hands and get out of there. The bathroom is not intended to be a social lounge where you and the rest of the Rat Pack can exchange witty barbs while styling hair and playing tournament bocce ball. It’s a matter of get in, do your business in a solemn — almost ashamed — manner, wash hands and leave. You should avoid talking to the extent that even your own mind is silenced into a meditative-like state approaching Buddhist nirvana. The only exception to this is when someone avoids washing hands. If that happens, you can feel free to say: “Hey, pigpen, the coming super flu thanks you for your efforts.” 2. Select Stall Wisely Try to situate yourself in a stall where you are not surrounded on either side. This is of course not always possible, but it is a goal to strive for upon selecting a stall. First and last stalls in rows with adjacent stalls empty are fine. Stalls further in require units on either side to be vacant. This way you don’t have to have to stick your fingers in your ears and pretend you don’t hear — we won’t even get into smell — the person next to you celebrating the benefits of a high fiber diet. And you don’t have to relieve yourself with someone doing the same beside you like some kind of chorus line for bodily functions. 1. Home Relief Do your best not to defecate in public places. While we have provided some guidelines here on what to do should an emergency arise, you should make an effort to confine your more offensive bodily functions to your own home, where the only ones who have to suffer are you and your family perhaps your pet gerbil whose little eyes water every time. The Shark Guys are the authors of the new book,

funny yet true washroom etiquette tips worth a read especially about the paper towels

CDC Handwashing Recommendations - Quality Assurance & Food Safety

Keeping hands clean through improved hand hygiene is one of the most important steps we can take to avoid getting sick and spreading germs to others. Many diseases and conditions are spread by not washing hands with soap and clean, running water. If clean, running water is not accessible, as is common in many parts of the world, use soap and available water. If soap and water are unavailable, use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer that contains at least 60% alcohol to clean hands. When should you wash your hands? Before, during, and after preparing food Before eating food Before and after caring for someone who is sick Before and after treating a cut or wound After using the toilet After changing diapers or cleaning up a child who has used the toilet After blowing your nose, coughing, or sneezing After touching an animal or animal waste After touching garbage What is the right way to wash your hands? Wet your hands with clean, running water (warm or cold) and apply soap. Rub your hands together to make a lather and scrub them well; be sure to scrub the backs of your hands, between your fingers, and under your nails. Continue rubbing your hands for at least 20 seconds. Need a timer? Hum the "Happy Birthday" song from beginning to end twice. Rinse your hands well under running water. Dry your hands using a clean towel or air dry them. What if you don’t have soap and clean, running water? Washing hands with soap and water is the best way to reduce the number of germs on them. If soap and water are not available, use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer that contains at least 60% alcohol. Alcohol-based hand sanitizers can quickly reduce the number of germs on hands in some situations, but sanitizers do not eliminate all types of germs. Hand sanitizers are not effective when hands are visibly dirty. How do you use hand sanitizers? Apply the product to the palm of one hand. Rub your hands together. Rub the product over all surfaces of your hands and fingers until your hands are dry. Source: http://www.cdc.gov/handwashing/

Important information for anybody, keeping hands clean is of paramount importance! use liquid soap!

Washing Your Hands With Method Is Like "High-Fiving a Rainbow" | Co.Create: Creativity \ Culture \ Commerce

Not since the rubber ducky heyday of Sesame Street has there been so much singing about proper hygiene.

In a new campaign by San Francisco-based agency Mekanism, home cleaning products company Method has been unveiling a new Flight of the Conchords-style music video each month, starring the mononymous singer/spokesperson, Noah. The latest video features Noah singing about the benefits of hand-washing against the backdrop of a rainbow made from the various colors of Method soap dispensers. In this way, washing one’s hands is like "high-fiving a rainbow" (although the best moment comes when one of the background dancers has a visceral reaction to hearing it also described as "like tickling a cherry pie.")

Video can be found here: http://www.fastcocreate.com/1680901/washing-your-hands-with-method-is-like-hi...

This is the oddest yet coolest video in a way to sell soap for hand-washing

Ecolab Participating in World Health Organization Initiative to Improve Patient Safety

Ecolab Inc. announces that it is participating in a major World Health Organization (WHO) initiative to reduce healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) by improving hand hygiene compliance rates in healthcare facilities around the world. According to a recent WHO report, of every 100 hospitalized patients, at least seven in developed countries and 10 in developing countries will acquire an infection during their stay. In intensive care units, the infection rate can be as high as 30 percent of all patients. Poor hand hygiene is a major factor in the spread of infection.

The WHO Private Organizations for Patient Safety platform, a collaboration between the WHO and a consortium of 15 companies involved in the development, manufacture or distribution of hand hygiene products, will work to increase hand hygiene compliance in health care facilities around the world through three key areas: research, education and system change. The consortium will share information, align promotional messaging for hand hygiene products with WHO recommendations, and encourage product availability and accessibility in all parts of the world.

A new WHO survey of more than 2,000 healthcare facilities in 69 countries found that only 65 percent of the facilities surveyed are achieving a “good level of progress” with regards to hand hygiene promotion, resources and activities. At least 35 percent of the facilities surveyed are still at an inadequate or basic level of hand hygiene compliance.

“Ecolab is committed to improving patient safety, and we welcome the opportunity to partner with leading experts to reduce HAIs and help ensure that hospitals are healthy places to heal,” says Timothy Mulhere, executive vice president and president of global healthcare at Ecolab. “Our experienced field team will be able to share best practices and project outcomes of the collaboration with our customers and also provide regional feedback and suggestions to the global consortium.”

Ecolab’s Global Healthcare business offers a complete line of hand hygiene products designed to meet the unique efficacy and skin care needs of healthcare professionals, including soaps, sanitizers, lotions and surgical scrubs.

via infectioncontroltoday.com

Its great to see a leading manufacturer in soap dispensers taking part in this initiative

Living On Your Own: 5 Things to Stock Up On | Surviving College

You have moved out and moved on from living in your parents’ house. Now what? You have lived the comfortable life up until now. Your parents supplied the food, your clothes and the little things like toilet paper and toothpaste. You will be responsible for stocking your place with the essentials from now on. Here is a list of the top 5 things you need.

Hygiene Products

If your house was anything like mine, running out of toilet paper, toothpaste or deodorant was a big deal. I couldn’t imagine that my mother would forget to keep my bathroom stocked with these everyday items. After all, who wants to be the stinky kid in class? Now that I am the one that has to go to the store to get these things, I understand. Buying these items in bulk from a store like Costco or Sams is your best bet. You’ll save a couple bucks and not have to worry about running out for a while. The downside is that most college apartments don’t have a ton of space for storing a bag of 55 rolls of toilet paper!

Non-perishable Food

Non-perishable food plays two roles in a college student’s life. One, it doesn’t go bad…ever, which is awesome for a student on the go. There is nothing worse than coming home for a quick bite only to discover that all of your food has gone bad because you haven’t been home for a week. Two, it’s easy to whip up while on the go. You can take a can of vegetables or soup with you just about anywhere you go. If you are health-conscious, there are also organic canned food options.

Underwear and Socks

This one is a no-brainer. If you are like most college students who don’t exactly stay on top of their laundry, keeping a steady supply of underwear and socks is crucial.

School Supplies

Even if you have a job while in college, going to class is a priority. Being prepared is half the battle. The best way to buy supplies is in the middle of a semester. Most big box stores will offer deals on school supplies after the beginning of the semester rush.

Party Essentials

No college place would be complete without your party essentials. This includes things like cards, games, a ping pong table and most importantly adult beverages. You can always get the cheap stuff from local convenience stores. Shop online if you are looking for something a little more high class. Online shops like WineOnTheWay.com offer great wine at really low prices. Keep your place stocked so you are always ready for a good time (after you study).

Living on your own is a huge adjustment. Don’t make it harder by being unprepared. Use this list to make sure you have all the essentials to get through the semester.

What other questions should you stock up on when you’re living on your own? Let us know in the comments below!

Image courtesy of amandicacom via Flickr (CC BY 2.0).

via survivingcollege.com

If your a student and you live on your own then this bit of info may help especially with the hygiene products - stock up on toilet paper