Public Loos

I've been looking up the toilet situation today. Sadly it is no help to know that some toilets are open if the one you need NOW isn't! I think I'll be staying at home a while longer.

Motorway services toilets are open and many petrol stations have them too so on the road isn’t a problem.

Otherwise I would like to think that other public ones will be opening ready for shops reopening this Monday.

The situation is improving thankfully and once pubs restaurants and cafes reopen next month we should be back to normal loo wise!!

York city council are just reopening their public conveniences. They've installed self flushing loos and automatic soap dispensers and taps.

I've read that you should lower the seat before flushing to avoid aerosols so you will still need to use your hand, maybe wrapped in toilet roll?

I think motorway services are obliged to provide minimum services 24/7 so they should be open. You can check online.
motorwayservicesonline.co.uk/Coronavirus

Somebody did say on another thread that they’d used a loo in a motorway service station so some of them must be open.

A bit late to this so hope I am not too late. My DS has just got a job as a delivery driver and will have to drive long distances. Does anyone know what the situation is with motorway service stations?

GRANNYSYB,
Before I broke my hips I DID use a bucket on my allotment then fill with water and chuck on veg !!! If you listen to Gardeners Question Time you know one of the Panellists advocates this as being good for the plants!!!! Now I am getting over broken hips (one broken by falling at allotment) I go home much earlier!

Exactly Blyesky. I have one of those but, practice issues aside, they're not practical in urban areas, and I feel reluctant to use it in rural areas, as the people and environment there shouldn't have to put up with that, I feel.

Alexa: what a brilliant idea ! Maybe somebody like Damien Hirst or the Angel of the North guy could design them.

Grandtante can you please answer my question up thread? Where can you use them in town?

Have you heard of the she wee, ladies?

It does make it possible to wee outdoors fairly discreetly.

Local authorities should replace public statues to irrelevant and not altogether nice dead persons with useful, well kept, and attractive public lavatories dedicated to currently popular personalities, which may be re-dedicated when aforesaid personality gets to be outed as a cheat, pedophile, or racist.

I’ve never worried about using public loos as long as there were proper hand washing facilities. Normally the risks are minimal if you wash your hands thoroughly. But I have to admit this Covid19 stuff has made me more nervous and I do now carry antibacterial wipes (yes I do know it's a virus but haven't seen any antiviral ones.) I wipe everything I touch before and after, as well as very thorough hand washing. Can’t see the point of gloves - no safer than hands and more of a bother to wash. And discarding them just adds to pollution by single use plastic.

We were in a National Trust car park earlier this week and there were portaloos open (the tea rooms and their facilities were undergoing building works). I thought about whether to use them before we left for our walk, but was too faint hearted. It’s too early for me yet. We have had one of those loo bottle thingies in the car since GS was small (there were places he would happily wee outside the car and places he couldn’t be persuaded to!). It has only been pressed into service twice for we adults; once in a horrendous West Country motorway traffic standstill when DH was seriously desperate, and once at some isolated junior football pitch car park when I was desperate!!

I've mentioned this before but surely to use those female wee contraptions you need to find a private place, which is defeating the purpose if you are in the middle of town?

Public loos are often rundown and not clean enough so we’ve all learnt to be careful ! Should all be open and let people take their own risk assessment and precautions.
Note for above- you can pay in cheques at Post offices(& and get cash), also can pay in cheques on line (easy to follow instructions from your bank) Presume they’re all doing it? Barclays are

I’m not so bothered about toilet seats etc as I am about being in an enclosed space with no ventilation. I think a women’s version of a French Pissoir Would suit me if I was really desperate. I’m convinced that the spike in infection due to the Cheltenham Festival was due to people being in enclosed spaces such as marquees, restaurants and toilets more than race goers outside. I’ve never been someone that has ever bothered about what a loo is like as long as there is one so this paranoia about toilets is new for me.

Some ladies who cannot get the hang of using a She-wee can manage perfectly fine using a Slipper bottle, AKA Female urinal. They are basically very similar to the popular Male urinal bottles, so quite bulky to carry around, but the female attachment provides a mini bedpan made from the same ridgid plastic as the bottle itself, so much easier to position between the legs than a She-wee. They also have a screw on cap so that the contents can be carried safely and without the risk of any spills to a convienient emptying point. they are sold by most large Chemists and Disability equipment shops.

Alexa! Maybe the poncho isn't such a bad idea - not a transparent one though! Succinct details of the problems I've had trying the shewee include wet feet and wet knickers. And that's just in practicing at home - I haven't dared try to use it anywhere else. I also bought a peebol with it, as I'm not sure peeing on the ground or a bush is very civilised. At least the peebol means you can take your pee home and dispose of it there. So ladies, as I bought both because of long motorcycle rides, if you see a black and chrome cruiser pulled up at the side of a wooded lane, and a white haired hoodlum behind a bush chuntering about paddling, best not to investigate!

I was surprised when colleagues commented on cutting down on shopping trips because they couldn’t bear to use public loos. Until then I never gave it a thought.

My Mum had to walk round to the back of her home (no back door) to get to the loo and then it had to be emptied by a family member at some point. I expect a public loo seemed fine to her.

Occasionally I would come across less than clean ones pubic lavatories but most are fine.

Perhaps it would help if you carried your own loo seat around with you? Plastic ones aren’t that heavy though wooden ones are probably more trendy.

Yes: I’ve got some pee bolls. They came with my she wee. There’s a new she wee I’ve seen advertised which looks better But I’ve thought up a new system which I won’t go into on here. Even if you can work out how to use a shee wee I’m not sure how you prevent splashing your feet!

The more I think about not having a loo available, the more I want to go!
I’m using a plastic bowl for a wee in my car, just sit on it reading my book. If anyone sees me, I’m just sitting higher than normal with a rug over my knee?
I tried one of those gadgets, red with a white extension, but couldn’t get the hang of it...

The Supermarkets in our small town allow anyone already in a queue (or with someone who is) to use the toilets, provided they avoid other people in the same way as when shopping. The toilets I have been in are clean, but I carry wet wipes and hand sanitiser, plus paper tissues (and always did so, prior to Covid 19) Sadly, the Public loos in the same town, (in common with many other places) are closed.

You also can get something called a PeeBol, which I keep in the car. Never used it, but its nice to know that its there in case of emergency.

I remember being warned about the Paris ones in that sometimes someone would sneak into one as someone was leaving without realising they were going to get a free shower.