How to Survive the Horrible Bathrooms in Your Dorm

Last Updated: October 12, 2020

The bathrooms in the dorms at college can be far, far worse than those at home. Sharing a bathroom with a whole floor of dirty people is a challenging task. Here is how to make it through.

Steps

1
If there's a bad smell, slow your breathing so you don't have to inhale as much. You can also breathe through your shirt or use an odor-eliminating spray.
2
Always wear your own shower-shoes, sandals, or flip-flops. Never venture into the bathroom with bare feet. You never know what bacteria or viruses are living on the floor. Especially in the shower, wear flip-flops or some kind of sandals. Footwear will help keep you from developing meningitis, plantar warts (caused by HPV), athlete's foot, and staph and strep infections. Many types of bacteria, viruses, and fungi thrive in warm, moist environments like bathrooms and showering areas. To prevent warts on the feet, never wear another person's sandals or flip-flops, and don't lend out your own.

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3
Touch as little as possible. Make sure not to touch the walls of the shower or the bathroom stalls. Wash your hands before leaving.
4
Be VERY careful when shaving. Because of poor lighting, it may be difficult to shave without seriously injuring yourself. If you find shaving in the shower problematic, consider waxes, depilatory creams, or an electric razor.
5
When all the disgusting people on your floor decide not to flush the toilet or to dirty up the seat, don't hesitate to leave a sign on the door. Signs will decrease the amount of gross things occurring in the bathroom. However, you may need to post different messages every so often if students stop being complaisant. The best place to put a sign is on the inside of every stall door: people will definitely see it, and they have a moment to read it while they're on the toilet. Attract attention to your sign with lots of color and some clip art. Short and sweet messages are best; longer ones tend to be ignored.
6
Make sure to clean the seat before sitting down.
- You may wish to hover over the seat if possible, so that your skin never actually touches the toilet. However, this posture causes the pelvic muscles to remain tensed, which may have negative effects on bladder health in the long term. In addition, voiding from a hovering position makes you more likely to spill and create a mess, which you'll have to clean up. Only use the hovering technique if absolutely necessary.
- A layer of toilet paper may protect you from any obvious stains and spills that are already present on the seat, but it also increases the surface area on which bacteria can grow. Toilet paper itself is also not entirely clean, since it is always in such close proximity to the actual toilet and has probably been touched by many people who haven't washed their hands yet. In the end, the best way to employ toilet paper is to wipe the seat and then sit down (or hover, if you must). Skin is an extremely effective barrier against bacteria so the chance that you'll catch something from sitting on a visibly clean seat is very low.
7
If possible, wait to go to the bathroom until you are in a nicer facility. Find good bathrooms that you can resort to every once in a while in order to get away from the almost unbearable bathrooms in your dorm. Try to find a less popular or less messy restroom on another floor.
8
Always wash your hands with soap after using the restrooms, and remind others to do the same. If you do nothing else, at least perform this step! Also, if it doesn't create privacy issues, prop the door open when you enter the bathroom. Try to avoid touching door handles on your way out, or use a paper towel, a napkin, or even some toilet paper to open the door. Provided that you wash your hands, most restroom messes are more unpleasant than unhealthy. Washing your hands frequently will help stop the spread of illnesses as well.

Community Q&A

Question

How do I share a bathroom with many people? Sometimes, we need to use the bathroom at the same time. For example, someone is in the shower and the other needs the toilet.

Community Answer

Make a bathroom schedule for showering. Get a shower curtain you can't see through in case someone can't hold it.
Question

What if people cannot read the sign and laugh at you?

Community Answer

Just be sure to write it in a professional manner, and type it out. Place it when there is no one else around, and no one will know who put it up. If they still find out and laugh at you, just ignore them.

Warnings

If you make a mess, it's your responsibility clean it up, even if other people don't do it or seem to care that you make the effort. Don't contribute to making the dorm bathrooms even more disgusting than they already are. Someone else will have to remove the mess if you don't. Although the housing crew gets paid to clean the dorms, it's a human courtesy to clean up your own waste. Plus, if someone catches you leaving behind filth, your actions may be reported to your RA (probably to your embarrassment). This Warning excludes girls who decide to hover but pee on the seat, they should read and follow the Tips section.

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Watch out for wet areas on the floor so you don't slip.

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Remember guys: it's easy to spray. If you don't bother to clean up after yourself, you're forcing someone else to do it for you. Consider cleaning the toilet practice for the future when you'll have to sanitize the bathroom in your own home.

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Don't blame anyone leaving a stall for pee on the seat; someone who used the toilet before them may have left the mess behind.

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Never mix ammonia with bleach.

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Some industrial cleaners (like those used by housing crews) contain heavy perfumes but have little sanitizing ability. Just because it smells better doesn't mean it's cleaner. Politely ask a staff member which cleaners you should use.

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Mold and mildew can make you very sick. If this is an issue in your facility, you should discuss it with someone who can report the problem and have it corrected.

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If you use bleach or another strong cleaner, make sure the area is properly ventilated. Some people are sensitive or allergic to the powerful odors these products leave behind.

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Cleaners can make the floors slippery. If you use them, remember to rinse the walls and floors thoroughly to avoid a fall. You may be held legally accountable if someone gets injured.

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