FORGOTTEN HISTORY: Genius restroom solutions | History Defined

Tim, the Executive Director at the ARA, explained to Bored Panda that finances lie at the core as to why public restrooms might not be up to suitable standards. "It has been easier and less expensive for municipalities (cities, counties, states, etc.) to allow the for-profit sector to fill the gap. If a national coffee shop chain or fast food establishment has a bathroom, why do we, the government, need to build and maintain one?" Tim explained the way that the US government thinks in this case.

Meanwhile, he highlighted the fact that businesses have "a vested interest in improving the customer experience," citing a study that a whopping 95 percent of patrons are less likely to be return customers if they had a bad bathroom experience. "However, this leaves gaps in the restroom infrastructure. The designs are there; the will of government to fill the gap or ensure access is not," Tim showed Bored Panda where a large part of the problem lies.

There have been some advancements in the need for good design solutions for restroom hygiene issues since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic. Tim from the ARA had this to say: "We’ve seen particular interest in antimicrobial materials for high-touch surfaces as well as automation to reduce the 'touch' factor. Also, the way coronavirus is transmitted has put a focus on improving ventilation and air cleaning systems. More simply, better scheduling for regular cleaning is a low-cost way to improve hygiene. Just having a user see that someone is cleaning puts them more at ease,"

According to Tim, it's very important that the public has access to clean, comfortable, and well-designed restrooms outside of their own homes. "Since 2004, it’s been the reason for the existence of the American Restroom Association. Everyone needs a restroom—it’s a fact of life. One that, for whatever reason, people just don’t like to talk about," Tim pointed out that it's a still a slightly taboo topic.

"The Federal government requires the availability of restrooms in the workplace, yet there is no such coordinated effort for public spaces. That is something we are advocating for. Until then, it’s a crapshoot (pun intended) as to whether a restroom will be there when you need one," he said.

There are several main issues afflicting public restrooms, including hygiene standards, comfort through privacy, and vandalism. Violate any one of those three and customers are less likely to have a great time using your other services. Meanwhile, provide them a safe, clean, beautiful environment in which to errr ponder the nature of life and the multiverse and you’ll make them feel right at home.

While a lot of potential issues could be solved by throwing more money at the problems, hiring more staff to clean more often, etc., the crux of everything is seeing the potential pitfalls before getting bogged down by them. That’s where design solutions come in. With them, you’re basically investing into solutions upfront and cutting off potential issues before they even show up.

For instance, touching surfaces at most public restrooms can be a strong yuck factor for adults and kids alike. Throw in the danger of a global pandemic and you’ve got some people seriously worried and extremely anxious. They’d rather hold it in and be in pain than use a disgusting toilet that looks like the villain of a low-budget horror movie.

So minimizing the ick factor and maximizing cleanliness becomes a priority. How this problem gets solved depends on the designer. Some might opt for designs that let us use and flush the toilet while making absolutely minimal contact with surfaces. Others might go for self-cleaning or easily-cleaned surfaces or go for something that’s the perfect solution that nobody’s thought of yet.

Meanwhile, let’s talk a bit about privacy and comfort. Odds are, you know somebody in your life who’s wary of using any restroom in public. It might be a friend or a family member. It might even be you. Some people simply think that going to the bathroom is embarrassing, even though it’s an absolutely natural and unavoidable part of our existence as human beings.

However brave or cowardly we might be in public bathrooms, it’s nonetheless a good idea to give people some privacy. Make sure that nobody can accidentally peek at you through the gaps in the stalls, have some sort of sound-dampening solutions, and generally give people the ability to relax.

We’re not in Roman times with public bathrooms anymore (for better or for worse) and we need modern design decisions for modern restroom problems. Thankfully, some designers have already digested some of these issues and provided genius responses. Yes, everybody pees and poops, but will everybody implement smart designs after they learn about them? That’s an important question for another time.