Lydia, I agree with you one hundred percent! I'm 5'6" (& fluffy) and have the same trouble you do. The only time it works is when the door lock is broken and your knees hold the door closed! LOL!

Laurel

Ditto.

And what's with the new house construction where they have the toilet set into a recessed alcove (with a wall on each side) like public cubicle? If I were looking to buy a home and saw that arrangement, that alone would be enough to have me cross the house off my list. When I'm home, and doing what has to be done, I don't want to feel claustrophobic while I'm taking care of things! LOL

I have noticed the same thing, Lydia, only not in new construction. I hate having to squeeze into the stall touching who knows what just to keep from falling into the toilet. lol

Our master bath has a separate little room just for the commode, it's tiny but I love the extra privacy of it. My grandparents had a bath where the commode was tucked behind a little half wall and I didn't get that at all, I wouldn't be using that if someone else was in there brushing his teeth and I hope he wouldn't be using it if I was brushing mine. Ew. lol The only thing I can think of is the coziness factor. Like you're not sitting there all exposed to the rest of the room. Anyway, I like a special room!

I'm short, four eleven, and the problem I have with toilets is my feet don't touch the floor! LOL!

A HUGE pet peeve of mine is that so often they have removed the hook where you can hang your purse......supposedly, it was because a thief could reach over the top of the door, grab the purse and run....YEAH, RIGHT, like that's been a real problem....NOT....so NOW what the heck are you supposed to do with it? Put it on the filthy floor, hold the strap in your mouth? What????? I'd rather risk the thieves.

Very irritating.

Man you hit on a sore spot with me..lol You have to be a contortionist to get around the door in the first place then back up over the toilet to have room for the door to close. Try to balance your purse on the toilet paper dispenser and then feel like you are going to sit on the floor before you reach the toilet seat. Then you have to hoist yourself up and try to get redressed in that small space.

Must have been a very skinny extremely short man that designed these things.

Or stall doors with gaps so big it makes me feel like everyone who walks in could see exactly what I'm up to.
I bugs me too, when I have to straddle the toilet just to get out.

Someone really did grab my grandfather's girlfriend's purse as it hung on one of those hooks. She saw them, yelled, grabbed it and held on.
I will use the handicapped toilet if it is not in use. I usually shop very early morning when the store is empty but if someone need it I could be out before they got in the entrance door. Kathy

This has been one of my pet peeves for years. In some places there is absolutely NO place for a parent and toddler. I hate it when I hit my head on the door as I'm getting up. The hook thing (or lack of) makes me want to scream. It seems like bathrooms are an afterthought when they design the building. "Gee, we have some leftover space over here...think we can shoehorn 3 stalls in here?"

Lydia, I am small. I have the same gripe. For heavens sake, when I wear a skirt I have to be really careful not to clean the toilet seat, while I try to close the door. YUCK factor! HUGE YUCK factor!

and the problem with the hook for the purse is huge too. Why can't they put a hook at the side of the stall, or the back? if they don't want to put one on the door????

WHAT GIVES?

Moni... trying to calm down again....

Haven't had this problem for a few years, but when very pregnant I about had to leave the door open. I mean, just at a time when you have "to go" everywhere you go, you get in and the door gets stuck on your belly.

And like was said, then later when you have take that child in with you, you can just about knock him/her into the toilet trying to get around!

I hate the doors that swing in and getting in there and finding no hook, and worse yet!! no toilet paper! I always try to check. I do appreciate the ones that supply the disposable toilet cover. I was in a bathroom Friday night and one of the stalls was locked and there was nobody in there. Another lady and I just laughed. Couldn't figure that one out!

All of the above have been my pet peeves for years! The worst it not having a hook~~~if you have packages, a jacket and your purse what can you do??? I have staked out the best bathrooms at my fav malls and those are the only ones I will use. At my Nordstroms they have a tray that you can pull down and hang or sit you purse on.

I went into a 'brand' new Bloomingdales last winter and they had no hooks pissed me off!

Another thing is lately I have been noticing how nasty some bathrooms are AND they seem to have no ventilation PHEW~~~I complain but it is always the same:(

Men Architects!

Makes you wonder how you can keep you foot from touching someones foot in the next stall. Maybe the Senator was just in a crowed stall. LOL!

At the Gambling Casino, they have a Shelf, a hook and self flushing toilets. I like that! I don't have to touch anything. Bath attendents constantly cleaning.

Gayle

The minute I read the title of your post I had VIVID flashbacks of lying in the stall with an ankle broken (both bones!) Here come these two good lookin' young hunks to load me up into the ambulance! LOL I told them that at least I wasn't wedged in there with my pants down!! LOL

I agree - some of the restrooms are just totally ridiculous.

I have trouble in the stalls too...I'm short and fat....
Also the resturant booths,I can get in them but have trouble with the ones that are up on a sort of platform plus being small.....I guess the booths aren't made for fluffy people! LOL!
I think the same guy designed the stalls and the booths...

Gosh, I thought I was the only one who now uses the wheelchair accessible stall if it's available.

Shirley

anyone remember the days of "pretty bathrooms" that had a sitting room (where i more than once nursed a child) and in upscale stores an attendant?

COME BACK HERE YA YA! How the heck did you get a broken ankle in a bathroom stall? I just have to know - this will keep me up tonight worrying about how it happened lol.

Oh come on you know the rest of you want to know too ;0)

I hate everything you guys just talked about so I have nothing new to add, 'cept I hang my purse over my neck so that it hangs down in front of me when there isn't a hook.

Glad to see I am in good company!! lol

YaYa - is that where you broke your ankle? In the stall? Did you get phone numbers (from the ambulance crew, not the wall)? :-)

Susan - I've been to a couple bars/restaurants that had attendants. There would be hand lotion and hairspray on the counter too! Haven't saw any attendants for a long time.

Handicap restrooms are for everyone. They are desginated handicap meaning it is accessable to those in a wheelchair, not exclusive to handi's. Taking off my facility engineers hat now. LOL It is a common misconception that it is exclusive, not so, just convenient. I am also waiting for a clarification from Ya-Ya on that situation. LOL

I don't like being cramped in there, but usually if I resort to using a public restroom, it's cause I gotta GO! I'll squat by a bush if I have toilet paper - well, sometimes I have been without paper when fishing in the boonies, but -- *earth to okwriter*earth to okwriter* Yes, Lydia. I have noticed the stalls getting smaller! :-)

I truly thought I was the only person that had to straddle the toilet to get out of most bathrooms. I hate it. I avoid using public restrooms for this reason. And I am not crazy about that half wall in a bathroom either. I want privacy when I am using the bathroom.

It gets better when you're pregnant too!! Now I have to go so much more then normal, and the space gets smaller and smaller! lol

If Olivia is with me, I use the handicap stall. I'm usually at stores at off hours-when the stores are slow, and I've never had a person waiting to use it.

Funny, but most stalls I'm in still have the hook-thankfully, because I don't want to put my purse on THAT floor! But where do you put your purse when you wash your hands? The counter is always wet, so I'm usually holding it between my legs and trying to lean over to wash my hands! lol

Have you noticed that in the small stalls they are now putting those huge toilet paper containers down low? Not only do they get in the way of your knees, if the paper is caught up in the container you have to be a contortionist to get a hand in to pull the paper out!

I must confess, I have broken the locks on a few of those because that was the only way I could get any paper!

I have been using handicapped stalls for at least 10 years. I am tall, not large and the regular stalls are getting way too small for me.

Go back and read Cathyid's comment

Handicap stalls are for anyone. It is designated as Handicap to let you know it is big enough for a wheel chair and has a tall seat.

I always use the handicap stall if it is vacant, and will even wait for it if there isn't a handicapped person waiting. That is no different than if a handicapped person is in the stall and another HC person is waiting to go in. Somebody will have to wait sometimes.

A question: How often do you see a HC person in a restroom? I would say rarely, right?

Sue

Have you noticed that in the small stalls they are now putting those huge toilet paper containers down low? Not only do they get in the way of your knees, if the paper is caught up in the container you have to be a contortionist to get a hand in to pull the paper out!

It seems that 9 times out of 10 the paper isn't hanging down in site. Folks must just give it a yank that it tears off way up inside of the thing. I hate those mega roll things!

Check out the link below...Sheryl Crow would likely protest it!

Here is a link that might be useful: Toilet Paper Folder & Dispenser Prototype

Chemocurl,
The last dispenser I broke into had toilet paper so thin the paper would tear before the roll would turn. On an open style dispenser, I would have just turned the roll, but with that stupid closed one I could not. So I just pounded on the plastic thing until the lock popped open.

Hey, if the businesses don't want us to damage their mechanisms, they should design stuff that actually functions as designed!

Hi, Here's a clean restroom locator website. You can contact them on your cell phone, tell them what address you're at and they'll quickly tell you where the nearest clean restroom is. I saw it on a news program and it's a great idea.

It would be great if the purse hooks were near the center of the door, so there wouldn't be an issue of anyone having such easy access to your purse. Seems like stealing purses in this fashion would be a no brainer. You could leave a building with a purse before someone came out of a bathroom stall.

I've heard that Burger King and McDonalds generally have decent bathroooms. Linda

Here is a link that might be useful: Clean restroom locator

Have witnessed all of the above, and hate it as much as you all do! I do sometimes use the handicapped stall. And it's almost enough to make me yell halleluja! when a bathroom has those seat protectors.

Here's another: ever had an automatic toilet think you were done before you really were? ick ick ick!

Okay, ladies, this is why I avoid public restrooms at all costs. I hate them! I've never found them too small (I'm not a large person), but I just hate them period.

The people who are designing the newer bathroom stalls must also be the same ones that are desiging the parking lots, where NO cars fit well.

I have the same problems you all have. And...... I hate it when they don't give you paper towels to dry your hands on.....only the warm air....which is supposed to blow germs onto your hands. I won't use it at all. And I won't open the door with my bare hands either. Have to use a paper towel or my jacket sleeve or something.

Hi, Automatic flush toilets have a sensor, usually a little light that activates when blocked. If you move forward, sideways, or stand up, the toilet will flush after several seconds. That's why they might flush before you'd like them to.

Seat covers make an ok subsitute for paper towels or toilet paper. It never hurts to carry a couple of washy wipes in your purse. If you carry a purse with a shoulder strap, you never have to hang it or park it anywhere. Just cross it over to the other shoulder and it's secure. Linda

Most places now have handicap stalls...they are wheel chair accessible,so plenty of room. I use them.

My work building had the doors open in. They recently changed them to open out because there was no room to back up to open the door. Your elbows could hit the walls pulling up your pants.

You just have to to be careful walking by a stall you don't get smacked in the face by a door opening.

I agree, the handicapped stall is so much easier to use, for everyone. It is rare to find a place without at least one designated handicapped stall. Unfortunately they are not all equal. I use them exclusively as I have no choice, and have come upon some that are a joke and little if any better than the regular stalls. I once had to have someone get my DH to come into the restroom at a restaurant to extricate me from a so labled stall. I have no problem with an able bodied person using, in turn, a handicapped stall...I understand perfectly. But please if you use that handicapped stall keep in mind that the handicapped person most likely must put their hands in places that you wouldn't dream of putting yours. So keep it 'neat' ladies...and for your own safety keep in mind that a handicapped person sometimes cannot clean up behind themselves as well as you might. It is a good idea to carry with you some of those antibacterial wipes.

kim, your above post hadn't come up yet when I posted.

Yes, one has to be careful with those doors that open out from a stall. A lot of years ago, like about 60, when I was a first grader, I was hit in the eye with such a door. The problem was the little bracket on the door that kept it from swinging in towards the stool. It cut my upper lid, and I bled like the proverbial stuck pig. I was sure I was gonna die. First graders are like that. LOL It healed quickly and there is no scar, so really I was lucky it wasn't worse. Today, can you imagine the hullabaloo that would cause in a school system? Then, nothing. The students were just told to stay next to the wall while waiting.

Well, if you luck into a stall with a purse hook and are now worried about your purse getting stolen, I have a trick for you. I always have long straps on my purses, so I just wrap the strap around the hook a few times. If someone tried to grab my purse, they'd have to pull the hook off the door or rip my purse in half, and I figure they'll give up before then.

It was really no biggie - well except for ME being in a STALL!! LOL

It was when I was still teaching. We all went out to eat for lunch at the Italian Grill. I had a break between classes and all of a sudden felt really sick! Ran into one of the kid's restrooms thinking I was gonna throw up. Ran in the stall, jerked up the commode lid and started to lean down over the commode. When I did, my ankle turned, heard two cracks and down I went! Never had to throw up after that! LOL

What's so awful/funny - it was my last year to teach school, anyway. For years people had asked me if I was still teaching. My answer? "Well, yeah! Guess they'll have to CARRY me out of there!" Now how ironic was THAT!!!? LOL

This happened on the 13th of May and I never finished the year out! LOL

Hey, it wasn't so bad. I got to miss all the stupid retirement parties, etc. Also, the next month I went to Iowa to Sandy and Dean's KT thing and Flamey and Gabby spoiled me rotten! LOL

(Not to mention Ed and Jesse carrying me all over the park! LOL)

Sorry - didn't mean to hijack this thread! Yes, I DO hate small stalls. I'm one of those "hold my purse strap in my mouth" types and I HATE that! LOL

In the grade school I attended, only two stalls even had doors! One was for teachers. The other was at the end of a row of toilets. They had walls between but no doors...and it was a big room with a row of toilets on two walls that faced each other, so you had to look across the room at other students using the toilet while you went. It was dreadful. It's a wonder I don't have privacy issues because of that setup!

Whew Ya Ya, I can think of several non-painful ways to keep from throwing up that's not one of them lol. Bless your heart I'm sorry you broke your ankle.

Thank you for filling me in though I was really worrying about this. ;0)

the walmart i go to has a "family" bathroom. it is large enough for a wheelchair, or a stroller. has a changing table, toilet, and sink. thats why i go to that walmart. especially when the princess is shopping with grandma.

anette

I think they are now being designed by the same guys that design the new airline seats..... you knees, no matter how short you are, now hit the seat in front of you. I am only able to sleep on a plane, well, used to be able to sleep on a plane by using my tray table, with my jacket bunched up for apillow....... well NO more! the seat, if it isnt' reclined for the person in front of me, still hits my head. Now if they recline their seat, which I was told by an attendant they are allowed to do, even if the seat is broken and it hits you in the face as you sit straight up in your own seat that they can't tell that person or ask them to sit up straighter. I swear on one flight, the seat in front of me was broken, I could put my hand touching my face and touching the back of that seat without extending my hand. I asked the attendant to please ask them to sit up just a tiny bit, they said they couldn't. I asked the lady and she said to me, nope... I finally can sleep. So I sat for 5 hours with this ladies head in my face. great huh?????

sorry, didn't mean to highjack the thread. but yea, I think they are designed by the same idiots that now make flying sooooo much fun and sooooo much cozier.

That sounds like a miserable flight cwnev. I think I would have had to act like I was a little looney and play with her hair or blow in her ear. I'll bet she would have sat up then! lol

yeah all that!!! !!! !!!

(This must be some kind of record, a thread 45 or so posts long, and I think we all agree!)

And in our local Super K, in the handicap stalls, the toilet paper is OUT OF REACH! Yep, you heard me right. You have to get your paper BEFORE you sit down, and hope you don't need more!