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Restrooms are awesome. Fact. In college, I once lived in a house with seven other people in five bedrooms, all sharing one bathroom. Somehow, there was never a problem, except for this one time during finals week, but that’s not important now. What’s important is what was in that bathroom. It had everything one could hope for; from a shower tub to a sink, bathroom mat, window for ventilation, plenty of lights, a good mirror and a washer/dryer unit. It was also larger than my first Chicago apartment. Now the washer and dryer are not all that relevant when discussing public restrooms, I just wanted to add that in so you got the picture.

So the question is, what do you want in a public restroom? I’ve been asking this question for a while now, and I’ve gotten a variety of answers. What’s interesting is that different people care about different things. Myself, I’m never happy with single stall restrooms unless they’re of the unisex, single-shooter, variety. I don’t want to be the only one doing number two. That may sound weird, but I prefer the company of others so that I cannot be singled out for doing my business. I also prefer paper towels over hot air dryers, unless the dryer is the sweet new Dyson type and I’m not in a rush. Paper towels are nice because you can dry at your own pace, and you can always take an extra one or two with you. I like do-it-yourself type faucets and soap dispensers, as the automatic ones rarely function properly. I once saw an automatic soap dispenser at a fancy hotel in San Diego that was improperly aligned or something and would continue to shoot out soap as you rinsed your hands, leaving a slimy ooze pool all over the side of the sink. The last thing I would add is stall doors that go all the way to the floor, and dividing walls at the urinals. This may not be great for cleaning the restroom, but it is great for feelings of privacy and safety. There’s a rest area off I-64 in West Virginia that’s nailed this concept, and I used to stop there every chance I got.

Please feel free to leave a comment, or your answer to what do you want in a public restroom. I think there’s not enough user input into what should be there, or how restrooms should be designed. Importance is placed on price (make it cheap) and capacity (urinal troughs) rather than comfort and safety. Perhaps if there was a more active voice advocating public restroom policy, somebody would care.

A recent article in Chicago’s free daily newspaper, the Redeye, caught my eye this morning. The article is about how the restrooms at the Radisson Blu Aqua Hotel are being nominated for the America’s Best Restroom award by Cintas, the organization that gave last year’s (2011) award to the Field Museum. This reminded me how restroom culture is treated here in the United States. Far from the techie pop-culture way restrooms are treated abroad, as seen in Japan, here restrooms are treated for the most part with mild disdain. The New York Times recently published an article that encapsulates most people’s feelings about public restrooms: gross.

Of course, all this changes when people start thinking about truly remarkable restrooms. And businesses are listening. There’s even a YouTube video about awesome restrooms in Chicago, where it seems some bars are using restroom design to lure in customers, and keep them coming back. It makes sense. Places with good restrooms, especially businesses like restaurants and bars, get known for how comfortable it is to go to the bathroom there. This means you’ll be more likely to linger at their establishment instead of pressing on when nature calls.

On a recent visit to Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park in California, my girlfriend and I experienced first-hand the difference well-designed restrooms make. After one night of rather pricey camping, our visits to the clean and well-lit restrooms and showers there made us decide to spend another night camping instead of moving on to another park. While these restroom examples all stem from pay-to-play environments and not true public restrooms, it is good to note what others are doing right, and how we can improve public restroom access for all.

So I just got back from two weeks in Oregon, which is one of the most beautiful states I have ever visited. Between the forests and mountains and deserts and lakes and the coast along the ocean, not to mention the amazing people and cities, this was a totally dissimilar experience that what goes on here in my flatter, farmier, Chicagoier, Illinois. Which isn’t to say that Illinois and Chicago aren’t great places to be, it was just a huge change of pace.

My girlfriend and I travelled the entire state, from Portland to the Redwoods, putting a little over 1500 miles on a sweet little Chevy Cruz rental. Of course, whatever we went, I always kept an eye out for public restrooms.

The first thing we did was meet-up with Carol and the fine folks of PHLUSH, and take a tour of the brand-new Portland Loos. These are free, free-standing, 24-hour public restrooms in downtown Portland. There are about 6 of them now, with a very simple design, available to everyone, rich or poor. The walls do not go all the way down to the floor, so while people feel protected from onlookers while doing their business, they are encouraged not too dawdle or get to engrossed in their books or phones while they’re in there. Also, the “handwashing” station is located on the outside, which is a huge boon in the fight against public restroom germs: you no longer have to fear the door handle, because you wash your hands afterwards anyway. The only issue is that there is no soap, only a water spout. I’m not 100% sure on the reason for this, but perhaps this will be upgraded in the near future.

As awesome as the Portland Loos are, and many congratulations to PHLUSH for getting these installed, the restrooms in Oregon have other things to offer the public. For one, all restrooms in Portland seem to come equipped with multiple coat hooks, probably to place the obligatory rain coats on during the rainy 7 – 10 months out of the year. Luckily, this was not an issue for us. The other thing of note was their signage and pride in their restrooms. Restroom signs were noticeably visible in public, making the restrooms themselves easier to find. A cashier at a smallish supermarket downstate not only directed us to her store’s restrooms, but stopped us before we left to ask how we enjoyed our time there. Evidently they were designed by a local artist, and were the pride of the store, if not the town.

All in all the restroom culture of Oregon much reflects the people, and culture, of Oregon: friendly, open, and relaxed. I’ll try to post some restroom pictures up here soon. Please shoot me an email and share your restroom stories! Until next time…