Why do public toilet doors open in forcing you to touch the handle knowing the last person hadn't washed?

Answer 1

ewww...i never touch that handle---use a paper towel to open the door

Answer 2

Do you mean the cubicle doors? Even if the cubicle door opens outwards, you still need to touch it to unlock it.

If you mean the main doors to the toilet, the reason is to minimise the amount of potentially foul smelling air from getting into the lobby and out into the space outside. Opening the door inwards pushes air into the toilet as opposed to pulling air out.

It' the same reason why Victorians arrange doors into rooms to open into the room and the hinge on away from the corner of the room - to reduce draft.

It also works better from a circulation point of view. If the door is to open outwards, this presents a potential hazard as the space outside of a public toilet is usually a circulation space (ie: corridor, hall, etc.). Opening the door outwards there would risk people passing by having a toilet door opened in their faces. There are ways of overcoming this (by having the door away from main circulation areas, putting up bollards or other obstructions, etc.) but the simplest is to have the door opening inwards.


In the end, everyone's supposed to be civilised enough to wash their hands after going right?

Answer 3

it relatively is in all probability an shape subject. If the restroom door opened outward, then a individual from interior the restroom ought to by probability whack a individual passing in the hallway whilst establishing the door. That does not be stable. a sturdy trick is to only shop the paper towel after washing your hands and open the door with that paper towel, then throw it away on the way out of the bathing room. Many bogs have a trashcan close to the door for that objective.

Answer 4

WAY to many accidents have happened from doors that open out. Use a towel, your sleave or wait for some one else to open the door and catch the rebound. I wish the door handles could be big enough to fit your forearm through. Oh well.

Answer 5

When I go into the stall I push the door shut with an elbow & then use the bottom of my purse, a piece of paper or something to lock the door. If the doors opened out into the room a lot of people would get hit by them.

Answer 6

I guess they figure that you will wash just after you open it anyways. Disgusting anyways.

I always thought everything in a public restroom should be controlled by your feet. Flusher is on the floor, controlls for the faucets are pedals on the floor. Controll for the paper towels, and doors are all on the floor. Although they are getting pretty good with the motion activated stuff.

Answer 7

I know, that it totally gross. I used to work at a Meijers in Michigan and all of the bathroom doors opened so you didn't have to touch them with your hands. This was apparently because the wife of Fred meijers was a clean freak!

Answer 8

I don't know, I think that is pretty disgusting, hopefully someone will have an answer for this. Same happens with the handle of the faucet, you grab it with your dirty hands, you wash your hands and the grab it back to get your microbes back where they were... I think is useless to have your hands washed after all

Answer 9

I always try to open them holding a paper towel if there are any about. It helps if the bin is near the door also.

Answer 10

Because if they opened out then when you leave you might hit someone with the door and that could cause a law suit which they will sacrifice your cleanliness phobia for

Answer 11

because if they opened outwards then you would probably end up smaking someone in the face with the door. and its not just a door handle that people touch whilst on the toilet.