Saturday, February 6, 2010

To Pee or Not To Pee

Living here in Singapore I made a shocking discovery about toilet 'business'. The government, cleaners, building management, and so on, have made a tremendous effort to make sure that toilets here in Singapore not just OK, but very well spotless clean and hygienic. Unfortunately the toilets user itself that I found 'making a mess' here and there.

Based on personal experience only 2 out of 10 toilet I found in the OK standard. My OK standard are:
1. The toilet was flushed by the previous user. Surprisingly 5 out of 5 toilet I've been through were not flush. Not just from the urine but from 'poo'. For me it is a disgusting act and the person done that need to be fine or at least go on a basic human manner class or something like that.
2. No urine or 'poo' mesh at the seat or the floor. 4/10 toilet I found to be like this. Come on ladies, it's not that hard to just sit and aim right! Most of the toilet in Singapore are a 'dry type' so there's no way the user that come after you can clean up your mess.
3. Adequate amount of tissue paper. Most toilet in hawker center doesn't equipped with tissue paper, and usually inside of the toilet itself was very messy and dirty. Found in 8/10 hawker center I've been to.
4. Adequate amount of soaps in the soap dispenser. 4/10 toilet in the mall run out of soaps. 8/10 toilet in the hawker center doesn't even have a soap dispenser. So let's imagine the cook, the waitress, aunties and uncles that prepare, cook and served our food after doing their 'business' in the toilet can not wash their hand properly due to no soap.
5. No shoe/sandal mark on the seat of the toilet. 4/5 toilet in Singapore are 'marked' by these. Perhaps this also explain why no 2 rule of the OK toilet is violated.
6. Adequate amount of toilet. Some mall like Plaza Singapura only have 4 cubicle, so that's explain the long queue during weekend and public holiday. To tell you the truth this matter refrain me from going there, especially bringing my kids along.

If you see from the above, most of the 'mess' was made by the user itself. I remember a few years ago the government was planning to fine anyone that found didn't flush. I wish the make that rule come true now.

Still in the toilet issue, I see many malls have a very wonderful effort to make families love going there by making family toilets equipped with children's toilet. Sadly many teenagers though them self as little kids and like to occupy these toilets with their friends for a very long time. Usually just for chatting. I think they are being too creative, I know there's a restaurant in abroad that served food in toilet bowl, so maybe they try to create that environment by using family toilet despite of blocking other people needs. You can find a lot of these teens at Lot 1 or other mall that have family toilet. You can hear the sound of their giggles from outside, perhaps they thinking how cool they are to be able to 'hijack' little kids toilet.