Mind your toilet manners Ugandans
Feb 19, 2014
In school we were just about accustomed to people with less than gracious toilet manners. Remember those students who boldly walked into the latrine without tissue in their pocket (or newspaper); so they shamelessly helped themselves using the walls?
By Gilbert Kidimu
In school we were just about accustomed to people with less than gracious toilet manners. Remember those students who boldly walked into the latrine without tissue in their pocket (or newspaper); so they shamelessly helped themselves using the walls?
Let’s not forget those who just never scored and never cared. Needless to say we blamed the rearward habit on bad parenting.
Fast forward, as adults the pattern boldly lingers on. Like they say old habits die hard. A Pay-As-You-Earn paying adult with a university degree won’t hesitate to leave his remains for the cleaner to flash, or pee all over the toilet seat and just walk away relieved.
While it’s a commonly understood rule that what goes in must come out; i.e. get engrossed in a cocktail of treats and eventually you’ll need to send the same buffet packing, people just haven’t clicked the art of letting go gracefully.
Therefore seeing that not everyone understands the etiquette involved with offloading, especially in public toilets; below is an instructive guide on proper toilet etiquette. They say it’s not what you do but how you do it:
Close the door
No one needs to see you popping a vein in your forehead while you’re sitting down blowing a trumpet. For the sake of your own privacy, and for the sake of others, keep the door firmly closed at all times while conducting your very important business.
Use a toilet brush
In the event your bowel movement leaves behind stains, you should quickly wipe down the surface with a couple whisks of a toilet brush.
You don’t need to use cleaning products or spend an inordinate amount of time, but it’s important you make the effort to keep the bowl free of your DNA. Consider the next willing occupant.
Use air freshener
Air freshener isn’t for the cleaner to spray. It is yours to spray after you’re done dropping the bombs. Remember not all bowel movements are created equal, which is why you should be prepared to disguise your more offending odours with some nice scents.
Granted, a brief spray won’t magically transform the apparently abhorrent environment into a fragrant bed of roses, but it will mask the smell with a less nauseating odour.
Clean the seat
Ideally, after flushing you shouldn’t leave any splatter behind, but whether you do or not, it’s essential to wipe down the toilet seat for the next occupant. After all, the cleanliness of the seat reflects directly upon you.
Leave the whole cubical tidy
Flushing your toilet is just one part of keeping your stall tidy. Don’t forget to also pick up your toilet paper if it’s fallen to the floor, remove any newspapers or reading materials that you’ve brought in and clean up the toilet seat if you’ve splattered or sprayed.
It’s important to treat a public toilet with just as much care and respect as you treat your toilet at home.
If you can’t do that, then perhaps you should be conducting your business outdoors behind a mango tree. By the way public toilets are those at work, church, along Kampala road, etcetera.
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