My First Review...and it ain't the one I WAS going to do!

Okay, kids! Time to finally do a review. I can't believe it has been a month since my first post, but life comes first. I had planned on doing a review of my first A+ bathroom, but for some reason I think I'll postpone that for another time because it isn't local and I realize that the flash of the place might have unduly influenced my opinion. That being said, I did run across a bathroom that rates a solid A and it was in one of the most surprising places...Sam's Club.

Relatively recently Sam's Club remodeled their store here in Wichita Falls (for the handful of you that might be wondering where I reside). The remodel probably occurred no more than five years ago and the bathrooms were part of that redo. Originally, they were to your left when you entered the store, but now they are far to the right next to the pharmacy.

As with all good bathrooms they have a no door entrance. Actually it is a common entrance for both the men's and women's restrooms. To the left is the men's. Clearly, you will only rarely get a review from me in regards to women's restrooms. That's a joke folks! When you walk in, you see that the restroom is set up as a long rectangle. Immediately to your right is a hand-drying station, across from it is a pulldown diaper-changing table. Farther in are the sinks to the left, urinals to the right and then farther down from the urinals are the stalls.

A good user will examine the restroom for functionality determining what steps he might have to go through to actually leave the restroom without having to befoul his hands, but those steps are completely unnecessary at this restroom. The urinals have sensors that automatically flush the urinal after use. The sinks are a bit peculiar in their shape and function, but they, too, have automatic sensor dispersing a spray of water for soaping and rinsing. The flow is not excessive, saving water, but it is more than adequate for the purpose. The only downside is that you find yourself bumping your hands against the sink where the water comes out. It's actually very hard to avoid this.

There are two options for drying your hands: either the hand dryers which have sensors for starting (no pushing buttons with your elbows after a wash) or you can pull down towels. Towels are dispensed from a central core that leaves a small protruding end for you to pull on each time the previous towel is dispensed. The waste can is by the door on the way out, open without a lid and easy for towel disposal.

Aside from the difficulties with stalls (which I'll discuss some other time), this bathroom represents really sound engineering. In fact you can enter Sam's Club and use the bathroom and then leave without ever having to touch a door or handle.

Unfortunately, I didn't have time for photos but I'll try take some quick ones next time I'm there. Clearly not ever business can afford to build such a nice restroom, but versions of this same bathroom scaled down are possible in all new construction and well worth the effort. Also it encourages hand washing, something that is commonly ignored.

Welcome to Rate-a-Bathroom

I want to welcome all of you OCDers out there to my loverly little blog. I'm hoping that the word can spread and others will submit their favorite and least favorite bathrooms with accompanying fotos to compliment their reports. Unfortunately, I don't have any fotos...yet, but that shall change.

So, aside from the obvious, what are are the whys and wherefores of this blog. Well, I decided that my own internal rating system when I go out in public needed to be seeded into the blogosphere so that others can enjoy and appreciate when a business works hard to make their bathrooms easier to leave without having to touch anything before exiting. This is especially important if you've gone out to eat.

Now I recognize the OCD component of this, but bear with me. This is practical and I shall elucidate the reasons why below:

1) Handwashing is the easiest way to prevent infections: http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/hand-washing/HQ00407

2)Most people don't engage in proper handwashing techniques. Do you even come close to doing the below:

Proper hand washing with soap and water
Follow these instructions for washing with soap and water:

• Wet your hands with warm, running water and apply liquid soap or use clean bar soap. Lather well.
• Rub your hands vigorously together for at least 15 to 20 seconds.
• Scrub all surfaces, including the backs of your hands, wrists, between your fingers and under your fingernails.
• Rinse well.
• Dry your hands with a clean or disposable towel.
• Use a towel to turn off the faucet.

3) Studies show that most people DON'T wash their hands

4) Men are the WORST at washing their hands

5) No matter how much you shower and bathe, you can't remove E. Coli from the region from just below your navel to the mid-thigh region. If you touch ANYWHERE in that region, you will pick up some bacteria on your hands


So I do my best to use proper technique so that I might leave a bathroom and begin to eat my food with a minimal bacterial load. Why do I say minimal? Because seriously folks, do your really think that the cook, the waitress and everybody in between have washed THEIR hands in the same manner? Have you ever watched the reality show Hell's Kitchen? Those guys are TOUCHING the food before it goes out. They are wiping their hands all over their faces, touching their noses, ad nauseum! I KNOW I'm not going to avoid it completely, but perhaps I can avoid a little of it by getting in and out of a bathroom without having to foul my hands a little more.

The ratings system will be just like school from F to A with pluses and minuses as well. I'll give examples of all as I go along but just as a rule: If you can get out of the bathroom in some way, ANY way without fouling your hands, the bathroom gets a C. The easier they make it on you, the higher the rating. The harder, the lower the rating. Getting an F is self-explanatory folks! Let's just say F as in feces!

Next Post: My first rating and it's a doozy! A+ out of the gate