Dirty Bowls

Lets talk turkey.  Truth is another confession, I don't do dirty bowls.  No we aren't talking about cereal bowls, or soup bowls, or even mixing bowls, this isn't about an aversion to washing dishes. I'm talking about toilet bowls.

There was a time, not so long ago, that the idea of using a public restroom would trigger my gag reflex, and send me into a panic.  I would rather hold my business for hours and days on end than use a public restroom.  It wasn't until I learned about the extreme dangers and risks associated with my choice to hold it, that I began to compromise and slowly accept that sometimes health takes precedence and I have to let it go.

I wasn't just afraid, however illogical it may seem to others, of the sufficiently plumbed restrooms in restaurants, gas stations, office buildings, etc., but I had an extreme fear of the germs and dangers lurking in your standard "Honey Bucket" port-o-potty, and direct sewer restrooms like you find in campgrounds and public beaches and parks.  The mere notion that the remains of other peoples waste was sitting unprocessed six feet beneath me was enough to cause night terrors and strike complete shutdown of my processing systems.

I use to let the potential of restroom proximity drive my desire for food and drink.  If I knew I wasn't going to have a place to go safely and securely, then I simply wouldn't eat or drink.

As I mentioned I learned about some of the inherent dangers of holding it for too long and I have managed to make adjustments along the way. It hasn't been easy, but I do feel a little more normal in social settings than I used to.   

Here are my standards today.  I still avoid the "Honey Bucket" and direct sewer settings,  unless I am in peril and I have no choice, then Jeff goes with me and waits outside the door providing reassurance that I'm safe. I still won't sit on the seat, electing instead to hover, and I restrict myself to a 60 second count inside.  I take my own tissue and sanitizer and will only use units with seat covers.  If they are out of seat covers, then they are out of the question.  Also I chose units with dry floors and seats, if there are signs of urine on the floor or seat,  it's a definitive NO GO.

Public restrooms have become, though not my favorite place to go (that's reserved for home), no longer feared. I do however have standards that they must meet.  They must be clean. If I walk into a public restroom that is dirty and has tissues tears all over the floor I immediately walk back out.  How do those tissue tears get there anyway?  Who just throws their used toilet paper on the floor?  Flush it ladies, be civilized.  Anyway.....we were talking about public restrooms.  If they pass the initial overall cleanliness test then it becomes a stall by stall observe and determine test.  I gently nudge each stall door to peak inside. Flushed toilets are critical, no toilet seat cover remnants, no tissue paper on the floor, no dribbles or marks on the seat, and the deal breaker for me, is no floaties,  I simply can't do a dirty bowl.  No marks inside, no floaties of any kind, not even disintegrating toilet paper.  A dirty bowl will shut me down quicker than an energizer bunny on radium.

I prefer my restroom at home, over and above ALL others, but if I have no choice I will go elsewhere with standards as long as specific criteria pass.  It is a PASS or FAIL system. There is no in between.

Dirty Bowls are a hard line for me.  There is a name for this phobia, it's called 'LUTROPUBLICAPHOBIA'. It's tied to a fear of germs, and people, and dirty places.

Hi, my name is Lisa and I'm a Lutropublicaphobic.  It's been 1 weeks since I last used a public restroom.