Stop Being an Asshole When You Share a Bathroom
Nearly one in three US adults live with an “extra adult” in the same household, according to Pew Research . Whether it’s a spouse, brother or sister, best friend, elderly parent, or roommate you find on Craigslist, many of us live together. Often this means that we share the bathroom, that is, the very space in which we clean and take care of ourselves. It might seem odd to share such a private, private domain, but there are ways to do it respectfully.
Do: Wipe down and take with you
It goes without saying (or should be taken for granted) to lower the toilet seat, but the best bathroom workers will go out of their way to clean the seat if necessary. Likewise, wipe the toothbrush spray off the mirror, dry any wet marks on the floor, close the shower curtain to prevent mold and mildew from forming in the folds , and hang towels and bathrobes. Are you running out of space? Hooks, hooks and other hooks .
What to do: Tidy up the sink (in your room).
Do you and your roommate share a sink? Do you also share this with pint-sized human gremlins? It is then imperative to remove debris from the edge of the sink . Not only is it dangerous to keep razors, liquid medicine residues and cleaning spray near your toothbrushes, it’s also not very good. Use drawers, cabinets, baskets, hanging shelves – whatever you have – to make your space neater and safer.
If you’re lucky enough to have a double vanity, hurray! However, put your things away anyway, as there is mounting evidence that clutter increases the production of the stress hormone cortisol and negatively affects our cognitive function.
Need to: replace toilet paper
How many times have we sat down and went about our business only to find one square inch of shrapnel when we needed it most? If TP runs out on your watch, even if you replaced it the last time, even if it is completely down, make friends and get a new cast. (And there is a correct way to hang it, according to the inventor himself and the mechanics of limiting bacterial contamination -and that hangs from the paper over the roller.)
How to: style your hair
There will always be naughty hair around the bathroom, but a good neighbor doesn’t leave a lot of hair in one place. Shaving razors should clean any recently trimmed sideburns from the sink and wipe down the surrounding countertop.
And it would be an oversight if I didn’t call myself and my long-haired friends here. Yes , it’s good that we collect the follicles that we lose when we wash our hair in one place, instead of allowing them to clog the drain. But no, we can’t leave them on the wall until they hit the shower floor like dried corn husks. We have to throw away this mess after every shower. Period. (And while we’re here, let’s all throw away the bushel of hair that is currently in our brushes.)
Don’t: leave the door open
Of course, close the door while you go about your business. But that’s not what we mean. If our roommate has just taken a shower and is basking in the atmospheric warmth of this shower, we should not open the door, start doing our own thing and leave it open until it gets cold. This man (who is still wet and chafed) burned his skin for a good ten minutes in the warmth at the jacuzzi level to create the same ambient temperature. Now these are theirs. Please don’t let this slip away.
Don’t use a roommate’s towel.
Towels may feel soft and fluffy, but with all that absorbency , a lot of dirt builds up . In addition to massive cross-infection with skin cells and bacteria, it’s annoying to jump out of the shower wet and face a cold wet towel that someone grabbed because they “couldn’t find” theirs. We know it sucks to realize that you don’t have a towel when you shower, but good roommates take this awful and tedious trip to the closet to pick up their own. (Or at least replace the one they brushed off immediately with a fresh one.)
Don’t: Drop bombs and walk away like it’s NBD
Look, the body has to do what it wants to do. Nobody can blame you for this. But leaving something nuclear in the closet and then leaving without making an effort to minimize the nasal injuries of innocent bystanders? Not cool. There are windows; open them. There are fans; turn them on. There are matches; light them up. There is Pu-Purri ; spray it. There are doors to adjoining rooms (sometimes to kitchens!); close them. Please, we must all do our part to protect the innocent.
Don’t: take forever
Nobody likes a hog in the bathroom. If many people in your home need to use a shared bathroom, it makes sense to schedule a specific time for each person and hang it on the door. If you can survive without it, be mindful of anything else that can be done elsewhere: get dressed, apply makeup, dry your hair, trim your toenails, apply lotion, etc. -substantial things can be done.
And seriously. Lower the seat. We’re falling here.