Toilets in public places

[Habitat]

We heard a lot of good things about Singapore - its remarkable cleanness, and presumed cleanness is everywhere. But somebody, who visited this year Singapore, mentioned, that toilets there are disgusting - very dirty with problems.

Is it true? To be honest it is such a shock! Almost scared me.

Toilets are important parts in human life, and seeing the dirty one in supposed a very clean country (and generally in any country) certainly would be a very unpleasant experience.

Could you give your feedback on this matter?

[BedokAmerican]

Like any city, it'll depend in where you are. Sometimes at the MRT stations or very crowded areas, toilets are not always clean. On the other hand, they often are. It's hit or miss.

One thing about toilets to note is that sometimes you have to pull toilet paper off a large spool BEFORE going into the stall, but other times there are spools in each stall. Something to watch for.

As far as general cleanliness goes, Sg is cleaner than many parts of Asia but I wouldn't say it's "sparkling clean." There are plenty of stray cats running around

[nakatago]

Like any city, it'll depend in where you are. Sometimes at the MRT stations or very crowded areas, toilets are not always clean. On the other hand, they often are. It's hit or miss.

One thing about toilets to note is that sometimes you have to pull toilet paper off a large spool BEFORE going into the stall, but other times there are spools in each stall. Something to watch for.

As far as general cleanliness goes, Sg is cleaner than many parts of Asia but I wouldn't say it's "sparkling clean." There are plenty of stray cats running around

I just go to the most inaccessible toilet in a mall when I have to unexpectedly do #2--more privacy and definitely cleaner!

[abbym]

I've not found any to be unpleasant yet other than in Starbucks. But like said before, it probably depends a lot on where you are.

Oh, and the bathroom in my apartment is also bad - because it's a wet room and you can smell the sewer through the drain in the middle of the room. I don't know if this is normal in singapore or just bad luck on the place we ended up with

[bgd]

Singapore is clean because there is an army of cleaners working behind the scenes to keep it that way. It's not really a case of Singaporeans being naturally cleaner than their neighbours. Why do we need litter fines?

Toilets here, in my limited experience, are not too bad on the whole. Often it depends on who has been in before you and how often they are cleaned. Sg is a melting pot of cultures and some have lower/different standards than others.

[Strong Eagle]

We heard a lot of good things about Singapore - its remarkable cleanness, and presumed cleanness is everywhere. But somebody, who visited this year Singapore, mentioned, that toilets there are disgusting - very dirty with problems.

Is it true? To be honest it is such a shock! Almost scared me.

Toilets are important parts in human life, and seeing the dirty one in supposed a very clean country (and generally in any country) certainly would be a very unpleasant experience.

Could you give your feedback on this matter?

Wait until you hit a concrete squatter in Noplace, Thailand, or Noplace, Malaysia, or Noplace, <NameThatSEACountry>. You'll think Singapore toilets are clean enough to have dinner in them.

[Wd40]

I think cleanliness is relative. I haven't been to Europe, but from what couple of my friends told me about London and Paris, Singapore is indeed clean.

Regarding Paris, I heard its the most over rated city and really dirty. In the train there, the poles that you hold for support are so dirty you wouldn't want to touch them. The person who told me this was a Singaporean by the way

[zzm9980]

We heard a lot of good things about Singapore - its remarkable cleanness, and presumed cleanness is everywhere. But somebody, who visited this year Singapore, mentioned, that toilets there are disgusting - very dirty with problems.

Is it true? To be honest it is such a shock! Almost scared me.

Toilets are important parts in human life, and seeing the dirty one in supposed a very clean country (and generally in any country) certainly would be a very unpleasant experience.

Could you give your feedback on this matter?

Wait until you hit a concrete squatter in Noplace, Thailand, or Noplace, Malaysia, or Noplace, <NameThatSEACountry>. You'll think Singapore toilets are clean enough to have dinner in them.

Or a regular public toilet in a location where most people only know how to use squatters!

I love this. As seen in a Starbucks bathroom in Suzhou, China. The second item in particular. When you see the toilet, you wonder how people got sh!t (literally) all over in the places they did, and then it all makes sense....

[sundaymorningstaple]

Sadly they still do that here as well. Especially in public toilets. It's not unusual to see sneaker or boot prints on the toilet seats and toilet paper strewn all around in a cubical.

[nakatago]

cubical.

You've been in Singapore too long.

[scarbowl]

I've found the toilets here to be generally cleaner, fresher, and more interestingly designed than in any of the 40+ other countries I've visited. If you are from the USA you are not in a position to criticize Singapore toilets. Toilets in US restaurants, malls, and pretty much anywhere outside of fancy hotels are smelly, dirty, and often disgusting. You'll be delighted with what you find here - not to mention how much safer you will feel and actually be here than in the States.

If you visit a hawker stand toilet you'll not be happy. But pretty much everywhere else you'll be pleased. If you are concerned, visit a nice hotel when you are out and the marble, towels, hand dryers, and so on may make you want to camp out there.

[scarbowl]

I think cleanliness is relative. I haven't been to Europe, but from what couple of my friends told me about London and Paris, Singapore is indeed clean.

Regarding Paris, I heard its the most over rated city and really dirty. In the train there, the poles that you hold for support are so dirty you wouldn't want to touch them. The person who told me this was a Singaporean by the way

Maybe you should hold your comments until you actually visit Paris?

[sundaymorningstaple]

I've found the toilets here to be generally cleaner, fresher, and more interestingly designed than in any of the 40+ other countries I've visited. If you are from the USA you are not in a position to criticize Singapore toilets. Toilets in US restaurants, malls, and pretty much anywhere outside of fancy hotels are smelly, dirty, and often disgusting. You'll be delighted with what you find here - not to mention how much safer you will feel and actually be here than in the States.

If you visit a hawker stand toilet you'll not be happy. But pretty much everywhere else you'll be pleased. If you are concerned, visit a nice hotel when you are out and the marble, towels, hand dryers, and so on may make you want to camp out there.

Unfortunately, I am not in the upper 20% income bracket so I don't spend a lot of my time in hotels but sufficiently more in hawker centres, and other Heartland type places, so after 30 years here, I'll stand my by statements. The reasons the ones you are talking about are clean is the army of cleaners cleaning up behind them. The heartlands cannot afford full time toilet aunties/uncles.

[zzm9980]

I've found the toilets here to be generally cleaner, fresher, and more interestingly designed than in any of the 40+ other countries I've visited. If you are from the USA you are not in a position to criticize Singapore toilets.

I'm not responsible for toilet or restroom hygiene in the US, nor have I ever been, so I'll criticize whatever the f*ck I want, thank you very much.

This topic wasn't about US Restrooms either, until you brought it up. Not sure why you felt the need to make the comparison, and then make a jab about "safety". At least I can put a funny sticker on a restroom door in the US and not have to worry about prison time or being caned.

[Habitat]

Thank you for the replays. Very helpful.

We visited USA and must say, we were positively surprised how clean their toilets are. We visited patrol stations toilets, some cafes toilets, and so on, and although they were not necessary most modern ones, they were very clean.

In Italy toilets are bad - smell, missing top seats, no soap and any paper to wipe bottoms or hands. Sometimes the room looks like a building site.

France… well, I cannot comment.

In Turkey, well, they were clean but old. Turkish people do care about personal hygiene, so you would see sometimes a man in charge of toilets.

Britain - hit and miss. Big famous shops can have bad toilets and small cafes good. Toilets system in UK is not well developed.

But the worst ones are in Russia. The smell, the dirt, location, cubicles, and everything that concern the toilets is so appalling, that it makes one wonder about people' national behaviour. Some toilets even have a hole in the ground! And those toilets - with hole in the ground - not necessary in some remote places, they can be in airports! Moreover, some people like to stand on toilets seats(!), or how you say - squatting - and for that no words to describe.

Are the holes in grounds and squatting typical for toilets in Asia? Do people there try to change their behaviour and attitude? Do they have bad personal hygiene?