Discover a new kind of public restroom

We’ve all been there: You’re in an airport waiting for your flight to board. You’re lugging bags of clothes around the mall after a long day of shopping. Or, you’re spending time with the family at the museum. It doesn’t matter where you are, it’s inevitable that nature will come calling. And when it does, and you’re not home, have two choices: Hold it, or venture into the unknown of a public restroom.

Odds are, you’d probably speed home like a NASCAR driver. After all, no one wants to be face-to-face with urine-spotted seats, empty soap dispensers and shreds of toilet paper.

But next time, peek inside—public restrooms are getting cleaner and more comfortable, with the user’s health in mind. And who wouldn’t want to feel like they’re right at home on their own throne?

First Stop: The Entrance 

After a long day of shopping, you’ve handled money, tried on clothes and touched a slew of unseen germs. You want a place to wash up, but at the restroom, you’re immediately faced with grimy door handles.

To eliminate the need to open and close traditional doors, designers and architects are sending people through a series of twists and turns instead.

Kathryn H. Anthony is a design program faculty member at the School of Architecture at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. She says the increasingly common maze entry—often found in shopping malls and airports—is one of her favorite bathroom modernizations. It’s practical and offers more security, since there’s no door that can be blocked by an intruder or accident.

“This eliminates the need for people to handle restroom doors, and exposes them to fewer germs,” she says. “It also provides a greater sense of safety in the restroom.”

Next Stop: Captain’s Quarters

It takes a creative mind to flush a public toilet without using your hands. You’ve got the shirtsleeve technique, the elbow attempt, and the wadded up toilet paper way.

Engineers removed the gross factor with automatic flushing sensors. Some require a simple wave over the sensor, while others flush as soon as you stand up. Although more hygienic than traditional potties, they have not been 100% perfected, Anthony says. Anyone who has ever gotten a surprise flush while still sitting knows this.

“They tend to flush when not needed, and sometimes don’t flush when needed,” she says. “I have heard from many parents that small children find them very frightening, and that they can make toilet training even more of a challenge.”

Designers continue to work on ways to make the auto-flushers more accurate.

Next Stop: Sinks and Suds

Gone are the days of gripping hot and cold knobs covered in fingerprints and slimy old soap. Many modern public bathrooms are now armed with hands-free motion sensor fixtures, Anthony says.

Just a wave of your hand can trigger a squirt of soap, a sheet of paper towel, a blast of hot air, or a stream of water.

Sensor water taps are typically easy to operate. They even benefit the environment, as they prevent water overflow and help reduce water waste. They may even prevent scalding injuries.

While the technology and its benefits are cool, many people get easily frustrated with automatic faucets they think aren’t working properly. But, there is a solution.

“The faucets definitely help prevent the spread of germs,” she says. “But all too often, I see people waving their hands in all different directions, trying to get water to come out of the faucet, sometimes after they’re already soaped up, desperate to rinse off.”

The best solution is to keep your hands in one spot until the water starts. If you continuously wave your hands around, the faucet’s sensors will have trouble picking up on the location of your hands.

Last Stop: A Graceful Exit

You’ve done your business, washed your hands and now you’re ready to rejoin the world. If the bathroom has a traditional door, many people hold onto their paper towel to act as a barrier between them and the exit handle.

But now more doors have foot and arm hooks, alternate ways to open the door while avoiding the last germy surface. Just swing it open, and walk out comfortably, and hopefully cleaner than when you walked in.