Public Service Announcement
Here's a little bit of info for all the males out there. You pee all over the bathroom. Yes you do. You may lift the seat. You may think you are oh so careful. But let me tell you, unless you are scrubbing that bathroom buddy, you have no idea what a mess you are making. Sure, you can point your finger at your young son just learning to use the potty. He's the one making all the mess! I'll have to agree, he's guilty too. But you...you grown up adult man you....you are making quite the mess in the bathroom. In fact, the taller you are, the more mess you are likely to make. And the taller you are, the less likely you are to even see the mess you are making.
Which brings me on to another point. Lifting the toilet seat. I think that most boys are taught at a young age that they should lift the seat before they use the bathroom. And hopefully these boys are also taught that it is kind to lower the seat when they are done. This second point is less important to me. But I know that in many homes there are toilet seat battles between males and females. Leave the seat up! No, put the seat back down! The battle rages on! Toilet paper is flying throughout the world!
As I said, it is less important to me that males put the toilet seat back down when they are done. I say this because some people I know (and love dearly) like to use the bathroom without lifting the seat at all! They insist that they are careful. But I will have to refer them to my first paragraph. If you're tall, you're making a mess, buddy, and you're not even seeing the mess you make! And if you're not lifting the seat either, then it's easy to see the problem here. I don't want to have to clean up dribbles before I can use the bathroom. Nor do I want to have a little "surprise" when I use the bathroom in the dark of night. NOT FUN MY FRIEND! This is such an annoying problem frequently in our house and I have insisted that the only rule I care about is the actual lifting of the seat. I don't care at all if the seat gets put back down. I'm a smart person, I can see the toilet seat is up, I can easily put it down. And believe me, I'd MUCH rather put a seat down than have to clean pee off the toilet. So I suggest to all homes where men and women reside: Men leave the seat up! Women leave the seat down! And if you need to move the seat to do your business, then do so! And for heaven's sakes if you dribble...clean it up! I also firmly believe that since men make most of the messes in the bathroom then they should have to learn how to properly scrub a toilet. P-R-O-P-E-R-L-Y! None of this half scrubbing business. Trust me folks, if your dirty bathroom smells like pee, you can bet it was not a female's fault.
Thank you for your attention. Please go forth lifting and lowering the toilet seat my fellow citizens.
posted by Carolyn at
7:36 AM
15 Comments:
When I was 16 and went to live the Upshaw family I was charged with scrubbing the bathroom floor because allegedly I was the one causing the dribbles. "Impossible!" I said, confident in my expert urine evacuation abilities. "It must be Tommy."
Determined to prove my point I laid out toilet paper on the floor all around the bowl. If a drop fell then I would know it. At last I could PROVE beyond a shadow of a doubt that I was not the culprit.
I cleaned the floors from that day forward.
We always lift the seat at our house. Jacen has been taught to lift the seat and does a great job of it too. And we put the seat back down as well. I joke with Shanna about this all the time though. We outnumber her 3-1 in our house so it is only natural that the seat should stay up! The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few.
8:43 AM
I'm afraid I don't know what you're talking about......
Okay honey - after my public humiliation, I will lift the seat up from this day forward!!!
I am glad though that I can just leave it up - I've never been a big fan of that argument. IF YOU WANT THE SEAT DOWN THEN CHECK BEFORE YOU SIT DOWN.
Thank you. That is all.
9:01 AM
Well it wasn't my intent to publicly humiliate but....hey, if it works! :-)
9:18 AM
I'm afraid I differ about put the seat back down. I have landed on porcelain in the middle of the night, and that is no fun either. Here I was trying to stay half asleep when the jarring of cold water and porcelain completely wakes me up. It is a big annoyance to me. And, yes, dan, I cleaned dribble off the seat at your house before I could sit down.
10:22 AM
I have say that I am all for looking before you sit. But I guess that's kind of challenging in the middle of the night. We have a small night light in our bathroom. It's bright enough for me to see if the toilet seat is up or down, but NOT bright enough for me to see if there is dribble on the seat.
I still stand behind my idea that people can leave the seat either up or down. And the next person should just move the seat according to their needs. I'm sure plenty of men would argue that women always leave the seat down! Which is annoying for men who usually need to lift the seat, since a majority of the time they use the toilet they are standing. So it goes both ways. And who's to say that the default toilet seat placement is down? If we want to get picky I say that the default position of the toilet should be LID down as well. I can't tell you how many times things have gotten knocked off the sink into the open toilet. Now THAT'S annoying!
11:42 AM
And really if you left the seat up when you were done, then we'd all be in business, right?
11:45 AM
I am so glad that:
1) aaron admitted that he drips
2) I got to hear it
3) there are witnesses (to him saying it, not doing it :)
4) aaron teaches jacen put the lid down for my sake- thank you!
5) carolyn was so brave to raise such a pertinent discussion on her blog and so witty that she did it in a truly entertaining manner!
While it is true that I am outnumbered by males in my house I, however, use the bathroom more times a day than all three put together. I use the bathroom at night more than anyone else and have fallen in the water (yes, aaron, even with your diligence at putting the seat down!) In fact, I have been lulled into a sense of security and EXPECT the lid to be down, making my midnight swims all the more shocking!) I think I can put up with the occasional plunge since it is accidental and very occasional. Since I am the main bathroom user it is only fair that it be left in a lid down state.
And, I know where your mind is going now, Aaron! You are thinking that if I spend the most time in the bathroom then I make it more dirty than the rest and should therefore clean it more times than the rest (I guess that means YOU since Jacen is only 3.) To the first point I respond with a "NAY, brother!" and to the latter I say "Nay, father!"
I love you.
12:07 PM
An even better reason to not leave the seat down. We don't want you lulled into a false sense of security.
Better that you be vigilant (yea, ever vigilant) every time!
12:10 PM
I got a good laugh out of reading all the toilet talk........I am an old fan of "If you sprinkle when you tinkle...be a sweetie and wipe the seatie".......Gotta go clean my bathroom......have a good day...ha....Love....Nicole
1:16 PM
Yes, I definitely agree with the "sprinkle, tinkle" quote. I have also been thinking about how more aesthetically pleasing it is to have the toilet seat down than up. The seat down makes your bathroom seem cleaner at first glance. When the seat is up you can SEE that it is dirty. That's not a pretty sight.
2:27 PM
I admit that Shanna DOES indeed go to the bathroom more often than everyone else. It isn't her fault, she was born without a bladder.
3:29 PM
All I can say is that I didn't do it!!!!!!!!!!
If I had to do things all over again, I'd never teach my boys to go potty standing up. Everyone should sit.
8:45 PM
Amen Carolyn. You are not alone. :-)
10:10 PM
Wow. thanks for that public bit of domestic unrest. As the self-designated manly-man of this little community I have the following comments
1. Way too much information.
2. Men do not sit down when they go.
3. They should clean up after themselves.
4. All men dream, when they are rich, of installing a proper urinal in their bathroom (at the proper height too, of course)
5. I have never understood the "falling in" argument. Try turning on a light. A proper lid-lifting well-aiming man will have to turn on a light to avoid cleaning up his own mess, so it only seems fair that the woman do the same.
6. My wife now believes that I too have now given too much information on this subject.
1:19 AM
Umm, one last comment about lid up/down. Putting the lid down helps deter toddlers from playing in the toilet, if only temporarily. Sometimes those few extra seconds can make a big difference.
4:28 PM
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