I live ina household of men of various ages. I do most of the cleaning. Almost daily I go into a bathroom to find urine buildup around the base of the toilet. It's an awkward place to clean and rather nasty stuff. I'm sick of it. Yes, there are bathroom rugs that go around the base of the toilet, even though they don't always fit just right, but I don't want to have to throw a heavy rug into the washer so often. Even then they don't cover the whole base of the toilet. Know what I mean? So how do any of you deal with that. Making them clean up after themselves wouldn't work for that, as people don't always check for drops like that.
I also deal with kids who don't always lift up the seat to pee. I confronted one kid about it and asked him how he would like it if he had to go real bad, came rushing into the bathroom, only to find pee drops on the seat. How would he like it? His answer? If he had to go that bad he wouldn't mind sitting on it anyway. An extreme case, maybe, but I'd really rather not sit in someone else's pee, thank you anyway! LOL
But still, anybody have any ideas on keeping that clean?
Good luck - I'm interested in the answers and I only have a son and husband who are pigs! The only idea I can think of is to buy a roll of butcher paper, cut it to the size of the rug and place it over the rug. maybe the piggy - males will see their gross pee-drops and decide to clean it up themselves. (hahahahaha - I have to laugh even while I'm tyoping this - as if that would happen!)
I agree that Clorox wipes are handy. A rug just adds to the problem.
We sit.
I got up in the middle of the night to stand and go. I went back to our bed. My wife got up as soon as I was in bed and went in to go. She sat down on the cold porcelain and yelped. I knew I didn't want that to happen to my wife, so from that point on I always sat down.
That was about 25 years ago now and she never noticed. It came up in conversation about three weeks ago. She figured I couldn't stand anymore, not that I was being a loving husband. I know another husband that did the same thing for the same reason and his wife never figured it out or said thank you either. Wives don't always get the subtle things either. Its not just men.
Has your husband has done this for you? Did you say, "Thank you"?
Good luck to you and yours.
Some need for shock therapy comes to mind!
Saran wrap tightly over the bowl....SPLATTER CITY the next time they go!
It just might make an impression! (About how nasty it is to clean up pee--anyone's pee--even their own.)
My husband is very good--my 9 year old, not so much.
Clorox Wipes are my friend.
Sorry, that's all I've got!
Good luck.
My grandmother (house full ohn boys but only 3 girls) solved it this way:
Everyone has to sit.
There was some ignoring her in the beginning... And some retaliation. If she had to deal with other people's pee, they had to deal with hers. Just use your imagination. EVERYONE, by the way, so if even one person "cheated" they all suffered.
She also hung a 'testosterone' sign for guests/friends/etc;
If your hose is short, or your pressure is weak, better stand close or you'll pee on your feet.
In my house, I altered the rule a tad.
- Toilet seat left in the up position (I'm the only girl)
- toilet AND floor cleaned on a daily basis. By those who want to stand to pee. Doesn't matter if it LOOKS clean, it's cleaned every night before showers n stuff. ANYTHING OBVIOUS cleaned right there and then.
- no rugs to absorb pee (hide it) and stink of it
EVERY DAY... Or sitting. 2 options.
I hadnt cleaned the toilet in 7 years (until custody split, now i clean it once a week when kiddo is gone.). It's pristine.
We are even in our house when it comes to the gender split but I'd say with any sort of cleaning frustration, I agree with Rebecca B., make up a schedule for them to start cleaning it weekly and they will soon realize how nasty it is and hopefully be more careful. Since we started with extra chores this summer (b/c the kids have more time), my kids have both realized and even commented on how much work it is to clean something that is really dirty and are now (a little) more careful about creating messes in the first place. HTH!
I would get rid of the rug altogether and tell them to clean it up or hang a sign regarding the drips. I had a problem with my SD making the mess at the base of the toilet, she would sit at the very edge of the seat. Since I only had to have her clean it once and she stopped.
good luck!
I gave up, that's how I fixed it :)
I have 4 boys and a husband. Well our 5 yr old is too young to clean the toilet.. so that leaves 4 of them. There is 4 weekends in a month... I made up the cleaning schedule so that each one gets the bathroom a weekend. I no longer clean it. After they had to start cleaning and being grossed out by cleaning up someone elses pee not just their own, they became more careful.
I agree with getting rid of the rug completely. We don't use the rugs at all here because they're just so filthy and I found myself having to clean them several times a week... with three daughters and one husband. They never even seem to get truly clean. They harbor mold that you can't get rid of too.
Put up some nicely printed signs as reminders to take their time and wipe up their splatters or you're either going to start making them aim at Cheerios until they can learn to toilet properly OR you're going to make them sit down to pee every single time. That's what my mom did for my two brothers. She just got sick of the splatters and constant urine stench in the bathrooms no matter how often we cleaned in there.
TMI- but our family are sitters, too. Male or female. It's lovely-- I don't have to worry about cleaning up the floor, putting the seat down... "Bad aim" is responsible for lots of problems, including very real floor damage. I think it's disgusting NOT to have our boys clean up after themselves, personally. It's *their* urine.
I can't say I have this problem with a husband and a 4yo son. My husband is actually worse because he refuses to believe he leaves a mess. My son doesn't 'shake' when he's done, he 'dabs' with toilet paper when he's done and he wipes any drips off the rim. I would remove the carpet completely, keep wipes handy and wipe down every night? Good luck!
I raised two sons and a daughter. We shared one bathroom so at one point I thought about putting a cone on top of the toilet bowl. Our dog had had surgery and the vet put a cone around his neck so he could not bother the stitches.
I didn't do it but I know it bet it would work!
Get 3 sheets of paper towel. Fold one down enough to wedge it between the 2 anchors enough for it to stay. Fold the 2nd sheet in half, making a hole with your finger in a spot where you can stick it over an anchor on one side where you have enough to overlap the first sheet and you can hang it a little over the side. Repeat for the 3rd sheet. After, if you tuck the back edges of all 3 sheets under the tank, it should stay put.
I line the floor around the toilet with newpaper, even the part right behind the toilet. I also have lined the walls around and behind the toilet with plastic tablecloths and tape.
I kept a box of plastic gloves, a roll of paper towel, a stack of newspapers, pre-cut liners and a roll of tape under the sink so everything was on hand when it was time to clean, or a bottle of cleaning/bleaching spray to squirt on the lining in case I didn't have time to change everything out at the moment but didn't want the bathroom to smell like pee.
My husband sits most of the time. I would suggest clorox wipes also. But, i would make the men do it daily. It is their nastiness! I am thankful that i have four daughters....lol! I can smell pee in some peoples homes, mostly the ones with potty training boys.... goo!
