Marguerite
Active Member
My eldest sister had three boys plus a difficult child husband. The bathroom the males used - she made it their responsibility to keep clean. She wouldn't use it, neither would her daughters. I had to use it one day when we were visiting (before she told me to stay out of that one) and it was awful - they'd originally been bright red tiles on the floor, now they were brown. I actually had a brief go at cleaning them - surely it was just a layer of uric acid? But it would have taken a jackhammer to get it off, it had been left for so long.
I challenged my eldest nephew on why it was so bad - he said he couldn't get it all clean and it built up faster than he could clean it. I gathered it had all been left for him as eldest son. I knew their dad would be not only useless, but also almost arrogant in his expectation of others cleaning up after him.
Another sister got angry with me for chipping her son about his toiletting habits - the 10 yo boy went right into the bathroom to use the toilet and left the door wide open while he was in there, and the placement was such that people entering the house could see everything. That sister said, "Wait until you have kids - then you won't be so smug!" (I was pregnant with easy child at the time).
husband was a stickler for the rules - our kids learned as soon as they could reach the door handle, to close the door to the toilet whenever they used it. Also they were taught to wipe up all spills immediately. ALL spills. ALL kids. That one took time, but we did it. Every so often I'd have to go in and do a more thorough long-term clean, but our blue tiles on the floor are still bluer, not green. The white seat is still white. And our kids always close the door and put the LID down afterwards. To use our bathroom - the door is closed. So you knock. Inside there is a latch you can draw across if you're worried about people who don't know to knock. As you come out - the door is shut behind you again.
It can be done, even with difficult children who have problems with bladder and bowel control. And my daughter in law thanks me!
To teach kids the fast clean - grab a few sheets of toilet paper. Wipe up the spill while it's wet and it's yours - after all, it came form inside you, so you should have no problems about touching it. Urine is sterile anyway. Plus you're going to wash your hands afterwards with soap, aren't you? Then when the spill is wiped up with the toilet paper, you drop the paper in the toilet bowl.
Next step - lift the seat. Wipe the hinge. That is where urine can collect, especially with males who have a bad aim (it points IN the bowl, not the back of the seat). So wipe the hinge and the underside of the seat. Close it. Now lift it and wipe again - because it has collected IN the hinge. Do this until it is clean and dry. If you can't get it clean - get a parent to do the next step of removing the seat, taking it outside with a scrubbing brush and giving it a thorough scrub especially round the hinge. And make a note - ALWAYS wipe up the hinge after every spill, so it won't build up.
I learned from my eldest sister's brown (once red) bathroom tiles - you have to teach the kids to stay on top of this and be prepared to do this yourself until the kids get the hang of it. I've often called kids back to clean and if they complain, "It wasn't me!" I make a point of calling them back to take turns. Eventually the problem kid gets it taken out of them by the other kids and soon I will know who the real culprit is.
The other thing I have learned form observation, conversation and husband's notes - uncircumcised males have a more difficult problem with side-spray. Sorry to be so gross - but there it is. It's the price we pay for an extra piece of skin and if the bloke values that piece of skin, he has to accept the cleaning responsibility that comes with it. After all, there are other minor cleaning responsibilities that come with a foreskin.
Also as boys get older and more impatient to be finished (so they can get back to what they were doing) you get the "I'm not as finished as I thought I was" side spray along the wall as he turns and heads out. You get the corresponding ammonia contamination of clothing, as the last drop (and more) soaks in to clothing. Girls can get the same thing only it's the seat and floor that cop it and not the wall. Also a problem with girls - the front of the underside of the seat. If your seat is plastic or varnished timber, even a long-term stain should clean up off it easily.
We taught this to our kids. It took time and a lot of patience. husband had to teach me, too - when you grow up with an outhouse kind of toilet, your rules are a bit different - you want to get out of there and minimise your spider exposure time! (There used to be an Aussie song on the charts, "There Was a Redback on the Toilet Seat When I Was There Last Night" - I kid you not! A Redback is an Aussie Black Widow spider and very nasty. We have lots of them but now good antivenin).
Kids at a certain age, especially boys, are a nightmare in the loo. But if you give up on them and let it all slide, they will continue in bad habits for life (like my eldest sister's useless exH).
Marg
I challenged my eldest nephew on why it was so bad - he said he couldn't get it all clean and it built up faster than he could clean it. I gathered it had all been left for him as eldest son. I knew their dad would be not only useless, but also almost arrogant in his expectation of others cleaning up after him.
Another sister got angry with me for chipping her son about his toiletting habits - the 10 yo boy went right into the bathroom to use the toilet and left the door wide open while he was in there, and the placement was such that people entering the house could see everything. That sister said, "Wait until you have kids - then you won't be so smug!" (I was pregnant with easy child at the time).
husband was a stickler for the rules - our kids learned as soon as they could reach the door handle, to close the door to the toilet whenever they used it. Also they were taught to wipe up all spills immediately. ALL spills. ALL kids. That one took time, but we did it. Every so often I'd have to go in and do a more thorough long-term clean, but our blue tiles on the floor are still bluer, not green. The white seat is still white. And our kids always close the door and put the LID down afterwards. To use our bathroom - the door is closed. So you knock. Inside there is a latch you can draw across if you're worried about people who don't know to knock. As you come out - the door is shut behind you again.
It can be done, even with difficult children who have problems with bladder and bowel control. And my daughter in law thanks me!
To teach kids the fast clean - grab a few sheets of toilet paper. Wipe up the spill while it's wet and it's yours - after all, it came form inside you, so you should have no problems about touching it. Urine is sterile anyway. Plus you're going to wash your hands afterwards with soap, aren't you? Then when the spill is wiped up with the toilet paper, you drop the paper in the toilet bowl.
Next step - lift the seat. Wipe the hinge. That is where urine can collect, especially with males who have a bad aim (it points IN the bowl, not the back of the seat). So wipe the hinge and the underside of the seat. Close it. Now lift it and wipe again - because it has collected IN the hinge. Do this until it is clean and dry. If you can't get it clean - get a parent to do the next step of removing the seat, taking it outside with a scrubbing brush and giving it a thorough scrub especially round the hinge. And make a note - ALWAYS wipe up the hinge after every spill, so it won't build up.
I learned from my eldest sister's brown (once red) bathroom tiles - you have to teach the kids to stay on top of this and be prepared to do this yourself until the kids get the hang of it. I've often called kids back to clean and if they complain, "It wasn't me!" I make a point of calling them back to take turns. Eventually the problem kid gets it taken out of them by the other kids and soon I will know who the real culprit is.
The other thing I have learned form observation, conversation and husband's notes - uncircumcised males have a more difficult problem with side-spray. Sorry to be so gross - but there it is. It's the price we pay for an extra piece of skin and if the bloke values that piece of skin, he has to accept the cleaning responsibility that comes with it. After all, there are other minor cleaning responsibilities that come with a foreskin.
Also as boys get older and more impatient to be finished (so they can get back to what they were doing) you get the "I'm not as finished as I thought I was" side spray along the wall as he turns and heads out. You get the corresponding ammonia contamination of clothing, as the last drop (and more) soaks in to clothing. Girls can get the same thing only it's the seat and floor that cop it and not the wall. Also a problem with girls - the front of the underside of the seat. If your seat is plastic or varnished timber, even a long-term stain should clean up off it easily.
We taught this to our kids. It took time and a lot of patience. husband had to teach me, too - when you grow up with an outhouse kind of toilet, your rules are a bit different - you want to get out of there and minimise your spider exposure time! (There used to be an Aussie song on the charts, "There Was a Redback on the Toilet Seat When I Was There Last Night" - I kid you not! A Redback is an Aussie Black Widow spider and very nasty. We have lots of them but now good antivenin).
Kids at a certain age, especially boys, are a nightmare in the loo. But if you give up on them and let it all slide, they will continue in bad habits for life (like my eldest sister's useless exH).
Marg
