Do you close the bathroom door?

[OpalCat]

I was just wondering what other people's habits were with regard to closing the bathroom door. I don't like to close it, because I like to let the cats come in and out the rest of the time. If I need to go #2 I use the bathroom off the master bedroom which means that nobody can see in unless they come all the way into that bedroom, which nobody ever does.

[Duckster]

Our cats do not allow any interior door to be closed, especially if one of their "hoomans" are on the other side.

[lieu]

Yes. Trust me, it's better for everyone involved.

[Cat Whisperer]

Yeah, the cats make a fully closed door noisy. I close it most of the way, most of the time (if my husband is home - we're not public bathroom people around here). I also close it most of the way for showers so the smoke detector doesn't go off.

[Omar Little]

The toilet is enclosed with a separate door within our master bathroom. If I'm taking a dump, I'll shut that door, but otherwise the main door to our bathroom stays open, with the exception of in the morning when I'm getting ready for work, I'll shut the main bathroom door, so I don't disturb my wife while she's sleeping.

[Jack Batty]

If I close the door to the bathroom while I'm copping a squat, I wouldn't be able to see the strategically placed TeeVee.

I'm a multi-tasker, you understand.

[Wheelz]

The population of my house is comprised of me, my wife, and two kitties.
I can verify that kitties don't like any closed doors anywhere in the house, but on the other hand, the wishes of my wife and me usually trump the wishes of the kitties.

In this case, though, they don't have to. Bathroom doors are always open in our house, no matter what we're doing in there. Neither of us happens to be particularly modest in front of one another in any context. Unless, of course, we have guests. We're not animals.

[NinetyWt]

I always close the door. It's a kind of "cocoon" thing with me - anytime I'm in a room by myself, I prefer to have the door closed.

Hubby leaves it open when he showers, because he doesn't like it when the mirror fogs up. Otherwise he closes the door.

We have no cats or other indoor pets who need to get in.

[panache45]

The bathroom door is wide open at all times. The only other person ever in the house is my partner, plus the cats like to visit when I'm in there.

[Voyager]

Stays open if I'm alone or if my wife is there, which is most of the time. Stays open of the bedroom door is shut also. I almost always close the door to the little bathroom off the laundry room though.

Not much problem with the dog anymore, though she used to like to come in and deposit a bone on my lap when I was sitting on the pot.

[BigT]

I really don't pay much attention to it. Sometimes I shut the door, sometimes I don't. But there is one time when I always shut it: when it's cold in the house and I'm having to use our space heater to keep it warm.

[silenus]

Open. Cats. All that needs to be said.

[aceplace57]

I Never shut the bathroom door unless there's guests in the house.

I don't like the bedroom door closed either. Worries me that I can't hear the rest of the house. If someone breaks in, I don't want to find out when they kick open my bedroom door.

[Khadaji]

I live alone, so only if there are guests in the house.

[Digital is the new Analog]

I live alone. No intentional pets. Maybe the occasional lizard gets in..but I don't think they really care about my bodily functions. So door open, unless someone is over visiting.

[elfkin477]

Yes and no. I mean that literally: there are two doors to the bathroom, and the one into the generally low-traffic laundry room is usually opened a little so the cats can wander through. The other door, the one into the hallway, is closed when the bathroom is occupied.

[Musicat]

There's never been a better thread to tell a story from my family's history.

My mother had a very free attitude towards personal matters, and never closed the door to the bathroom no matter what (as long as there was only the two of us). After she was grown, her father divorced and remarried, and she ended up with another "mother", my grandmother, who was more...shall we say...conventional.

We all shared a cottage every summer. It was a cottage in every sense of the word; although it could sleep up to 12 very friendly people in bunk beds and under the eves, it had only one bathroom, in the middle of the house, with the only natural light from a tiny, grungy window in the side of the shower which looked out onto an enclosed porch. Much like the lighting in the rest of the house, it had a bare bulb in the center of the room, with a string that you had to grope for or do without.

One dark day my grandmother went to use the toilet. She entered the bathroom, closed the door, pulled down her pants in one swift motion as usual, then let out a scream. "Beatrice! Why the fuck don't you close the door??!?"

She had sat on my mother, who was already occupying the toilet.

From then on, my mother always closed the door.

[Justin Credible]

Only if there's someone else in the house.

[Lynn Bodoni]

In our old house, bathroom door was open, unless I was taking a shower and had the heater going. We have cats.

In the new house, I have the master bedroom/bath, and I keep the cats out of that suite because I have my sewing machine in there. Cats like to eat needles, thread, and various sewing notions. If I'm in my suite, I don't close the door, unless I'm taking a shower with the heater on.

In the new house, if I go in the main bathroom, I generally leave the door open because of the cats, who complain bitterly that they're not getting nearly as much quality bathroom time as they did in the old house.

[gravitycrash]

That was one of the few things that I absolutely hated about my ex-wife. I could be brushing my teeth or shaving and she would just come in and pee/poo while talking to me like nothing was going on.

Blech. Bodily functions having to do with evacuation pretty much disgust me so yeah, everything in private for me.

I guess that means golden showers aren't really my thing either.

[Sally Mander]

Originally Posted by NinetyWt

It's a kind of "cocoon" thing with me - anytime I'm in a room by myself, I prefer to have the door closed.

This, pretty much sums it up for me...the 'coccoon' thing.
If I'm home alone, I don't bother to close the door, though. You have to sort of shove the bathroom door to make it latch, so when I shower, I close it, but it doesn't always catch, which means I end up with the kitties wandering in and out.
There's nothing like finishing a shower and opening the curtain to see two cats sitting on the edge of the sink, staring intently at you.
I just know they're thinking, "Oh my God, you were in there with all the scary water! Are you okay?!?"

[Ann Onimous]

Door is always closed. Pre-teen son, pre-teen daughter, and a dog. Enough said.

[kapri]

I live alone, so only when showering, because otherwise the shower curtain sort of sways in the breeze. Also, of course, when I have company.

[pulykamell]

I pretty much always close it, even if there's nobody in the house. Force of habit, I guess.

[Pyper]

Actually, I just thought of an "other." I live alone and always leave the door open unless I am using my neti pot. Then I have to shut the door or the cat will come running to lick the snot water draining from my nose.

You're welcome.

[BaneSidhe]

Originally Posted by Duckster

Our cats do not allow any interior door to be closed, especially if one of their "hoomans" are on the other side.

Same here. If it's closed, HRH KittyFace must open it. And in the winter you have to keep the space heater on when you're taking a bath because you're going to freeze since she keeps shoving the door back open.

[Cat Whisperer]

Originally Posted by YoSaffBridge

<snip>
There's nothing like finishing a shower and opening the curtain to see two cats sitting on the edge of the sink, staring intently at you.
I just know they're thinking, "Oh my God, you were in there with all the scary water! Are you okay?!?"

My cat sits there and starts washing herself when I'm having a bath or shower. It's like she's thinking - "Oh, is it cleaning time? Guess I better get on that!" (Or the fact that cats are always either sleeping, eating, or cleaning themselves, but I like my version better.)

My husband's cat has taken to the occasional nap on the bath rug right where I have to step out of the tub. I figure that's because she's a cat and inconveniencing humans is right in the job description.

[fachverwirrt]

The door stays closed, all the time. If a cat needs to get in while I'm in there (one of them ALWAYS wants in when I'm pooping, never any other time, and generally not when my wife is in there), she'll scratch. If no one's in there, the door stays closed because otherwise the same cat will unroll the entire toilet paper roll while no one's looking.

[HazelNutCoffee]

Originally Posted by Musicat

From then on, my mother always closed the door.

Hilarious!

Sometimes I leave the door open if I'm brushing my teeth, but usually I close it automatically once I step in. My cat occasionally stands guard outside, but she rarely makes a fuss about it.

[flatlined]

Another cat slave here. The only time I'm allowed to close a door is if they are with me. That doesn't last long, though. After about 30 seconds, they realize they are on the wrong door and exciting things MUST be happening in the other room.

[chizzuk]

Closed unless my roommate is out of town and there's no chance of someone walking in (my apartment complex has permission to deliver our packages into our apartment). Then I leave it open to feel "rebellious."

Always closed when I'm in the shower, though.

[madmonk28]

It's nice to have the few minutes of privacy, so I close the door unless I'm alone.

[KidScruffy]

I used to close it 100% of the time.

Now, I never close it. Unless I'm in that rare mood where I don't mind if my son takes everything out of the refrigerator, breaks all the dishes, unfolds the laundry, destroys my laptop, and burns down the house.

[Kaio]

It's just me and the feline overlords, so why bother? I wander around the apartment in the buff, too.

If I have guests, I'll close it, but man it drives me up a wall to shower with the door closed, and then attempt to put clothes on in the steam. Bleh.

[Cugel]

"if I'm pooping" in the bathroom, there'd be more serious issues than whether the door was open or not. I prefer to use the toilet.

[gwendee]

I'll leave the door open if I'm just brushing my teeth or fixing my hair (anything that doesn't involve dislodging any clothing) so that my husband and son know I can be chased out if there's a need (we have just the one bathroom).

We all close the door for the most part whenever we're in there.

The cat objects but I find it entertaining to watch how much of herself she can squeeze under the door. It's a surprising percetage.

[Lynn Bodoni]

OK, I was resisting, but I MUST post this: http://www.twolumps.net/d/20040326.html . Keep clicking "next" til the end of the arc, about four or five strips. The Two Lumps are two Russian Blue kitties, and Snooch (the one who's squeezing under the door) is a particularly dumb kitty. Ebenezer, his brother, is quite smart...and quite evil.

[Alessan]

You know, I have a cat, and sure, sometimes she wants to investigate the bathroom when I'm in it. But you know what? Tough shit. I still pay the rent, and if she wants to open doors, maybe she should evolve opposable thumbs.

[sandra_nz]

Originally Posted by Cugel

"if I'm pooping" in the bathroom, there'd be more serious issues than whether the door was open or not. I prefer to use the toilet.

Explanation for Americans: In NZ/Australia, the bathroom refers to the room with a shower/bath/basin. There is a seperate 'toilet' which contains, well, the toilet.

[norinew]

I keep my bathroom door almost all the way closed most of the time, not having much to do with modesty. My daughter's snakes 'live' in the bathroom, and we keep a space heater in there for them, so I keep the door closed to keep the heat in.

I do like my privacy when I'm having a tub soak, though, so at those times, the door not only gets completely closed, sometimes it even gets locked!

I do like to close it all the way when I'm on the toilet because one of my kitties thinks bathroom time is an appropriate time to jump up in my lap!

[Khadaji]

My dog hates for me to be out of her sight, but for the most part when I'm taking care of business she is content to watch me from the hallway.

I think part of that is: there is always a danger I may decide to close the door and give her the dreaded bath. So if she doesn't actually come in, I can't trick her.

[stpauler]

If anyone else is there, I live alone, I will close the door. I'll also close the door if I'm alone and pooping to contain any malodorous waftings from moving their tentacled fingers to other rooms.

Funny anecdote: I was 20 and dating a guy for a couple weeks and he wanted to do a roadtrip up to see his parents and 5 siblings at their farm house in Northern Wisconsin. It was a long drive up there and at no point did he warn me about the bathroom usage at the house. It turns out that if you go in for a pee, you close the door and you're fine. But if you're going for a poop, why that's what the other chair is for. So someone can keep you company. Needless to say, I held it in until we had to run into town to get something.

[Khadaji]

That is quite odd. I would never consider pooping to be a social event.

[corkboard]

Originally Posted by Kaio

It's just me and the feline overlords, so why bother? I wander around the apartment in the buff, too.

If I have guests, I'll close it, but man it drives me up a wall to shower with the door closed, and then attempt to put clothes on in the steam. Bleh.

Why wouldn't you just leave the bathroom and dress in the bedroom? Or is that where the guests would be?

I usually close the door only to poop (no pets but a wife and two daughters), but lately I've been sitting to pee because of a bladder issue that sometimes makes it difficult to pee standing up. So if I went in just to pee, the door is open but every now and then my body decides "well, I'm sitting anyway, so I might as well take care of everything now", even though I didn't realize a poop was necessary. So at least 25% of the time I end up pooping even though the door's open. If my wife happens to come in for any reason, I hold off on the depth charges until she's gone. The only other reason to close the door is if I have to get up and shower before my wife's ready to get up, and I don't want to wake her.

[Student Driver]

My cat likes to come in when I'm in there, and raises holy hell if the door is closed. Banging the door with her head, clawing chips of paint off of the door, yowling. If I leave the door open, she comes in, rubs my legs, then curls up on the bathroom scale and quietly watches me do whatever. It's a lot more peaceful if the door is open, and frankly, she's good company.

She doesn't behave like that if people are present. If guests are over, or a girlfriend, or whatever, the door is closed and she doesn't react.

One that might have earned an "other" but seems so minor that I didn't actually vote for it: if I've got a cleaning product soaking into stains in the tub, or have used any other product which gives off fumes or is potentially dangerous, like Drano or something, I close the door when I leave the room. She's a former stray who still will drink water from any source, no matter how nasty, and I don't want her lapping up some droplets in the tub. Since I'm not in the room, she's not vociferous about gaining access.

[Misnomer]

I chose both "if I'm showering" and "only if I have guests over." I live alone with my dog, and when it's just me and her there's no need to close the door when I'm using the toilet. She might wander in to say hello, but she mostly leaves me alone in there. If anyone else is in my house, though, or if I'm in someone else's house, the door gets closed each and every time.

I like to close the door when showering, so that the room isn't freezing cold when I'm done (using the fan prevents the mirror from fogging up). The closed door also acts as a little buffer zone for any, uh, "quality time."

[Philster]

Always. Even if home alone.

[Kaio]

Originally Posted by corkboard

Why wouldn't you just leave the bathroom and dress in the bedroom? Or is that where the guests would be?

Cuz walking naked down the hallway from bathroom to bedroom kinda defeats the purpose of having had the door closed to begin with. If I didn't mind the person seeing me naked (true for a SO, not true for a platonic friend), I wouldn't close the door to begin with, to let the steam out. And I'd walk naked down the hall to dress in the bedroom.

[corkboard]

That's why I have a robe.

[Taomist]

I chose the first option, but it's a little different for us right now, as this apartment has a kind of long bathroom with a walk-in closet on one end, and the toilet 'room' has it's own separate door.

This is a small place, but a relatively huge bathroom! I close the toilet door when using the toilet, and the closet door when in there because otherwise the cats think their dad's clothes are just a treat to climb on and tear up.

For showers I don't, because the kids don't come in there <it's off the master bath> and the cats like to come sit in between the shower curtains, daring each other to get wet or something, I dunno.