For some time now, here at work sometimes I go into the mens room and find that the toilet is covered in urine with the seat down (not lid, just the seat). It is splashed on the floor, etc… totally nasty. I figured there was someone who had a mental thing going or hated the company and this was his way of getting even. However I had noticed one day that as I went in, this one extremely obese guy in there washing his hands. I go to enter the stall, and its covered in pee again and I blew up, saying that if i ever caught who was doing it i would personally shove their head in the toilet. They guy muttered something like “yeah, i agree, i used the other one”… Then on friday I was heading to the restroom and he was just coming out, and again it was like that. I spoke to his supervisor who is my peer, and she said that our boss had said something once about him coming out of another bathroom that is hardly ever used, and the boss went in and it was like that. Anecdotal evidence, I agree, but it appears likely it is him. I said something to my wife about it, that the guy should just sit like a girl if he cant go normally (I figured he cant reach to direct the stream which caused the problem). My wife said that a friend of hers had told a story of someone who was keeping an obese kid, and that he had to sit to pee, but somehow it made his penis point upwards and he couldnt get it aimed downward. He had to place a washcloth across his lap and basically just pee into it, and let the urine trickle dow as it can (hey, I warned you!!!).
Its not like this guy is the only obese employed person anywhere, what do other obese people do?
… sometimes a man can get obese enough that their flaccid penis is essentially buried in fat. It’s still there, but does not protrude much from the surrounding flesh. Reaching around the gut is not the problem. The problem is getting a grip on 1/2" (or less) worth of flaccid penis to direct the stream.
BTW, I’m not talking about Guiness-Book obesity here. Guys with this problem are a lot less hefty than you are likely imagining. It depends a lot on where a person carried their bodyfat.
For these men, if using a public toilet with no urinals available, the best thing to do is to urinate sitting down. If, in the case of the obese child mentioned above, he can try sitting and leaning way forward to direct his stream into the toilet with a free hand. A hamper or chair can be placed in front of him to give him something on which to balance himself. Also, if necessary, he can use a backscratcher or some other long instrument to direct his stream.
Are there urinals available at your work? One portly fellow at my work uses the urinal with no hands. He doesn’t have to aim because the target is so wide, as it were.
Yes, there is a urinal, but I would think he would have difficulty using it as I think his belly hangs lower than the lip of the urinal. He is not a tall person, just extremely fat.
I am really hoping someone knows something of this issue and can contribute. We are going to have to get HR involved because this is a disgusting health issue, and it cant be ignored just because this guy’s feelings may be hurt. I feel bad for the company as this might end up as some kind of discrimination case, but the rest of us have a right to use a restroom that is not covered in urine. What must customers think that come to see us? This is a nice, white collar office, not a garage (not that I’m putting down garages) where the toilet hasnt been cleaned in months. I feel especially sorry for the guy who goes around all day cleaning the restrooms in the building, I guess he just accepts that at least once a day he has to clean up a piss covered restroom.
Rather than take it to the authorities, you could just take the guy aside (presuming you know it’s him) and have a quiet word with him. Just ask him to clean up after himself - there’s toilet paper handy I imagine. Something like “Some of us have noticed that the bathroom is a bit unsanitary/a mess after you’ve been in there and we’d appreciate it if you’d see that it’s clean enough for other people to use after you’re done”.
The issue for you isn’t whether or not he can pee properly, it’s him not cleaning up after himself.
Just be very careful that you can be dead-bang certain. The bathroom was clean at 2:20. “Nobody but you used it before 2:45, and we know because we watched the door.”
I’d suggest leaving an anonymous note on his desk instead. Saying if he doesn’t clean up after himself, management will be dealing with him. That way, if the guy is fired or something, he won’t take out his anger on someone he knows/thinks is the one who “reported” him.
Francesca, I know what you mean about not taking it up with the authorities, but I think it needs to be done anyway. Since I am in management, its important that the company is protected from any kind of discrimination claim. Before anything is done, whether its a “take-aside” or an actual action, I want the company to be aware so that whatever they deem to be the appropriate action is the one taken. As far as just a request to clean up after himself, I would have thought that my threat to rub whoever was doing it’s face in it would have been a subtle enough hint.
And I don’t consider wiping up with toilet paper acceptable if my naked buttocks may find their way onto that seat. Wiped off seat does not equal clean, it is just dry. Why the hell won’t he raise the seat in the first place? In addition to what is on the seat, there is the issue of what is on the floor. In no way would he be able to reach the puddle he makes on the floor. He is so fat he can barely fit in the stall as it is.
No, a wiped-dry seat is not a health hazard, since (as noted in a Staff Report on What Diseases Can You Catch From a Toilet Seat) urine doesn’t carry any common diseases. So yes, your primary concern is why this inconsiderate co-worker doesn’t mop up his mess after he’s done? Lots of people dribble on the seat, but most of them have the common courtesy to clean up.
I agree with the person who suggested leaving an anonymous note: it’ll lessen the embarrassment, and give him an opportunity to clean up his act, so to speak.
I’m sorry, I cannot accept this. There is absolutely no reason for a man to urinate with the seat down. Me, personally, I raise the lid with my foot. I’m not a person who is overly germ conscious, but in a public toilet I try to make as little contact with the fixtures as possible.
And to be honest, I really don’t give a damn about his embarrassment being that this has been going on for so long. I mean, who needs to be told that it is not acceptable to leave the bathroom like that for someone else to clean up?
I agree that there is no absolute proof at this time, and that it needs to be established if it is indeed him or not. This has been going on for a very, very long time. He usually uses the handicapped bathroom, which is just a single user bathroom next to the regular one. One of my co workers i talked to about this said that that bathroom is often that way. My guess is that if someone is occupying the single user one he then uses the regular one, which is why I only encounter this once every few weeks.
Okay, how about this idea? Follow the fatty into the bathroom when you see him go in. Then, as soon as fatty exits his stall, you go in and pitch a fit over the mess fatty just made. There’s your proof, and you can confront him right there.
Sounds like a plan. I’ll have to get some others involved as his work area is not in my direct line of sight. The only problem would be that it needs to be determined before he goes in that the room is indeed clean so that no excuse can be made. As one of my peer said, they had gone in the single user room before and left immediately, though they worried that if someone saw them leaving they might have thought he was the one doing it.
I can only imagine what his house bathroom looks like…
What does fat have to do with this? Could it be related to Diabetes, kidneys, or prostates too?
The point is I think, is that you don’t want the restroom to be a mess. You don’t want people peeing all over the seat (Ever see a mans bathroom at a bar?). So who would one talk to about this? Why not just close the bathroom? Wouldn’t that be a gas? You could put up a sign of some sort or give ONE key to the bathroom, then you’d know who did it.
Be carefull about any confrontation. As management you are definitely liable under the Americans with Dissabilities Act. Being overly obese could be considered covered under this law. As such, it is the companies responsibility to accomodate(sp?) him, not is responsibility to accomodate you. In otherwords, you cannot reprimand him for not cleaning up after himself. Instead, you will find that the law requires you to either hire someone to clean up after him or purchase a toilet that suits his particular needs. I agree, it sounds unreasonable, but I just wanted to warn you that there could be a serious legal issue. Do not give nim anything in writing unless you are 100% sure it is in compliance with the law or it will be a nail in your coffin.
Being larger than average, I’ve never had any troubles relieving my bladder, my most masculine of devices being absorbed into mounds of fat or being locked in a permanent upright position.
The only time that I’ve ever had any spatter while going to the bathroom is after intimacy where the pee-hole is stuck together with “fluids” and I get one or two streams which are really hard to aim.
Although the Americans with Disabilities Act could conceivably enter into things, it’s not a one-way street. I read up on the law recently to nudge our office into compliance, and while a business is required to make a reasonable accommodation for an employee with a documented disability that impairs major life functions, the accommodation you make isn’t necessarily the accommodation the employee wants.
If the employee is unable, for example, to clean the seat with toilet paper, you’d very likely be able to provide the employee with a mop and a cleaner solution to use after bathroom trips. Having a clean toilet is a necessary part of running a business; if keeping the toilet clean is inconvenient for him, too bad.
I think where you might REALLY run into AADA problems would be if a disabled client came into the office and found that the only accessible bathroom was pee-spattered.
Trying to lessen his embarrassment isn’t only to be nice to him – it can also get you better results. When people are embarrassed, they tend to want to fight back at the person who embarrassed them, so he may end up getting a chip on his shoulder and trying to push the discrimination angle so he doesn’t look like the bad guy. If he can get off with an anonymous warning, he may realize that he can clean up his act and avoid having an embarrassing confrontation with someone he has to see on a regular basis, whereas if you start with the embarrassment, he’s got nothing to lose by making a big issue of it.
…reminds me of the farmer who named his three dogs Barky ('cause he’s the barkin’est), Bitey ('cause he’s the bitin’est) and Beethoven ('cause he’s the peein’est).