# Who paper's the toilet seat before sitting down in a public rest room? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [April 25, 2002, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-papers-the-toilet-seat-before-sitting-down-in-a-public-rest-room/105610 "2002-04-25T19:17:19Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Omnipresent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/8c91f0/32.png) [@Omnipresent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omnipresent)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2002, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-papers-the-toilet-seat-before-sitting-down-in-a-public-rest-room/105610/1 "2002-04-25T19:17:19Z")
Who paper’s a toilet seat before sitting down in a public rest room? ---
**Author:** ![Infovore](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/infovore/32/420_2.png) [@Infovore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Infovore)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2002, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-papers-the-toilet-seat-before-sitting-down-in-a-public-rest-room/105610/2 "2002-04-25T19:21:50Z")
I had to reply to this because just yesterday, following a trip to the office restroom, I had an idea to post this exact topic and then forgot. 🙂 I don’t–it usually seems more trouble than it’s worth. But then, most of the toilets I have occasion to use are in fairly clean areas (like the office or department stores). If the toilet is disgusting I pick a different one or if that’s not possible just wait until I can go somewhere clean. Only if I have no choice will I bother with the paper. ---
**Author:** ![Honey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/honey/32/5074_2.png) [@Honey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Honey)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2002, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-papers-the-toilet-seat-before-sitting-down-in-a-public-rest-room/105610/3 "2002-04-25T19:38:52Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Omnipresent \* > \*\*Who paper’s a toilet seat before sitting down in a public rest room? \*\* I do the **squat-and-don’t-let-any-part-of-me-touch-the-seat** thing. 😃 Honey ---
**Author:** ![auntie\_em](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5e9695/32.png) [@auntie\_em](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/auntie_em)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2002, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-papers-the-toilet-seat-before-sitting-down-in-a-public-rest-room/105610/4 "2002-04-25T20:50:28Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Honey \* > \*\*I do the **squat-and-don’t-let-any-part-of-me-touch-the-seat** thing. > \*\* I can’t relax enough to pee that way. If the restroom really gives me the heebiejeebies, I’ll paper the seat. Otherwise, I just sit on down. I had a friend who used to place her HANDS on the seat and sit on them, but that just seems WORSE to me. ---
**Author:** ![Fionn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a587f6/32.png) [@Fionn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fionn)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2002, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-papers-the-toilet-seat-before-sitting-down-in-a-public-rest-room/105610/5 "2002-04-25T21:07:50Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by auntie em \* > \*\* > > I had a friend who used to place her HANDS on the seat and sit on them, but that just seems WORSE to me. \*\* Seems worse to me too. I don’t think there would be enough hot water or soap handy to make me want to eat out of my hands again. For those who paper, do you at least flush or otherwise remove the paper after you’re done? ---
**Author:** ![Chief\_Crunch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e8c25b/32.png) [@Chief\_Crunch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chief_Crunch)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2002, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-papers-the-toilet-seat-before-sitting-down-in-a-public-rest-room/105610/6 "2002-04-25T21:09:36Z")
I paper the toilet seat in my own house. Thanks OCD! ---
**Author:** ![Azure\_Eternity](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f05b48/32.png) [@Azure\_Eternity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Azure_Eternity)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2002, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-papers-the-toilet-seat-before-sitting-down-in-a-public-rest-room/105610/7 "2002-04-25T21:59:27Z")
I do, and then I throw away the paper. Even if it looks clean, I have to be in a serious hurry before I’d just sit down - but then again, I’m practically obsessive compulsive about cleanliness. ---
**Author:** ![WolfpackJeep](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpackjeep/32/2921_2.png) [@WolfpackJeep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WolfpackJeep)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2002, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-papers-the-toilet-seat-before-sitting-down-in-a-public-rest-room/105610/8 "2002-04-25T22:09:00Z")
I attended a public high school in North Carolina. Hygiene was not a priority for the students at my school, and the toilet seats in the women’s restroom were always covered in a vile mixture of feces, menstrual fluids, and, on at least one occasion, something that looked very much like a rectum. So, to answer the OP, I squat out of sheer instinct. ---
**Author:** ![Dirty\_Earthworm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Dirty\_Earthworm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dirty_Earthworm)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2002, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-papers-the-toilet-seat-before-sitting-down-in-a-public-rest-room/105610/9 "2002-04-25T22:19:18Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Jeep’s Phoenix \* > **something that looked very much like a rectum.** Eeeww … I paper the toilet seat, but not at home or at the home of someone I know. I’m slightly germ-phobic, so pooping in public means I have to have paper between my butt-cheeks and the seat. Afterwards, I wash my hands in hot water with _lots_ of soap for at least 30 seconds. I just don’t want some stranger’s ass-germs. -Dirty ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2002, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-papers-the-toilet-seat-before-sitting-down-in-a-public-rest-room/105610/10 "2002-04-25T22:43:35Z")
Amateurs. Enter stall. Lock door. Unroll about 2 ft. of paper and gather it into a loose ball. Flush toilet. While fresh water is running into toilet, wet paper. Wipe seat. Flush paper. Unroll & gather another 2 ft. or so of paper. Wipe seat dry. Flush paper. Paper seat carefully using 2 layers each along back edge and both sides. Excrete. Cleanse self, flushing toilet occasionally as needed. Push seat-covering paper into bowl. Flush toilet. I’m a one-man water shortage. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![ummm.yeahh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/e9bcb4/32.png) [@ummm.yeahh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ummm.yeahh)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2002, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-papers-the-toilet-seat-before-sitting-down-in-a-public-rest-room/105610/11 "2002-04-25T22:49:02Z")
I absolutely use paper on the toilet seat, but then, I’m the guy that started the “I have a shy bladder” thread. ---
**Author:** ![grettle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/aeb1de/32.png) [@grettle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/grettle)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2002, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-papers-the-toilet-seat-before-sitting-down-in-a-public-rest-room/105610/12 "2002-04-25T22:54:26Z")
I use the \*\* Honey \*\* method. I was going to post the question of it’s effectiveness in GQ just the other day. . . ---
**Author:** ![Omnivore](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/e47774/32.png) [@Omnivore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omnivore)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2002, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-papers-the-toilet-seat-before-sitting-down-in-a-public-rest-room/105610/13 "2002-04-25T23:10:22Z")
After viewing many a mess in the public toilets where guys cannot seem to even hit the urinal, I most definitely paper the seat before sitting down on it. ---
**Author:** ![racer72](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/racer72/32/3075_2.png) [@racer72](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/racer72)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2002, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-papers-the-toilet-seat-before-sitting-down-in-a-public-rest-room/105610/14 "2002-04-25T23:43:01Z")
Ass Gaskets. The ones at my place of employment are marked as anti-bacterial. I use a couple to wipe the seat but I can’t sit on them. As a matter of need, I carry 4 or 5 individual handy wipes with me at all times, if necesary, I use one to clean the seat. I also have access to wipes used to clean respirators and they work dandy on toilet seats too. ---
**Author:** ![tigergirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3e96dc/32.png) [@tigergirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tigergirl)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2002, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-papers-the-toilet-seat-before-sitting-down-in-a-public-rest-room/105610/15 "2002-04-25T23:58:18Z")
Nope, I don’t paper the seat, I hover like **Honey** and **jkbelle**! Works wonders for your calf muscles 😃 ---
**Author:** ![handy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b5a626/32.png) [@handy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handy)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2002, 12:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-papers-the-toilet-seat-before-sitting-down-in-a-public-rest-room/105610/16 "2002-04-26T00:03:32Z")
Hovering is a lot of fun. But I would only use a public restroom as a last resort. ---
**Author:** ![kanicbird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/5f8ce5/32.png) [@kanicbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kanicbird)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2002, 12:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-papers-the-toilet-seat-before-sitting-down-in-a-public-rest-room/105610/17 "2002-04-26T00:14:08Z")
I used to but it is just too much work - just wipe the seat and sit down (and try not to think of what else was on that seat) ---
**Author:** ![Reinhold\_Messner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Reinhold\_Messner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reinhold_Messner)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2002, 2:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-papers-the-toilet-seat-before-sitting-down-in-a-public-rest-room/105610/18 "2002-04-26T02:40:06Z")
Well, I can say (as a person with a degree in microbiology) that I _do_ paper the seat. However (from a scientific perspective), if the seat is relatively clean, there aren’t many “bugs” you can catch just from “toilet seat contact”. So don’t worry _too_ much. ---
**Author:** ![El\_Elvis\_Rojo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/898d66/32.png) [@El\_Elvis\_Rojo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/El_Elvis_Rojo)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2002, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-papers-the-toilet-seat-before-sitting-down-in-a-public-rest-room/105610/19 "2002-04-26T02:46:44Z")
First, I wipe it down, then I paper the seat. I’ve worked in too many places and seen too many public restrooms to sit my ass on anything I don’t trust. And yes, I do flush the rest afterwards. And it’s not necessarily the fear of catching something, it’s just the fear of getting an ass covered in piss. I know some people are into water sports, but it’s just not my thing. ---
**Author:** ![kittenblue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ba8739/32.png) [@kittenblue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kittenblue)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2002, 12:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-papers-the-toilet-seat-before-sitting-down-in-a-public-rest-room/105610/20 "2002-04-26T12:51:00Z")
As long as the seat is clean and dry, I just sit. I tried papering the seat once and it all slipped off in the breeze created by the clothing movement. I have been “just sitting” for 45 years now and have never had a single problem of any kind. You hoverers and paperers are just making the whole bathroom situation more stressful for your selves. But I know you can’t stop. I just can’t help feeling a bit sorry for your anxiety. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-papers-the-toilet-seat-before-sitting-down-in-a-public-rest-room/105610.md?page=2)