How to navigate the urine pool in the men’s toilet

You visit the men’s toilet in a public setting and are suddenly greeted by a pool of urine around the mounted urinals. At one moment, you thought there might have been a sprinkler that had rained down urine to put people off from using the toilet. We had previously touched on some reasons why men toilet smell of urine. In that piece, we revealed some behaviours that led to urine splashes and eventually a pool of pee. Always a challenge for most to figure out how to urinate in this predicament. It is worth looking at other reasons for urinal pool before exploring ways to navigate this mini-flood whilst doing a number one at the gents. 

Additional reasons that contribute to urine pool

Aside from the common factors such as blocked urinals and some men peeing without properly controlling and directing their privates, other reasons can contribute to pee pool

1. Presence of faulty urinals: When some urinals are out of service, there is more demand or pressure on the few available ones; This becomes more challenging with public men toilets with limited urinals, most commonly two or three in number. When people are limited to a few only functional urinals, there is a higher tendency of all urine splashes congregating in the same area. This easily contributes to the much-maligned urine pool. 
2. High toilet usage: A busy train station or shopping mall is bound to have a higher demand for toilet use. When there is a constant flow of traffic to the men toilets, a larger proportion of these will be seeking to use the urinals. One should easily expect urinal splashes and eventually the build-up of an unpleasant pool.
3. Poorly maintained facilities: The quickest combination that can lead to urine pool is a very busy toilet location that is poorly maintained. Some busy public toilets are only cleaned once or twice a day. Whilst others are maintained every two to four hours. If cleaners seldom visit a public toilet during the day, they should expect to meet a urine pool in the men facility.

Navigating the urine pool

You are pressed for a pee and there are no other available facilities nearby. The only choice you have is to empty your bladder at the current public unit. How do you deal with the urine pool whilst peeing?

• Use the urinal as normal and wash the sole of your shoes afterwards: Imagine wearing your new pair of Nike trainers and realising the need to use the urinals. One option is to use the facility and wash the sole of your feet with some water when you get to your destination.
• Stand a few centimetres away and lean forward: This is an awkward position whilst urinating. The current condition warrants this improvisation. This is when you can keep your distance from the urinal but lean forward to ensure you are not contributing to the current predicament.
• Keep your left foot forward: A great technique will be to have your left foot forward, slightly away from the urine pool and lean forward. This will help bridge the gap whilst ensuring all of your liquid waste make their way into the urinal.

In public facilities, urine pools negatively impact toilet experience. We hope some of the above tips can help you effectively deal with this situation whilst answering the call of nature.