Why Doors in Public Bathrooms Don’t Reach the Floor

People have been paying to use the toilet for nearly 2,000 years. And while today we have free public toilets, they’re still different from regular ones. And it’s not only about a lack of privacy.

They have one special detail that catches our attention — stall doors with no bottom. And believe it or not, there are many reasons for this and they’re quite serious. We also noticed that we need to pull the door to leave the bathroom, which is explained in our bonus section of the article.

1. You can see if someone needs medical help.

2. You can see if it’s vacant.

3. It helps to get rid of bad smells inside.

4. Full doors are more expensive.

5. It helps to stop people from harmful behavior.

6. You can get out if the lock is jammed.

7. You can ask someone for toilet paper if you don’t have it.

8. People spend less time in the bathroom and the line moves faster.

9. It makes it easier for custodians to clean the floor.

10. In case of a pipe break, water won’t accumulate.

Bonus: Why do we need to pull the door in to leave the bathroom?

It’s so you won’t hurt anybody while opening the door.

This prevents you from blocking the corridor and allows you to move around in case of an emergency.

• It prevents smells from moving to the outside.
• You can’t be locked out by someone else, but it’s easier for you to block the door if its lock is broken.

And when we enter the bathroom, we push the door.

• You can open it with your shoulder so there’s no need to touch the door handle.
• Pushing the door helps to save time.

How do you feel about public bathrooms? Have you ever noticed that they don’t have fully enclosed doors?