There’s a very good reason behind why public bathroom doors don’t touch the ground, according to experts.
It turns out that there are several design elements to public restrooms that go over our heads, from why it says ‘WC’ on the door or why some toilet seats are shaped in a U, there really are some mysteries surrounding them.
But we’re here to address one in particular – that being why public bathrooms don’t actually touch the ground, and we can (of course) thank social media for the answer.
There’s a reason behind the length of those doors (Getty Stock Photo)
TikTok content creator @mattypStories decided to take on the responsibility of explaining exactly why public restrooms are designed in this way, giving a range of reasons, which unsurprisingly boil down to practicality, hygiene and cost.
Speaking in an old viral video, he explained: “Here’s why public bathroom doors don’t touch the floor.”
The influencer said most people have ‘probably wondered at one point or another’ as to why this is, and said that the explanations behind it are ‘logical. I would hope so.
And now you know!🚽#bathroom#facts#themoreyouknow
“First off, if there’s ever an emergency, it’d be pretty easy to see what happened and get the person some help.
“Secondly, it makes it way easier to clean. Public bathrooms are used quite often, meaning that they need to be cleaned many times throughout the day, and having the space under the door makes it a lot easier.
“And finally, it’s a lot cheaper to buy a door that has part of it cut off than the full door itself.”
Indeed, many of these reasons are echoed on the website of WC Portables, an Essex-based portable toilet hire company, which also lists shorter doors being ‘ideal in cases of emergency’, ‘easier’ to clean and overall much ‘cheaper’.
It all makes sense now (Getty Stock Photo)
But the company also believes there are a few other handy benefits, too – like the ‘faster escape of bad odour’. Urgh.
“Toilet is a natural environment for the release of bad odour,” the website says, adding: “The gap between the door and the floor provides a quick escape of the foul smell that was generated by previous users.
“It helps your toilet experience to become bearable. Without the gap, the odour is sustained in a stall and becomes unbearable to subsequent users.”
What’s more, gaps at the bottom of the doors make it easier to ‘determine availability’, with WC Portables saying: “Nothing beats the eyes test of glancing through the gap for any sign of occupancy.”
Of course, a little discretion is required here, as peeking into a toilet stall doesn’t usually go down too well if it’s occupied… Maybe look for shadows cast outside the cubicle, rather than into the space itself, eh?
The gaps also allow you to hand toilet paper to someone in need (Getty Stock Photo)
Another point is that the shorter doors help ensure ‘the toilet queue flows’.
“Toilets with doors of this nature could negatively impact people’s privacy,” the portable toilet hire firm explains.
“When individuals sense others can listen to their business that easily, they are prone to wrap up quickly.”
And finally, there’s the belief that they reduce bad toilet habits or behaviours – in a similar vein to the previous point, people might ‘refrain from exhibiting poor behaviour’ as the ‘embarrassment of being spotted acting inappropriately will ensure people err on the side of caution’.
