The Taubman Museum of Art

The other day, I visited the Taubman Museum of Art and had to make a stop at the women's restroom in the atrium. I was very impressed.

First and foremost, the restroom was clean. Clean stalls, clean floors, clean sinks, no overflowing trash...and, it didn't smell. It didn't smell of anything. No stinky restroom smells, no overpowering, toxic air fresheners. Ahhh!

The restroom is in a good location (near the Art Venture, so moms with kids can get there fast and avoid any potty disasters), and it includes some features that I consider to be quite important: they provide toilet seat covers, and have paper towels for opening the doors after you have dried your hands. Not only that, but there are two trash bins near the door so that there is no need to toss your towels on the floor. They obviously understand the needs of their clientele.

However, I confess that I am a bit confused about one thing: the Taubman is a museum of art...why, then, is the restroom so devoid of anything remotely artistic? The colors are neutrals, the lighting is standard, and there is no decor. How about a bright pop of color? A chalk- or white board for messages like at the Salem Mill Mountain Coffee and Tea? A funky door handle? Something unexpected and whimsical? Come on, Taubman! You want people to spend hours and hours in your museum, which surely will necessitate a trip to the restroom. It shouldn't be so blah!

Niiiiice!

Hey Roanokers,

What are the chances we'll ever get a restroom like this super fancy restroom?

Garst Mill Park--Gentlemen, Beware!

So, guys, you might want to watch out for the urinals at Garst Mill Park. Apparently, when you flush, the water sprays out at you. You better be quick, and take a step back!

Mill Mt. Coffee and Tea on Main St. in Salem is the perfect spot to hang out, enjoy a hot beverage and a tasty snack. It's a great place to bring your laptop or textbook or novel and hang out for hours on end. However, if you do so, you will eventually end up needing to use the rest room, and that might be a little unpleasant, at least the women's rest room.

Overall, Mill Mt.'s women's rest room is nice enough; it has two stalls, a counter with two sinks and a mirror plus a full length mirror on the wall. Each stall has a chalk board so you can write reviews or messages or random thoughts. The trash is close enough to the door that you can use a paper towel to open the door, then toss it into the trash with a reasonable chance of getting your two points. And, it doesn't stink.

Those are the pros. The cons are not so great: first, the paper towel dispenser is broken (and seems to have been for a while now), so the big roll of paper towels is just sitting on the counter, and it gets wet--wet from patrons' hands touching it to tear off a towel, and wet from water dripping onto the counter. The biggest con I saw, however, was not the soggy spots on the towels, nor the floor in need of sweeping, but rather the poop on the tank of the toilet. Granted, this was only in one of the stalls, and it was only a few spots, but...EWWWW! Yes, sometimes you just can't control those matters, and I'm not faulting the culprit, but MMCT might want to think about supplying disinfectant wipes in the stalls, in addition to checking the rest rooms a bit more frequently.

Poop on the Tank

Where did this investigator find poop on the tank? Check back tomorrow to find out!

Walgreen's in Salem

Why is it that every time I step into the Salem Walgreen's (located on Main St, next to Walmart), it smells like someone is suffering from a horrible stomach virus?

The restrooms in this Walgreen's location are in the back of the store, in an out-of-the-way yet easy to find spot. The women's restroom is utilitarian and no-frills, but well stocked with toilet paper, hand soap, and paper towels.

There are two stalls--one handicapped-accessible and the other one standard. I checked the handicapped-accessible stall and found that it was clean, then stepped into the standard stall for a look-see. It was...not too disgusting. It would certainly do in a pinch--if you are OK with squatting. There was something on the seat--nothing of an identifiable color, but rather something dingy and gray, the result of dust and grime that was sticking to an unwashed spot. Gross.

There is a paper towel dispenser and waste can next to the door (yay!), but it is positioned to the side of the door opposite the handle, which required me to prop the door open with my foot while I reached around to try to toss the paper towel into the hole in the trash can.  Not ideal, but at least I didn't have to throw my paper towel onto the floor.

Taaza

Taaza's food is amazing. Their restroom...well, it will do. I investigated the women's restroom during a recent visit, and found it acceptable, although a few things were lacking.

The good: the restroom is in a good, central location, and it was clean. There were plenty of supplies (toilet paper, soap, and paper towels), although there were no extras like feminine hygiene supplies. And, also important, it didn't stink. Always a plus.

The mediocre: the light over the stalls was out, and it was kind of dark. I'm assuming that was on the To Do List and has been taken care of.

The not so great: the trash can is at least eight feet away from the door. Many, many people use a paper towel to open the restroom door, but once you get the door open, it's quite a stretch to get the towel into the trash. There was evidence that people had tried--namely, crumpled paper towels on the floor near the trash can. (I just wadded mine up, took it with me, and set it on the table.) I realize that the design of the restroom makes it impossible to put a trashcan near the door inside the restroom, but maybe there is room for one outside the restroom door?

Overall, not bad: I found the restroom convenient and clean, and the distance of the trashcan from the door was only a slight annoyance. However, if people keep using paper towels to open the door then toss them in the general direction of the trashcan, it could become a big annoyance for the person who has to clean the restroom.

Natural Bridge

"I've got a rating for you---went to Natural Bridge yesterday. The restroom at the entrance/gift shop was horrible. Super old and rundown. Only 2 stalls available and definitely not very clean. The one at the wax museum was excellent though. Super clean, definitely remodeled, smelled nice and had nice decor. You would think that it would be the opposite---fancy gift shop/nice big bathroom, weird out-dated wax museum/awful hole-in-the wall bathroom. Not so!"  --Cat Conover

Kroger -- 4404 Brambleton Ave

Kroger supermarkets are ubiquitous in the Roanoke area. Not all stores are the same, and it stands to reason that their rest rooms are not the same, either. I will get around to all the different Kroger locations, but I'll start with the one at 4404 Brambleton Ave, near where it intersects with Colonial.

This is not my regular Kroger, but we stopped in to check out their excellent beer selection. My daughter had to use the rest room, so I combined our pit stop with some recon. 

First off, it's not easy finding the rest room right away. Oh, there is a sign, but the store is so big, it's hard to see at first. If it had been a peemergency, I would have asked just to save time. When you go inside, go to the left and look for the big sign that says "Fine Wine". Go to the far wall by the beer, then go to the left, down to what looks like the storage area. Pass the elevator and the rest rooms are on the right. Like I said, if it's urgent, you better ask if you aren't familiar with this store.

The women's room was clean, well-lit, and didn't stink. They provide seat covers, extra TP, a changing station and a personal product vending machine. There are speakers in the rest room, so my daughter got to tinkle to Christina Aguilera and a Kroger commercial. Other than that, there was no "ambiance" to speak of, but that is not a priority. 

Problems: 

• I counted 3 Renuzits in there. Granted, it didn't stink, but the chemically enhanced air was a little overpowering. I don't have asthma, but someone who does might be concerned. But again, no stink.  
• There are absolutely zero paper towels. Instead, there is a futuristic Dyson Airblade hand dryer, like this:

Cool, right? Yeah, kinda. It does dry your hands in 12 seconds, but there is nothing to use to open the door. During cold and flu season, you might want a squirt of hand sanitizer after you exit.

• Safety. There were no problems when we were there, but I would have been concerned if it had been later at night or if there hadn't been as many customers in the beer/wine area. Those rest rooms are pretty isolated from the rest of the store.

Sorry, Kroger. I appreciate that you have a rest room for your customers, but you could do better.

First review coming soon!

Don't Forget to Wash Your Hands!

You do know that there are people who do not wash their hands after they use the rest room, right? So, they touch, you know, stuff that isn't particularly sanitary, then they touch the rest room doors. Eww! Many people are grossed out by that and use a paper towel to open the rest room door, then toss the paper towel into the trash. I'm one of those people, which is why I'm annoyed when the trash can is placed far away from the door. What do you do in that situation? I have to confess: I use the towel, then toss it onto the floor. Hey, in the battle for my health, I am determined to prevail. Apparently, a lot of people feel the same way, based on the pile of paper towels next to the door in some rest rooms.

Rating a Rest Room

Public restrooms--they have us at their mercy. We find ourselves desperately seeking them out, when we really wish we could be anywhere else. I think it's safe to say that, given the choice, we would all prefer to have our private moments in our own bathrooms at home. When we are out in public, we have to settle for what we can get...unless it's so disgusting we decide to hold it until we find something that meets our basic requirements.

What are your basic restroom requirements? Here are mine:

• Clean
• Secure (the door to the stall must close and latch; the restroom must be in a safe location)

However, the following are good to have:

• Soap or hand sanitizer (I usually have sanitizer and/or wipes, so I can get by without this one)
• Paper towels or a hand dryer
•  Hooks for a purse and/or coat on the stall doors
• A regular cleaning schedule (don't just assume that the patrons will be neat and clean)

Bonus points for these:

• Automatic anything (toilet flush, water, soap dispenser, hand dryer, paper towel dispenser...)
• Toilet seat covers

Common sense ideas:

• Baby changing station
• Trash can near the door (so you can use a paper towel to open the door, then throw it into the trash) 
• Extra rolls of toilet paper

Nice touches:

• Decor 
• Mirror
• Air freshener (I know that chemical-based air fresheners are bad, but sometimes they are the lesser of two evils.)
• Tissues
• Personal hygiene products and, um intimacy products available

Did I forget anything? What are your ideas?

Because it Matters Where You Put Your Tushie

When you gotta go, you gotta go. Sometimes it happens when you are out and about, so it's good to know which restrooms are clean, which ones need work, and which ones should be avoided at all costs.

I will post my findings, but I need your help! If you make a pit stop and decide that the restroom deserves a shout-out--or worse, needs to be condemned, let me know!