Friday, December 14, 2007

Dirty Washrooms

It was unfortunate I had to visit the washroom at the General Clinic in the University Hospital recently. A patient had a bad bowel movement that morning. As the flush system was in poor working condition, the foul smell from the toilet permeated into the waiting room. Unable to tolerate it I informed the nurse at the counter. Her reply was that she dared not instruct the cleaner to clean the toilet for she would get angry and scold her. We had to suffer the smell till the cleaner made her next round.

We never fail to state our views about the condition of our public toilets in our newspapers, during our conversation with friends or keeping mum and brewing in our bellies. Whatever it is we do in our little ways contribute to the hygiene and tidiness of this amenity that is given to us.

Taking into consideration that the flush system was working fine, I do encounter visitors leaving their “droppings” in the toilet bowl. Although the first flush was unable to clear their “droppings”, I am perfectly sure they could use a little patience and a little effort to clean up their own mess before exiting their cubicle.

Sometimes we are not good at aiming, that was how toilet papers were found littering the floor of the stalls or near the dustbin. Another was the shoe marks left on the rims of toilet bowls. The visitor must have preferred to squat rather than sit or if the rim is dirty then she could have lined it with toilet paper before sitting to solve her problem.

The subject of washrooms are fun to record down. I had sweet and amusing memories of them while in China. And stories of them can stretch the length of a cloth.

No comments: