The Hidden Hygiene Risk That Reaches All Of Us
Read Part One Here
Part 2: How Public Facilities Can Undermine Private Cleanliness
From Homes to the Community
Household cleanliness is often a point of pride. The look and smell of a freshly cleaned bathroom, kitchen, and home bring a sense of comfort and safety. But much of our time is spent in shared, high-traffic environments like workplaces, schools, shopping centres, and sporting grounds.
These facilities are far more vulnerable to contamination and act as central transmission points, meaning that even avoiding their use does not guarantee protection.
A clean home is only one link in the longer chain of community hygiene and health, what we bring home also matters.
A Universal and Indiscriminate Problem
Research conducted worldwide has consistently shown the consequences of surface contamination within public toilet facilities. From South Africa, Iran, and Thailand to Western nations including Australia, studies confirm that contamination on bathroom surfaces is significant and widespread across both male and female restrooms.
Beyond the direct effects on health and well-being, restroom hygiene also impacts businesses through lost revenue and reduced employee productivity, as highlighted in surveys conducted by Essity and Procter & Gamble. The old phrase "We eat first with our eyes” translates directly to lower sales when food is seen to be below standard, and the same impact applies to visible cleanliness in public spaces.
Negative perceptions of restroom cleanliness can also cause anxiety or discomfort, underscoring how deeply this issue affects people on multiple levels.
Here There Be Monsters
Pathogens like E. coli, those that cause urinary tract infections, and even some sexually transmitted infections, can survive in expelled body fluids and multiply on surfaces exposed to residual build-up.
That means transmission into the wider community isn’t a rare occurrence — it’s a daily inevitability. Initiatives such as the “Tork Coalition for Inclusive Hygiene” show how seriously leading hygiene brands treat this risk.
High-frequency touchpoints — from stall walls and seats to taps and door handles — regularly show traces of contamination. Ironically, some avoidance behaviours (hovering, not flushing, using tissue barriers) can make things worse.
Cleaning teams do their best, but there’s still a clear gap in protection.
The Source and the Target
Unfortunately, we are both the source of this threat and the unknowing victims of its consequences. While individuals adopt new behaviours to improve hygiene at home, the same level of attention often fades in public settings.
Sometimes, people need to be shown the insight, guided toward new behaviours, and allowed to experience the collective benefits that follow. The global adoption of innovations like Hand Sanitiser and Wet Wipes are precedents of institutional innovations trickling down to consumer behaviour.
Public and high-traffic facilities are perfectly positioned hubs to become the vanguard for innovative hygiene solutions.
Closing Thought
We risk undermining the benefits of a clean household, despite our best efforts, if the public and high-traffic facilities that anchor our daily lives fail to meet similar standards. The battle for hygiene is a long campaign fought on many fronts and we must continue to strengthen the ranks.
There is no single “nuclear” solution to win this war, but every new addition to the arsenal helps. The more flanks we can cover, the stronger we become.
References:
Public facility perception:
P&G Article - "Clean toilets are key..."
Pathogens in public restrooms:
A survey of public restrooms, Tehran City (2019)
Health risks associated with shared sanitation: Durban, South Africa (2022)
Public restroom in a rural municipality, Thailand (2014)
Transmission via touchpoints:
Community profile of sexually transmitted infections (2017)
Contaminated fingers: a potential cause of positive specimens (2017)
High-touch surfaces: microbial neighbours at hand (2017)
Psychological impacts: