It ’ s Not OK
For Urine To Be On The Floor !
By : Gabriel Torre PeeWee Catcher
“ Employees must wash hands before returning to work .” We ’ ve all seen that sign in public restrooms , and we ’ re well aware that hand washing is a necessity before leaving a restroom . Although we ’ ve all witnessed those grubby offenders who still don ’ t wash their hands before leaving . No one wants bathroom germs on their serving tray , food , door handles ... and even hand washing doesn ’ t eliminate a lesser acknowledged germ-breading culprit . The floors !
Restrooms tend to have an unacceptable amount of urine on the floors . Anyone who has visited a men ’ s restroom can testify to that . Men and boys are like animals when it comes to restrooms . You know what I ’ m talking about ; the area near the urinal that once was gleaming and clean is now dingy , smelly and disgustingly sticky . You enter the restroom with your nice , Italian leather shoes . They make contact with the ground and unavoidably settle into a pool of waste . Germs infiltrate the leather of your shoes and begin to stake a claim on their new breeding ground .
You might be thinking ,“ I ’ d notice if there was a puddle of urine on the floor .” However , it ’ s not that simple . Urine has its way of sneaking out of the urinal , and it ’ s not always easy to see .
Men and boys are just bad at aiming or simply don ’ t care to try . Even if they do try , the dreaded “ splash-back ” is inevitable . Don ’ t forget about those days when men want to aim well , but aiming is rendered futile by physical limitations . Men , you know what I ’ m talking about .
But it doesn ’ t matter because urine is sterile , right ? Contrary to popular thought , urine is not sterile . Evann Hilt of Loyola University of Chicago discovered that bacteria is present in urine even before exiting the body due to bacteria that is present in the bladder .
Since it has been confirmed that urine is indeed not sterile , the presence of urine on surfaces is problematic . After all , bacteria can live on surfaces for as long as 48 hours sometimes . A problem particularly arises when a person may be carrying a specific strain of bacteria or virus that can cause a disease . Some bacteria may even be linked to certain bladder conditions that had once been believed to be neuromuscular , not infectious , in origin . Additionally , if urine contains any blood , this can open up an entirely new band of threats .
Aside from that , urine erodes grout and damages tile . Let ’ s not even get started on the olfactory assault it delivers .
The bottom line is , urine should not be on the restroom floor . Once it ’ s on the floor , it ’ s on your feet . Then you transfer the urine particles to your next destination , which could be the doctor ’ s office , a restaurant , your home ...
Sadly to say , even after a thorough cleaning , most public restrooms would still fail a black light test . Could you imagine what the health and various officials would say ? If they thought a 32 oz soda was bad for your health , I can imagine the horror on their faces once they saw a black light sweep of public restrooms . The only way to avoid this atrocity is to prevent it from getting on the floor in the first place . Keep urine in its proper place and prevent passing on the germs .
MOMENTUM / March 2017 21