When nature calls: Your essential guide to public restrooms on your summer road trip

As vaccination rates rise and travel restrictions ease, many frustrated travelers are eager to book flights or hit the road. However, as you make your plans, one frustrating reality looms: the condition of public restrooms might derail your vacation dreams.

Keep informed about how the coronavirus is affecting travelers and cardholders by bookmarking our dedicated COVID-19 hub page.

With many travelers opting for road trips in the coming weeks and months, they seek to explore while remaining closer to home and avoiding airports and planes.

AAA Travel predicts a substantial increase in Americans planning to travel this Memorial Day weekend. From May 27 to May 31, over 37 million people are expected to journey 50 miles or more from home, marking a 60% rise from last year, when only 23 million traveled—the lowest figure recorded by AAA since 2000. Nevertheless, summer travel in 2021 still indicates a decrease of 13%, or nearly 6 million, compared to 2019.

However, even as travelers take to the highways, many facilities may remain closed. Although rest stops and service stations are beginning to reopen, finding a place to relieve yourself can still be quite a challenge.

Don't underestimate the value of apps designed to locate "excellent facilities" along your journey, worthy of George Costanza — or products that can assist you in urgent situations. Whether you're renting a car or flying, here's what you need to understand about how public restrooms have also been impacted by the coronavirus pandemic.

Back to basics

Discussions around health and hygiene have reached unprecedented levels of interest. However, the fundamental rules remain unchanged.

"When using public restrooms, it's wise to use toilet paper to flush the handles, as they are commonly found to be contaminated with fecal bacteria," advises Dr. Hanh Le, senior director of medical affairs at Healthline, which is also part of TPG's parent company, Red Ventures. "Additionally, always wash your hands thoroughly with soap and water for at least 20 seconds."

"Toilet seat covers are useful and offer extra peace of mind by reducing contact with potentially contaminated surfaces, but be careful not to touch the toilet seat cover after placing it down," she adds.

If disposable paper towels are available, choose them over hand dryers, according to Le. "While hand dryers might seem like the environmentally friendly choice, studies indicate that the powerful air currents they generate can spread bacteria and viruses throughout the restroom, heightening the risk of exposure to fecal microorganisms," she explains.

Finally, as you leave, use the hand towels you dried your hands with to open restroom doors, as advised by Le. "The handles of restroom toilets and doors are often among the most contaminated surfaces in public facilities," she notes.

Remember that SARS-CoV-2 — the virus responsible for COVID-19 — can remain viable on surfaces for a certain duration. According to Healthline, it can persist longest on stainless steel and plastic (three to seven days), while paper and glass can hold it for up to four days.

How to locate a restroom

If you're planning a road trip or exploring your local area, you might be curious about the availability of public restrooms. Thankfully, there’s an app for that. However, these apps may not provide information on temporary closures, so you might need to call ahead or roll the dice.

Sit Or Squat

This app (iTunes and Google Play) was created by Charmin (yes, the toilet paper brand) to assist you in locating a public restroom no matter where you are in the world. With over 100,000 listings available, you can view bathrooms in either a list or map format, and filter locations based on features like accessibility or baby-changing facilities. Additionally, you can rate bathrooms based on cleanliness — a Sit means it's clean, while a Squat suggests it’s, well, not so great.

Bathroom Scout

With more than 1.8 million bathrooms cataloged globally, this app (iTunes and Google Play) includes public toilets as well as restrooms in restaurants and other establishments. It provides turn-by-turn directions to the nearest bathrooms, a Google Street View option (when available), and the ability to rate the restroom conditions. The premium version even offers sound cover for added privacy while using public restrooms.

Flush

This free app (iTunes and Google Play) features nearly 200,000 restrooms worldwide. You can search for restrooms using map or list views and receive directions to those nearby. Additionally, you can filter results for bathrooms that require a key or have a fee. The best part? This app functions even without an internet connection.

Always have a backup plan

With the country reopening, many public restrooms and rest areas have also become accessible again.

However, depending on where you are, you might find that some of your go-to spots remain closed. For instance, urban explorers in New York City and Washington, D.C. often rely on Starbucks for bathroom breaks, but these cafes are no longer places to hang out, and many locations in the Northeast still display signs indicating that their restrooms are closed. TPG's senior travel editor, Melanie Lieberman, recommends looking for a Wawa as far north as New Jersey, where many locations operate 24 hours and you can grab a soft pretzel on your way out.

Recently, TPG writer Chris Dong took a road trip down I-95 to Virginia and observed that the rest stop bathrooms along the interstate were open and available.

If you find yourself in an area where clean, serviced bathrooms are still hard to come by, many TPG editors suggest heading to big-box home improvement stores or supermarkets for their facilities. These locations are deemed essential and typically remain open. In particular, Wegmans, Lowe's, and The Home Depot receive high praise for their well-maintained bathrooms that are often in excellent condition.

Essential items to bring

When you're aware that you'll be relying on public restrooms, it's crucial to prepare for the worst-case scenario, especially if you're heading to more remote locations.

Make sure to include hand sanitizer and disinfecting wipes like Clorox to-go wipes, which are conveniently sized to fit in purses, glove compartments, and diaper bags while effectively killing 99.9% of germs. Other widely-used options are Purell and Germ-X wipes infused with moisturizing vitamin E. For a gentle alternative suitable for young children, CareTouch offers alcohol-free, fragrance-free wipes enriched with soothing vitamin E and aloe.

Since sanitizing wipes and hand sanitizer may be limited and difficult to find these days, consider adding standard baby wipes and homemade hand sanitizer to your packing list if needed. It’s also wise to carry traditional paper towels, gloves, and toilet paper.

And what should you do if you can't find a restroom? Don't fret; you can plan for that as well. For families with young children, consider packing a portable training seat, like the Kalencom Potette Plus. For adults, there are various solutions available, including funnels and feminine urinals designed to assist women on the go.

What to know before you travel

If you have a flight on your summer itinerary, be prepared for some changes regarding airport facilities and airplane restrooms during your journey.

Restrooms on airplanes

Numerous airlines around the globe have adopted the International Air Transport Association (IATA) sanitation protocols, which stipulate that lavatories must be cleaned every two hours (or after every ten uses) during flights. For flights deemed high-risk—such as those lacking HEPA filters, those departing from areas with significant outbreaks, and those with high passenger occupancy—lavatories should be sanitized hourly (or after every five uses) while in the air.

IATA further advises a thorough cleaning at the end of each flight, focusing on lavatories and galleys. This involves using disinfectant-soaked rags to clean surfaces, ensuring separate rags and mops are designated for aisles, lavatories, and galleys.

For instance, Southwest Airlines utilizes Sani-Cide EX3, a broad-spectrum disinfectant, to sanitize frequently touched surfaces such as lavatories, tray tables, armrests, seat belts, flight attendant call buttons, and overhead bin handles prior to each flight. Passengers will also have access to disinfecting wipes on all flights.

Airlines like United, American, and Air Canada are also providing disinfecting wipes to passengers, while Delta has informed TPG that they employ electrostatic spraying and manual cleaning of lavatories, along with the rest of the aircraft, between flights and again overnight.

Airport restrooms

Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport (PHX) has collaborated with Flagship Aviation Services to maintain the cleanliness of 11 restrooms in Terminal 3 and 19 in Terminal 4. Around 300 cleaning staff are on duty 24/7 to sanitize and disinfect the airport's most frequently touched areas, including restrooms, which are cleaned several times an hour.

As reported by USA Today, Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) has announced that its COVID-19 safety measures include cleaning and disinfecting restrooms and public spaces "at least" once every hour.

Other public restrooms

Determining the cleanliness of restrooms in public venues like hotels, rest stops, gas stations, tourist sites, and restaurants can be quite challenging. However, there are specific areas within these restrooms that you may want to steer clear of.

A 2019 study conducted by BMC, which publishes a collection of around 300 peer-reviewed journals, revealed that hand-drying stations in public restrooms can harbor drug-resistant bacteria. This finding aligns with Dr. Le's warnings. The research also indicated that restrooms in high- and middle-income areas tend to maintain cleaner conditions.

Final thoughts

If you aren't someone who can hold it forever, you'll likely find yourself in need of a public restroom during your summer travels. Knowing which facilities are accessible and their condition is essential.

A crucial point to remember is that if a public restroom appears extremely unclean, it's best to avoid it: it may be contaminated, regardless of the coronavirus status.

"In desperate situations, extreme measures are sometimes necessary," Dr. Le stated, "but if you can reduce your risks, that's the most effective way to safeguard yourself."