A bunch of floor bathroom questions

Student Lounge College Life
1

<p>Basically I'm a senior that's going to be living in a freshman dorm. I've never lived in freshman dorms, nor have I ever had to use floor bathrooms on campus since my rooms always had bathrooms in them. Crappy situation, but it's only for one semester.</p>

<p>Generally I take a shower either at night or in the morning so what I'd be bringing with me are: toothbrush, toothpaste, dental floss, shampoo, soap. Now I have in the past used 'floor' bathrooms at a summer camp with other camp counselors. Because of how few of us there were normally I'd just take my shampoo and soap with me along with a change of clothes and a towel I'd hang off the shower curtain rod. Sometimes though I'd leave the clean clothes near the sink and then change inside the shower stall. I might not have that luxury at school. Once I finished my shower, I would go back to my room which was next door and I would just get my toothbrush and toothpaste and leave my dirty clothes, shampoo and soap. I was fine with making two trips to the bathroom because of how close the bathroom was. I'm a guy so that about covers it for me. Here's where the questions begin.</p>

<p>At my school, I'm not really looking to make two trips to the bathroom. I realize now that a shower caddy of some sort would come in handy. Where do you hang the caddy? A lot of these are good to carry with you into the shower, but if I put my toothbrush a that in the caddy and lay it on the floor, then the water from my body is going to just fall all over it. My suite-mate last year had a rubber caddy that had some sort of thick rubber string that allowed it to hang from the shower knob. Something like that I think would be handy. So far I've seen these two:</p>

<p>Walmart.com:</a> Unique Compartmentalized Bath Caddy, Iced White: Bath
Walmart.com:</a> Carry All Caddy With Metal Handle, Iced White: Bath</p>

<p>They don't look like they could hang from the shower knob. Or is it just recommended to just buy a separate toiletry bag just for the toothbrush, shaver, etc.?</p>

<p>The other question is, what happens with the keys to the room? Where do you normally store the keys as you take a shower? I'm in a single room so I can't afford to just lock myself out. Would it be safe to leave the keys in the caddy? Or would the water cause some kind of rusting? My biggest concern is losing the keys in this case.</p>

<p>Would it be okay to walk in boxers and a tee shirt down the floor as I go into the bathroom? I'm not getting a bathrobe for just one semester. Or should I wear shorts of some kind too? I'm just trying to minimize the amount of stuff I carry into the bathroom as I don't know how much room I'm going to have to put my dirty and clean clothes on the side.</p>

<p>Lastly, is the clean spare of clothes normally hanged on the shower curtain rod or is there another place for that usually? This one question isn't very important as I'll find a way deal with where to put clean clothes.</p>

<p>On a unrelated note, since I've never lived in freshman dorms, are they usually any different from upperclassmen dorms?</p>

2

<p>Next time you’re on campus, look at the bathrooms. This was the single biggest help I found.</p>

<p>At my school, showers are like this: there’s the shower itself, with a normal “shower door” or curtain, then a tiny room right off of it that you pass through to get into the shower. Typically, you would enter the tiny room, undress and store your stuff on the hooks in there (and I believe there’s a tiny ledge for things that don’t hang), then cross into the shower, bathe, and then exit to dress before returning to the larger bathroom. </p>

<p>Keys usually just stay with our dirty clothes. If it’s a big worry, you can see if your roommate will still be in the room or (and this is sort of a paranoid version), buy a small suction hook, hang it way up high in the shower so it won’t get wet, and hang them there. Or just keep them with your clothes.</p>

<p>In the dorms I’ve been in (I’m female, though), people just went in whatever – pajamas, bathrobes, practically naked. Whatever you feel comfortable with; you won’t get turned away for no shirt or no shoes! ;)</p>

<p>In our bathrooms, there’s a hook for clean clothes. May want to check again at your school. (Will you be able to go out shopping after the first day? It may help to buy those suction hooks if there’s nothing.)</p>

<p>As for freshman vs. upperclassman dorms… no answer here. All of our dorms are mixed.</p>

3

<p>What I always did was leave my door unlocked and tell my roommate not to lock it. I generally just went wearing my towel around my waste and carrying a bar of soap and a bottle of shampoo. When I needed to shave I would also bring the razor and shaving cream. My room was literally right next to the bathroom, though.</p>

4

<p>It’s hard to say without knowing what kind of bathrooms they are. Some dorms at CP have bathrooms with changing stalls attached to them. In that case, it’s easy to know where to put your keys and toiletries. </p>

<p>That said, I think you’re over thinking this. Let’s say your shower has only the minimum - a hook for your towel.</p>

<p>So, this is what you do. You take off your clothes in your room. You put on a towel. You walk down the hall in a towel and get in the shower (with your key - I left my door unlocked but I wouldn’t recommend this, it’s quite careless). Then you stick your hand out and hang your key on the hook and you drape your towel over top of the key. </p>

<p>You can leave the caddy right outside the shower on the ground and reach out for shampoo, etc. Or leave it on the ground and take the shampoo and things you need in with you and put those on the ground. Or you can get a caddy that can hang on the towel hook over your towel and reach out for shampoo, etc. Or leave it on the hook and take the shampoo and things you need in with you and put those on the ground. Or you can get one that drains easily and just bring it in the shower with you and rest it on the floor. Or you can hang this type over the shower head (probably ideal, as it’s in the shower with you, which is convenient, but doesn’t get AS wet as it would on the floor).</p>

<p>When you’re done, reach out for your towel, pull it into the shower with you, put it on, pick up your caddy and keys, and walk back to your room and get dressed!</p>

<p>So basically, did you really need me to tell you to take a shower naked (but make sure to bring a towel) and to buy any kind of caddy you want? No :P. The College Life threads shock me a lot of times…how do I take a shower? What bookbag should I buy? What clothes do I wear? Wowww, come on people ;).</p>

5

<p>At my college most dorm bathrooms have shelves with 4"x6"x8" compartments. Enough space for a toothbrush and toothpaste, not enough to keep all of your shower items there.</p>

<p>I agree with the above posters that you should not worry about the bathroom setup before you have seen the bathroom. Do get a shower caddy though because it will be useful!</p>

6

<p>The bare minimum is a shower rod/curtain, which is basically all my shower had. There was a chair between the two showers that we would put our stuff on sometimes, but what I wound up doing was just hanging the towel on the shower rod over the curtain.</p>

7

<p>When I lived in a dorm, there was the shower, which contained just a curtain (that never closed all the way), and then there was a small “changing stall” directly in front of the shower, also with a too small curtain.</p>

<p>I usually just put my stuff on the floor in there, or grab the handicap shower and put my stuff on the bench that’s in the changing stall. </p>

<p>Regarding what you wear, most people would just walk around in a towel and that was it. The halls weren’t that big, so people would only be walking in them for a few seconds anyway. </p>

<p>My suggestion is to invest in a cheap pair of flipflops. Walking around in the bathroom barefoot, or even just standing in the stall barefoot, is not something I would do. Some people like to um…double the shower as a toilet. =/</p>

8

<p>umcp11: the reason i ask these questions is because everything you just described is something i’m simply not used to doing. imagine being used to a certain process your entire life, and then having to change the process for a few months. these are things you normally don’t worry about. i don’t generally worry about where to place my soap or shampoo or toothbrush or even keys. i just leave them in one location and they’re always there. of course if you’ve done the entire floor bathroom thing before its sort of silly to read some of these questions.</p>

<p>just some notes: changing in your room and walking around in a towel is just asking for trouble to happen. i don’t even do that in my own house. and i constantly yell at my sisters for doing that. it’s ■■■■■■■■. change in the bathroom where there is no risk of your clothes falling off you as you walk back to your room. as for the caddy, i don’t care where it goes as much as i do about what my toothbrush touches. i figure the less water that hits the toothbrush, the better. that’s why i figured hanging the caddy is the best idea.</p>

<p>you kind of answered everything except one thing about the keys. i’ve lost keys in the past. its a ****ty fine from the school. this is why i worry about them. that plus the possibility of someone getting into my room and stealing (there have been instances of this in the past on campus). just leaving them under the towel is no good for me. they need to be in my sight at all times basically. so can keys rust if they are hit by water constantly? because i’m thinking of just tying them around my wrist or something. since i have to hand them in at the end of the semester i need to make sure the school will accept them back.</p>

<p>thanks everyone for giving me a better idea of how floor bathrooms are like.</p>

9

<p>PlattsburghLoser: hahaha that last part about being doubling up the shower is a bit disgusting. yea i have a pair of flip flops i use to shower anyways. i think i’m just gonna walk in my dirty clothes into the shower. i change in the bathroom, not in my room.</p>

10

<p>

I guess it’s a matter of personal preference, but in the bathrooms in my dorm last year there was really no where to change unless you wanted to bring your clean clothes with you, leave them on the floor of the bathroom, and then change in the shower stall after you’re done showering. I prefer to have more room to change and wouldn’t want to leave my clean clothes on the bathroom floor. I don’t see walking around in a towel as a risk anyways as I can make sure it’s tight enough that it won’t fall off and if I need to I can hold it around my waist.<br>

I don’t know for sure what keys are made out of, but I think they’re probably usually made out of metals that don’t rust, as that WOULD be a significant risk.</p>

11

<p>You could wear a bathrobe instead of a towel. I can’t help you if you’re afraid of that falling off, but that’s probably a better idea than the towel or bringing your clothes with you.</p>

<p>If you have the key on a lanyard, you could hang it over the shower head. Would that work? You could also put it in a bag inside your caddy or something. I highly doubt that anyone is going to go around the showers looking for keys to steal. If you’re insistent on tying the key around your wrist, just make sure you dry it when you’re finished, and it probably won’t rust.</p>

12

<p>BPGuy, yah, your towel could fall off, and then people would see you naked. And then they would realize that they aren’t little kids, and go on living their lives. </p>

<p>Convenience > lugging all your stuff around pointlessly.</p>

13

<p>yeah i’m not concerned about my floormates seeing me naked at all.
i mean im not interested in showcasing at all, but if if someone sees my towel slip, 9 times out of ten, they’re not going to say anything and if they do they end up looking like a jackass.</p>

14

<p>hahaha some of these comments are funny. sorry if i dont like seeing other guys naked or other guys seeing me naked. i see the bathrobe as the middle man that isn’t necessary especially if you just change in the shower. i much rather just walk in my dirty clothes. and that’s what i’ll do. i dont care too much about walking around in a tshirt and boxers so that’s what i’ll do.</p>

<p>interestingly enough though this conversation made me wonder, how many people when showering change in their rooms vs changing in the shower/bathroom?</p>

<p>now i’m off to find some lanyard or some flexible string to tie my keys too.</p>

15

<p>I had clothes + towel + key in a plastic bag and hung it right outside the shower. </p>

<p>Everything else = bath caddy</p>

<p>No bathrobe for me. I think it’s a hassle. Just t-shirt and boxers and walk around.</p>

16

<p>Can’t you leave your door unlocked for a shower? Is your school really so rife with theft that you couldn’t leave it unlocked for 20 minutes while you’re on the same floor?</p>

<p>As others have said, relax a bit. You’re overthinking it! It’s fine if you’re modest, but no one is going to think you’re flaunting yourself by walking down the hall in a t-shirt and boxers! And unless you’re worried about all of the stuff in your caddy getting wet, just bring it into the shower with you. A lot of schools have racks in the bathroom to store your shower stuff.</p>

17

<p>You could leave your door unlocked but if something gets stolen, the school will wash their hands and say it’s your fault.</p>

18

<p>i’m going to be in a single. i can’t leave the door unlocked. there have been cases of theft in the past. some have even involved students getting robbed in a 9th floor of a building via windows…some where you leave for a weekend only to find out when you return your roommates friend who crashed that same weekend from out of state had stolen your stuff…and of course it’s not the norm. it’s not something that happens every week or month. but it does happen.</p>

<p>but even if there weren’t, why even take the risk? i’m going to have some expensive electronics with me. i rather none of it get stolen. it’s kind of like having an expensive car parked outside. would you leave it unlocked even if there haven’t been of cases of theft in the neighborhood?</p>

19

<p>Why not just lock your door? It takes all of ten seconds to unlock it.</p>

20

<p>Okay, guess you’re justified. My school is known for its low theft rates, and all students are on the honor code system, so I guess my experience is really different than most…</p>