PUBLIC TOILET WASH OUT
Public loos in Palmerston North are no longer being stocked with soap, causing the skin of some to crawl.
The council has washed its hands of the slippery stuff, sick of soap dispensers being vandalised, leaving bathroom users to rely on water alone for good hygiene.
It came as a shock to a disgusted user who contacted Manawatu¯ Standard.
‘‘It’s 2018 and we are shaking hands with others who have faeces on them.’’
Well, apparently that’s not a problem.
The practice may go against what our parents taught us, but the district health board is not expecting the change to spark an outbreak of disease.
Most of the germs found in public toilets were the common bacteria found on skin that could be picked up anywhere, said Midcentral medical officer of health Craig Thornley, not gut bacteria.
Public toilets were not a public health risk, he said.
‘‘There is relatively little risk. People should just use common sense.’’
He said if people washed their hands under running water for 20 seconds – as long as it takes to sing Happy Birthday twice – and dried them properly, they were good to go.
He advised a proper hand wash with soap and water before next handling food, and if people were particularly concerned, they could carry an alcohol-based hand sanitiser for a ‘‘pretty good’’ result.
Some people in the streets of Palmerston North were dismayed the council had given in to vandals and cut hygiene standards.
‘‘They are pandering to the wants of a few and ignoring the needs of many,’’ said Bryan Treloar.
He was worried germs would be able to spread more easily, creating potential for a ‘‘community health issue’’.
Aucklander Fiona Austin said she would not avoid using public toilets just because there was no soap.
‘‘If you use a public toilet, you can expect some extra germs.’’
Ace Ruru thought the decision to remove the dispensers was ‘‘weird.’’
‘‘Soap should be used in public toilets, but no one uses it anyway.’’
City council acting chief infrastructure officer Ray Swadel said the council would prefer to have soap dispensers in public toilets.
‘‘However, due to a disappointing level of vandalism in the majority of our public toilets, we have had to remove items that can be tampered with.
‘‘This includes soap dispensers. While this is not ideal, the cost of servicing and replacing soap dispensers has influenced us to no longer have them available.’’