Let’s be considerate towards the cleaning staff

Badly used restrooms are proof of poor behaviour, Gulf News readers say

This is an awkward conversation, but one that needs to be had. Restrooms are filthy, germ-filled places, and bad etiquette makes things worse.

As public washrooms go, UAE residents have it pretty good compared to many other countries. Most public restrooms are kept relatively clean by maintenance staff.

Why, then, do people fail to follow basic hygeine practices?

And what about those who end up cleaning after us? How much worse is their experience?

J.C., a cleaner at an office building in Dubai, said that despite signboards in every cubicle asking users to flush, people failed to comply. “Maybe they think it’s a public washroom so it’s okay,” she said.

Another cleaner, 33-yearold Jl May Carmel Uayen, who worked at an office facility for some time, said: “There was a woman who worked at the office who would never flush. One day when she left the cubicle, I told her: ‘Excuse me, ma’m. Can you please flush your own mess? I don’t want to offend you.’” When asked why people failed to follow basic hygeine rules, most

readers said it was due to a lack of empathy. “The reason is simple — they are not the ones cleaning it,” Mahnaaz Shaikh, an Indian expatriate said.

Several comments on the newspaper’s official Facebook page echoed the sentiment.

Babitha Vasanth wrote: “I have often seen people messing up in spite of others looking at them. My daughters and I always let the staff have a smile and a touch of happiness. At times, I even tip them for a thank you. Hats off to them.”

The writer is a trainee with the Readers Desk at Gulf News.