A request for the gentlemen re in-flight lavs.
 

About an hour into MEX-IAD, exactly 3 people had used the front cabin restroom - one F passenger, the captain, and the first officer. I was the unlucky #4 (and the only female).

The bathroom floor had puddles and smelled worse than a back alley in Mumbai.

I can understand there are challenges with moving targets (although there was no turbulence at the time), but please gentlemen.... if aiming is difficult, sit down.

This issue is actually a pet peeve of mine as a male. For whatever reason, most airline restrooms are designed to conduct any "near miss" into a puddle on the floor rather than into the toilet. Maybe there's some reason for this design preference, but it's infuriating because a little turbulence or unsteadiness suddenly turns you into "that guy."

Then again, when that happens, I try to clean up after myself.

Or it could be, as it was for me in a recent flyer, a problem in the system and after each flush a small puddle appeared. The FAs were placing absorptive materials in the floor and into the cabin for much of the flight. The alternative would been to lock the lav.

Related peeve, the toilet seats on 73x seem to be designed not to stay up.

I find the two-handed approach to work well. One hand to aim and the other braced against the "bulkhead" above the toilet. The real mystery for me is the puddle in front of the urinal in airport restrooms.

A request for the gentlemen
 

Some airlines have dedicated male female lavs which wouldn't work on narrow body aircraft.

A request for the gentlemen
 

Or really, anyone using the potty should just make sure they clean up after themselves. Once I was trying to wait for the sink to drain, only to see impatient / concerned PAX who needed the bathroom. You know how some sinks drain more slowly than others...

A request for the gentlemen
 

Knowing this happens frequently I'm absolutely amazed at the number of passengers going to the restroom in their bare feet or just socks, This seems to happen more on internationals the later the flight gets. :eek:

Let's be realistic too. Yes, I've had my share of blind aiming, but some women aren't all that innocent either. No one want's to sit on a strange toilet seat, and a few of the ladies bend over and take some wild shots themselves.

Either way, people have to clean up after themselves. And yes, I've stopped and reminded countless people heading to the lav in their socks.

I have a few times idly wondered (after trips to particularly gross lavs) whether it's an explicit part of the FAs' job to keep the lavs in somewhat respectable condition during flights. Do they check for puddles/trash every so often? Are they supposed to? I don't expect a full-on cleaning, but if there's an issue with the condition of the lav, who else is going to address it during the flight?

+1

Ah, yes, barefootedness on long-haul flights. I cringe whenever I see it, doubly so if the barefooted one is headed for the loo... Ick.

I guess no more than paper refill. Never seen a FA actively cleaning the lavs, and I'd say rightfully so. Their task is different.

I've seen people go barefoot to the lav. I try not to look.

But then again I see people do the oddest things on planes. Top of my list was the guy who clipped his toenails in BF on a EWR-HKG flight two minutes before dinner was served.

I am not particularly squirmish, but I do expect adults to clean up after themselves. Something spills (whatever it is), you mop it up. I expect it from a passenger AND from the crew. Remember, in this instance the last two occupants of the lav were from the cockpit.

I agree, but as I came out of the lav, one of the FAs was just outside so I told her "watch out, the gentlemen don't have very good aim today, it's awful in there".

She thanked me for the warning, and instead of going straight in she pulled a blue bag from the cabinet first. I don't know if she cleaned up in there or not, but I feel bad if she did, definitely not her job.

Sorry to gross out any of the ladies, but sometimes, guys do get the dreaded "split stream." Sometimes, it is pretty innocuous and just hits the floor, but you have to watch out for the ones that can hit your shoes or pants.

Maybe they should put up a sign like the the one the janitorial staff did in my college dorm:
"We aim to please. Won't you aim, too, please?" :D

Reminds me of the scene in Me, Myself and Irene.