Full bladders, closed bathrooms. Strategies for peeing while out during coronavirus

Los Angeles Times ^ | July 25, 2020 | Jeanette Marantos

[billorites]

Remember the good old days (a few months ago), when you could leave your home for the day with a tall tumbler of coffee and a car well-stocked with water, confident in the knowledge that when your bladder came calling, you could find quick and easy relief at the nearest coffee shop, gas station or fast-food restaurant?

Because after a couple of hours, you were likely ready for another Starbucks Nitro Cold Brew anyway, right? At least that’s how it worked in my world, where regular caffeine was such a workday requirement that by the time I got home, the interior of my car was full of empty cups.

In truth, I probably owe my caffeine addiction to my bladder: I had to buy a new coffee every few hours so I could justify using a coffee shop’s public bathroom when I was working outside the office.

But the easy days of ubiquitous public restrooms are but memory, thanks to the coronavirus pandemic and the lockdowns that have shuttered the seating areas — and toilets — of many coffee shops and restaurants.

Is there any dance more urgent than racing into a gas station in pursuit of a restroom only to discover it’s closed to the public and trying to think, “What do I do now?” over the screams of your near-bursting bladder?

The staff at the Central 76 station in Riverside, just off the 91 Freeway, have seen that look more than once. “Lots of people come here from other stations saying, ‘I have to go!’” said assistant manager Cesar Mungaray. “And if we notice people heading to the wall [outside], we go to the door and shout, ‘Hey, we have restrooms open inside,’ because when they have to go, they’ll go outside.”

So maybe it isn’t my imagination

[ClearCase_guy]

Usually, one of the benefits of living in a Third World Country is that the cost of living tends to be on the low side. But I find my cost of living to be rather high. Weird.

[centurion316]

Never leave the house without a bottle of water. Drink the water. When you can’t find a loo, refill the bottle. Problem solved. Gals may have a problem with this technique, but Amazon has some devices that serves as an adaptor between the girl parts with the bottle opening. Happy peeing everyone.

[dp0622]

I don’t mean to be crass but on a 12 hour shift driving a cab overnight, a king sized McDonalds diet coke comes in handy

[PeteB570]

Did a 7 1/2 hour road trip down 95 this past week and then back up.

Used the highway rest stops both ways. Took a little pre planning. Id say the average was about 50 miles apart. Had to make the split second decision “now or the next one?”.

All the fast food joints were drive through only.

[bandit123]

construction everywhere here in fla. so use the porta jon as every site has one

[cyclotic]

I occasionally have to pull a trailer for work. I got absolutely shut down at a Taco Bell a few weeks ago for walking up to the drive thru.

A Tim Horton’s in Ohio was perfectly accommodating.

[oldasrocks]

OK resourceful people. Time to design a replacement car seat. Include a padded seat. You will have to drive with your pants down though.

Then if someone tailgates you FLUSH!

[Alberta's Child]

I haven't had this problem in years. I drive a pickup truck with an extended cab and reverse-opening rear doors, and I usually have an empty bottle or coffee cup handy in the cab. When nature calls and I'm nowhere near a bathroom, I use this strategy:

1. Pull off onto the shoulder or a quiet parking lot

2. Venture over to the passenger side of the vehicle and open both the front and rear doors.

3. Use the makeshift "porta-john" to shield myself from public view while taking care of business.

4. Empty the cup or bottle in the grass before driving away.

[Sans-Culotte]

There was a time when finding a place to pee was a big deal to me, due to an enlarged prostate. However, after being on prostate-shrinking medication for over a year, my prostate is pretty near normal. It is amazing the change. I leave my house at 7:00 in the morning for work, and often my next need to pee is usually around noon.

I remember once when I took a vacation to England being amazed at all the public toilets. Street addresses with "WC" in their names had a public toilet. It should not be so difficult to find a place to pee in America.

[redangus]

Don’t laugh, but I have carried a bed pan with me before on long trips. I have an intestinal issue that can make traveling hard. My wife and I bought a conversion van took everything out of the back and built in an RV toilet with enclosure. It’s very nice if I do say so myself. Ahead of the curve I guess, but I still prefer a real rest stop/truck stop bathroom.

[Mr. Lucky]

River towboats have been blessed with that amenity for years.

[cyclotic]

I was just talking about getting food, not getting rid of my last meal

[ronniesgal]

2 weeks ago, we were on the PA. turnpike.
Someone decided to poop on the side of the road, in broad daylight. Not a little kid, either.
Did not even scamper off into the grass!
The rest stops were all open, bathrooms clean.
This falls under “some people” category.
BTW, if I am out and about and a business won’t allow me to use the restroom, I won’t spend any money there.

[null and void]

Self identify as a dog.

Problem solved.

[null and void]

Bladder the size of a grape, prostate the size of a grapefruit. *sigh*

[deport]

For the males on board....

A roto rooter job will make a major change in your lifestyle

[VanShuyten]

“... a bottle of water. Drink the water. When you can’t find a loo, refill the bottle. ”

This would have been handy advice for AG Barr yesterday when the evil Dims wouldn’t let him take a bathroom break.

[familyop]

"Then if someone tailgates you FLUSH!"

Perfect. ;)

[decal]

Office buildings during business hours.