, Poland
Entry Doorless entry Modern public toilets may be designed with a labyrinth entrance (doorless entry), which prevents the spread of disease that might otherwise occur when coming in contact with a door. Doorless entry provides visual privacy while simultaneously offering a measure of security by allowing the passage of sound. Doorless entry also helps deter vandalism; fewer audible clues to another person entering discourages some vandals. Doorless entry may also be achieved simply by keeping an existing door propped open, closed only when necessary.
Coin operated entry Pay toilets usually have some form of coin operated turnstile, or they have an attendant who collects the fee.
Privacy People often expect a high level of privacy when using public toilets. Privacy expectations may include toilet cubicles, cubicle doors, urinal partitions and similar. The
World Health Organization states that toilets should be "suitable, private and safe to use for all intended users, taking into consideration their gender, age and physical mobility (e.g. disabled, sick etc.)" and "All shared or public toilets should have [...] doors that can be locked from the inside, and lights".
Service access Modern public toilets often have a service entrance,
utilities passage, and the like, that run behind all the fixtures. Sensors are installed in a separate room, behind the fixtures. Usually, the separate room is just a narrow corridor or passageway.
Sensors Sensor-operated fixtures (faucets, soap dispensers, hand dryers, paper towel dispensers) prevent the spread of disease by allowing patrons to circumvent the need to touch common surfaces. Sensor-operated toilets also help conserve water by limiting the amount used per flush, and require less routine maintenance. Each sensor views through a small window into each fixture. Sometimes the metal plates that house the sensor windows are bolted on from behind, to prevent tampering. Additionally, all of the electrical equipment is safely behind the walls, so that there is no danger of electric shock. However, a
residual-current device must be used for all such electrical equipment. Some public toilets have an automatic sensor-controlled flushing system that flushes the toilet when the user steps away from the sensor. They might also have an additional button that the user can push to provide a second flush.
Urinals Urinals for males are common in public toilets as they are more space efficient than toilets (for
urination). Urinals in public toilets are common in
Western countries but less so in
Muslim countries, partly due to
Islamic toilet etiquette rules.
Urinals for females exist but are rare. Urinals can be with automatic or manual flushing, or without flush water as is the case for waterless urinals. They can be arranged as single sanitary fixtures (with or without privacy walls) or in a trough design without privacy walls. The
body posture for users of urinals is specifically the
standing position. Compared with
urination in a general-purpose toilet, usage is faster and more sanitary because at the urinal there are no fecal germs, no additional doors or locks to touch, and no seat to turn up. A urinal takes less space, is simpler, and consumes less water per flush (or even no water at all) than a
flush toilet. Urinal setups can have individual urinals (with or without privacy partitions) or a communal urinal (also called a trough urinal) which is used by multiple men.
Lighting Service lighting consisting of windows that run all the way around the outside of the toilet using electric lights behind the windows, to create the illusion of extensive natural light, even when the toilets are underground or otherwise do not have access to natural light. The windows are sometimes made of
glass brick, permanently cemented in place. Lighting installed in service tunnels that run around the outside of the toilets provides optimum safety from electrical shock (keeping the lights outside the toilet), hygiene (no cracks or openings), security (no way for vandals to access the light bulbs), and
aesthetics (clean architectural lines that maintain a continuity of whatever aesthetic design is present, e.g., the raw industrial urban aesthetic that works well with glass brick).
Cisterns (tanks) Older toilets infrequently have service ducts, and often in old toilets that have been modernized, the toilet cistern is hidden in a tiled over purpose-built 'box'. Often old toilets still have high-level cisterns in the service ducts. On the outside, the toilet is flushed by a handle (just like an ordinary low-level cistern toilet) although behind the wall this handle activates a chain. Sometimes a long
flushing trough is used to allow closets to be flushed repeatedly without waiting for the cistern to refill. This trend of hiding cisterns and fittings behind the walls started in the late 1930s in the United States and in the United Kingdom from the 1950s, and by the late 1960s it was unusual for toilet cisterns to be visible in public toilets. In some buildings such as schools, however, a cistern can still be visible, although high-level cisterns had become outdated by the 1970s. Many schools now have low-level cisterns.
Hand drying options An option for hand drying is usually provided next to the sink. This can be either a
paper towel dispenser (sometimes they have auto-sensors for touchless dispensing) or a mechanical
hand dryer (used manually or with auto-sensors). Drying of washed hands is important for convenience but also because wet hands are more easily recontaminated. Paper towels are more hygienic than electric air dryers.
Other fixtures Public toilets by their nature see heavy usage. Some high-vandalism settings, such as beaches or stadiums, will use metal toilets. Public toilets generally contain several of the following fixtures.
In the lockable cubicle (stall) • Toilet cubicle door •
Toilet with
toilet seat; whereas a home toilet seat has a lid, a public toilet may or may not, and may not even have a seat •
Toilet paper,
often within a lockable dispenser • Coat hook • "Pull-down" purse holder • sanitary protection bin for
menstrual products; this may be classified as
clinical waste and be subject to special regulations concerning disposal • Dispenser for flushable paper
toilet seat covers • Toilet cubicle door lock sign. The toilet cubicle door lock signs are indicated in either colour: Vacant is marked in green, while Engaged is marked in red
At the point of handwashing • Faucets (taps); some are at a lower level for children and wheelchair users • Antiseptic hand-wash dispenser or
soap dispensers, pump bottles or auto dispensers (not commonly supplied) • Mirror (usually over sinks) •
Waste container / rubbish bin
Elsewhere •
Urinals (almost exclusively in public toilets for males; although see
female urinal) •
Vending machines dispensing condoms, diapers (nappies), painkillers, energy drinks, perfume, breath mints, facial tissue, confectionery, undergarments, swimwear, soap, sex toys, or sanitary napkins or tampons •
Air fresheners or odour control systems • Infant changing table, often fold-down (usually in women's rooms, but increasingly also in men's rooms). They are sometimes placed within a, usually large, toilet cubicle. • Sometimes showers are also present, often with soap, shampoo, or similar dispensers (often at
truck stops) ==Cleaning, maintenance and management==