Nov 07 2007
A Clean Act At Sea-Tac
Sorry to keep you waiting.
I know you have been putting 2 and 2 together and ending up with a number approaching 4.
This means you’ve been ruminating and your ruminations went thusly:
- Ms. Q went to Seattle.
- Unless Ms. Q lives within a reasonable driving distance, Ms. Q probably flew.
- Flights involve airports.
- Airports have restrooms.
- Ms. Q takes photos of airport restrooms.
This has led you to ask yourself:
WHERE ARE THE AIRPORT RESTROOM PHOTOS???!!
Interesting question. I’m gonna hold off answering that for a while.
Delay your…gratification.
I’m gonna torture you. I know you want it.
You want it BAD.
Don’t worry. Ms. Q will deliver. She appreciates people who share her Public Restroom Fixation.
I’ve always liked the name of the Seattle Airport: Sea-Tac.
It sounds adventurous. I had visions of seaplanes and orange life vests and manly men squinting into the sun in their manly flight suits.
Why I had these visions, I have no idea. Well, OK, I do have some idea: TACtical. SWAT Team, Navy SEALs. Then there is the fact that if I’m gonna have a vision, I may as well include some Manly Men.
I wasn’t thinking: SEAttle-TAComa. Yaaaawwwn.
Speaking of Tactical, I had to be fairly strategic in taking my Sea-Tac Restroom photos.
If I were REALLY Strategic in my Tactics, I might try taking photos of the Men’s Restroom but I’m not that stealthy. Nor do I have the kiwis for such an endeavor.
Have I whetted your appetite enough?
Let’s get to it then. Let’s take a peek into a Sea-Tac Women’s Restroom.
These photos are actually from 2 different restrooms. The fixtures were the same but some of the decorative accents were different.
This photo shows a bit of sculptural molding above the mirror.
This photo shows a cleaner look.
One thing that I liked was that the restrooms were spacious, clean and had plenty of stalls. NO WAITING!
The stalls themselves were clean, with NO ANNOYING AUTOFLUSH and regular Toilet Paper Rolls!
I didn’t experience any icky backsplash nor was I left with USELESS SHREDS.
I thought the coat hook was nicely designed as well as functional.
However, I never understand why shelves are placed over the toilet. Over-the-toilet placement just doesn’t seem…strategic.
There were plenty of mirrors and nice shelves below them.
The Sea-Tac restrooms were a clean act. I would like to say that they are also a Class Act but the cleaning supplies were left out in the restroom. This wasn’t a rare event as I saw this on two separate trips.
Yes, that is my backpack. My WORK backpack. Big Purple Backpack, the backpack you know and love, is my vacation backpack. It also does double-duty as my grocery shopping backpack. BPB and me are missing South Africa, that’s for sure.
But I digress.
I give Sea-Tac 4.5 flushes out of 5.
So…Did I give you Airport Restroom satisfaction?
………………………………………….
Yes, those over-the-toilet shelves always make me think “gotta sit NOW! before my purse tumbles into the toilet.” But then, of course, I am risking it tumbling onto my head. Which is no better, because then all the contents would fall out onto the floor.
Would I pick up a lipstick that had fallen on a public bathroom floor? Maybe only to put it in the trash, like a responsible citizen.
You know, you read my mind. I was JUST putting it together (I’m slow these days) and wondering.. hey…. wait a minute. hahahahah!
I love the pictures… and I covet that cleaning cart (I’m a cleaner by trade).
Like you, I don’t understand the above-toity shelf concept…
I wish I had taken pictures of the Brisbane restrooms (they call the restrooms ‘toilets’) when I was there. They have some funky set up in there! The flush ‘buttons’ were on the walls, and there were two options; half flush, and full flush.
Sigh. Love the pictures! Bravo!
Wow! That is shiny restroom, even for an airport!!!! They probably need the supplies right there for fast action cleaning. I totally agree about the shelf over the toilet. There’s no way I would put anything up there that couldn’t swim!!!!!!!! You’re against autoflush? They got them at my school in the office & the sound is sort of scary - it screeches before it flushes. Plus, it never flushes at the right time!
Christine: I rarely use the over-the-toilet shelf. I figure I’ll sit down and the vibration will cause whatever is on the shelf to fall on my head and into the toilet. Then there is the fact that flushing the toilet may create some SUCKING action and suck whatever is on the shelf into it’s vortex.
Here’s a trick you can use if you drop something on a public bathroom floor: use hand sanitizer on it if it’s plastic! I dunno if it really works but psychologically it makes me feel better.
Sue: Hahahaha! on being slow!
If you look closely at the photo of the “cleaning cart” you’ll see that it’s really a stolen luggage cart - you know the ones you pay a buck for at the airport and when you return it you get a quarter back or something? I HAVE seen official cleaning carts and those look good. I think they are by Rubbermaid. But I admit, the SmartCarte looks classier.
You’re a photographer - you can do it! You can take photos of the bathrooms! Just think about how much you wish you had taken those Brisbane shots and how much you enjoy my photos. When I’m taking these bathroom shots and get the odd looks, I also think that some are looks of envy. Jill has her Bar Bathroom Awards (I wish I knew how to find ‘em in her blog) so when you start (not IF) taking your own public restroom photos, you’ll be in fantastic company. Maybe you can have your own niche. Like, oh, Chinese Restaurant Restrooms or something. As a cleaner, you might have some interesting access…
Regarding half and full flushes. They have ‘em in Cape Town as well….
Jill: I have a love/hate relationship with autoflush. It’s nice not to have to step on the lever but most times it doesn’t work, it flushes when you’re getting up which isn’t the best timing or it has such force that you get splashed!
Sea-Tac does have nice restrooms. I love the light fixtures.
Your restroom presentation is crazy cool.
It gave me a good chuckle. I see you have an eye for details.
I’ve only understood shelves over toilet paper not that over a toilet. Perhaps its for the excessive luggage. In case you find yourself having to bring all of it in the stole with you.
UT: Glad you got a laugh! My bathroom posts are fun to do. We all gotta go, right? I also get a bit of a kick out of the looks I sometimes get. hahahaha!
Women seem to have a thing for bathrooms but I’m not sure men do. I think women are more interested in bathrooms and how nice they are because using the bathroom is just so much more of a hassle! That’s why there are LINES.
From what little I know about the men’s room, you can all go in a trough. I’m waiting for the Male version of the airport/public restroom ratings!
I have a feeling that Derek Wong might be great at this. Although “Going the Wong Way” might not be quite the interpretation he had in mind.
Regarding the shelf? I’ve seen them over the toilet in other public restrooms so it’s not just for excessive luggage. It just makes no sense to me.
Sea tac sounds like some secret underwater base used to do battle against the forces of evil.
As for the images, they appear to show a clean yet very industrial looking restrooms. Nothing wrong with this but it’s a cold feeling. Wouldn’t you say?
Thank you, Ms Q. I shall certainly consider the women’s room at the Sea-Tac airport for all my future bathroom needs.
Ricardo: I like what your imagination came up with for the name “Sea-Tac” … are you a writer???
The restrooms are clean and industrial looking but they also make me think of ships. The light fixtures make me think of ocean liners and the decorative accents are ocean greens so I don’t think of the bathrooms as cold, more like “cool” like the ocean. But I do see what you mean.
the frogster: I am sure that you will find the restrooms more than adequate for your needs. However, the fact that unlike yours truly you have kiwis, you may be politely told to get your satisfaction elsewhere. Hmm. Then again, I am making an assumption that you have kiwis. I am told that making assumptions isn’t good….
How can you have a decent bathroom without a magazine rack? Sure… a coat hanger is nice, but I will learn nothing from it.
The shiny steel dividers of the “stall shot” reminds my of the future. Could you imagine going in the restroom, and then walking out to find the year to be 2008? Now that would be an awesome and scary toilet!
My worst fear is the dreaded trough urinal in a busy sports arena. I don’t care how open minded you are, this has no place in a civilized society! The memories of these types of liquid waste excursions will haunt my dreams for eternity - which leads me to the name of my comment, “Time in a Can”
Thanks for your bathroom report. I will be waiting for the next photo shoot… and yes, I noticed you had your “white out” face on in the mirror
Cool post MsQ
Eric “Speedcat Hollydale”
Speedy! I don’t think we need to encourage women to linger in public restrooms - so no magazine rack! We get enough lines as it is.
Yeah, that long line of stalls did look a bit futuristic. Restroom-stall-as-time-machine. Eeeee! Not the “wave of the future” I’d want to experience.
So the men’s restroom DOES have a trough! I’ve always thought that troughs were a bit uncivilized but it IS efficient and no matter how yo want to make it pretty or hide it, we all have to eliminate our waste and well…waste ain’t pretty.
Busy sports arena and troughs…urk.
Hahhaha on noticing that I whited out my image in the mirror! Yes it is a tiny photo but still…Ms. Q must remain ever mysterious!