Public toilets: description, views. Public toilets in Moscow

For a long time in the cities there was no complete sewage system. The sewage was often thrown directly into the street, which naturally led not only to a constant stench and dirt, but also to the development of severe infectious diseases, which sometimes grew into extensive epidemics.

Therefore, the role played by the first public toilets, it is difficult to overestimate. They not only allowed to clean streets of big cities, but also literally saved many people's lives.

A bit of history

The first public toilets appeared in Russia only in the 19th century. So, in St. Petersburg in 1871, a latrine was built, called a "rash", next to the Mikhailovsky Arena. It was a house built over a cesspool in which a small Russian stove was set up for heating.

Success inspired, and a little later the city authorities built another 42 similar toilets. All of them gravitated to the places where the largest number of people gathered - the markets, the central district of the city, squares and parks. The initiative was gradually picked up by other Russian cities.

Types of public toilets (natural)

Depending on the method by which the sewage is removed, the following types of public toilets are distinguished - natural, biotoilets, chemical and sewer.

1. In places where there is no centralized sewerage, so-called natural toilets operate successfully. They are a small cubicle built over a cesspool. To do this, above it is made flooring with a hole in it (a point) cut into it, into which those who want and cope need. To get fresh air into the booth, a small ventilation opening is usually made in the door. Faeces periodically sprinkle with earth or peat to improve their biological processing and somewhat reduce the unpleasant odor. A filled cesspool is periodically cleaned with a sewage machine or manually.
2. In biotoilets for recycling waste is used peat, due to which the content gradually turns into compost, suitable for fertilizing plants. In contrast, chemical toilets recycle waste with the help of reagents and therefore they are preferred to be used, for example, on construction sites or during festivals.
3. Sewer toilets are the prerogative of places with a centralized sewage system, which allows to remove feces with a current of water.

Requirements for placing public toilets

Growing cities require more public latrines. The construction of such buildings requires a serious approach, which should take into account not only the location, but also the adequacy of capacity (it is estimated that there should be 0.3 devices per 1,000 people).

When designing, it is required to observe certain sizes of public toilets, which proceed from the fact that at least 2.5 m is needed for each toilet bowl and for each urinal - at least 1.5 meters of the territory. The height of the premises implies 3.2 m in freestanding buildings, and in built-in or underground buildings it should be at least 2.8 m.

Where can I place public toilets

There are certain rules for a place where public latrines can be placed.

So, for sanitary requirements, their installation in homes, in school and preschool institutions, as well as in complex buildings reserved for treatment and preventive or sanitary-epidemiological institutions, is not allowed.

Toilets in public buildings that receive a large number of visitors are installed at a distance of no more than 75 m from the most distant place where people are constantly. And in stadiums this distance should not exceed 150 m from a place of playing sports or from the most distant place in the stands.

It is recommended to place mobile toilet booths no closer than 50 m from public and residential buildings. A similar requirement, by the way, applies to stationary toilets.

Designation of public toilets

To designate a toilet in a public place, different cities and countries use different indexes. In addition to the inscription "Toilet", in Europe it can be the letters WC (abbreviated water closet).

And in hotels and hotels public toilets located on the floor are designated by the OO, which means that this room does not have a numbering. True, many believe that such an inscription came from the British army, where so inscribed toilet rooms for officers (Officers Only).

In addition, in parallel public toilets are used for the designation of offices for men and women - "M" and "F" or "M" and "W" (in the English version). In some cases, instead of inscriptions, pictograms or images associated with either the toilet theme or the visitor's floor are used.

Public toilets for people of any gender

Recently, more and more latrines do not assume a difference in gender of their visitors. That is, on the premises allocated for this type of services, it is increasingly rare to see signs that these are public men's toilets or women's.

Such changes are related to the fact that the possibility of visiting latrines only by persons of a certain gender creates some difficulties. For example, men who solely care for an infant may find that the changing table is available only in the ladies' room. The father of a growing girl can also face a problem - or let a small child go to the female half himself, or take it with him to the male. Agree: both are equally inconvenient.

Toilets for people of both sexes are built with a large dressing room where you can wash your hands and put your clothes in order, and with the room where the closed cabins are located. This allows both men and women not to embarrass one another.

Sanitary ware for public toilets

Requirements for sanitary equipment for public toilets do not depend on how many visitors are simultaneously calculated - it should be vandal-proof and easy to wash.

And the most popular in this respect is the toilet bowl for public toilets - the bowl of Genoa. It is a rectangular product made of cast iron, steel or ceramic, with special recesses for the feet and elongated capacity in the middle, which implies squatting. And this has undoubted advantages, as the visitor does not need to touch the surfaces with anything other than shoes.

Unlike other types of toilet bowls, the Genoa bowl is reliable and has a very long period of use.

Toilets can be beautiful

In our time, public toilets gradually cease to be places where you want to jump out as soon as possible. In many cities around the world, these premises have become architectural landmarks.

• So, in Tel-Aviv (Israel) the eye is pleased with round orange cabins, more like oranges than in toilet rooms. And in Gdansk (Poland), the historical part of the city was decorated with a construction that looked like a drop of rain, which blended harmoniously with the local color.
• Japanese architects created 17 types of public toilets for Hiroshima parks, made in the style of origami, but poured from concrete. They are painted in bright colors and serve as a decoration for the area.
• And in the city of Uster (Switzerland) the toilet resembles a cube, covered with scaly snake skin. This effect was achieved by intertwining about 300 different colored strips of green colored aluminum stripes.
• The toilet in the center of Austin (Texas, USA) is located next to the alley that runners have chosen for themselves. It is more like an installation from wooden boards than a toilet, so it fits perfectly into the surrounding landscape.
• And in the beach zone of Wellington (New Zealand), the toilets are like sea monsters with long corrugated tails. These tails, by the way, are a natural ventilation for the room.
• But the most beautiful can be safely called a female public toilet in the Shoi Tabuchi Theater (USA). It is more like a room of a chic palace, filled with flowers. Mirrors here are framed in massive bronze frames, and for those who want to relax, there are even rocking chairs.

And yet there are not enough public toilets

But still, according to the UN, every day about 2.5 billion people in the world suffer from a lack of public toilets. Moreover, the employees of this organization recognized the situation as close to catastrophic.

In fact, even where there are latrines, they are often in terrible condition, because of which people who use them, risk health. And women and children, when they visit public toilets, often become victims of violence. As a result, many people have to cope with need in places that are not adapted for this, which, of course, has a negative impact on the epidemiological and ecological situation in the world.

Public toilets in Moscow

Moscow is not an exception in this respect either. Visiting, and even the inhabitants of the city can find it very difficult to find a place where you can help. After all, many existing public latrines are simply not noticeable. On them there is not only advertising, but even easily recognizable notation. Obviously, this is due to the fact that the staff is absolutely not interested in increasing the number of visitors.

Since the mid-90s, blue plastic toilet cabins (which were mistakenly called biotoilets) were brought to Moscow. Most of them were gradually put into operation by entrepreneurs. And although the advantages of such latrines are obvious - they are mobile, do not take up much space, are inexpensive and pay off well within a couple of months - they are still too small for a huge city. This, in the end, leads to the fact that the "blue booths" quickly turn into an unusable place.

To correct the situation, new modular toilets are called for, which began to appear in Moscow in 2013. They are equipped with light, hot water, a self-cleaning system, soap, a mirror and even an "alarm button", through which you can call the police or ambulance.

A few words at a time

In many respects, how public toilets are equipped, we can judge the level of culture and development of the state.

The ability to satisfy your physiological needs in a comfortable environment is a sign of caring for citizens. And how citizens relate to the preservation of property and the maintenance of order in such institutions, can say a lot about their upbringing, education and habit of hygiene. It is a pity, if public latrines will be the source of only unpleasant impressions.