thePULSEBy Kelsey Lemmon
Think back to the dirtiest bathroom you’ve ever seen, whether it be at a bar, club, restaurant or at a friend’s house, then multiply that by five, and you’ve officially seen a bathroom in a college dorm. It doesn’t matter how beautiful or expensive the university is, it is more than likely the bathroom on each and every floor will look like a crime scene.
From seeing showerheads torn off the walls, causing leaks throughout the entire building, to taking pictures of girls passed out on the floor under a stall on a Friday night, I’ve experienced it all firsthand, and so will you. One of the worst things to walk into is the pungent smell cigarette smoke. Just because you turn on the shower does not mean the smell is going to vanish into thin air, FYI.
When you’re in the moment, it’s rather alarming to walk into the bathroom, thinking you’re going to be taking a nice, relaxing shower after class, but instead, you see the girl down the hall showering with the boy downstairs. Or when you’ve decided to stay in on a Saturday night to study for a test and you walk into the bathroom and can’t even get to the sink to wash your hands because drunken girls are taking shots of vodka and mirror selfies.
If you’ve been assigned a suite, which is a bit more private and usually consists of a living room area, four bedrooms and a bathroom, do not automatically think you’re in the clear. Just because you don’t share a bathroom with as many people doesn’t mean they can’t walk into your suite at any time and do as they please. It’s happened to me, and it will probably happen to you, too.
Suite bathrooms can actually turn out to be dirtier in the long run because it is up to you and your suitemates to clean the shower, the toilets, the floors, the mirrors … everything. The cleaning staff is only responsible for the bathrooms that are publically used throughout the dorm. Therefore, if you end up in a suite, be prepared to see long strands of hair on the shower walls, dirty toilets and other foul, miscellaneous things. The best way to deal with this is to agree on cleaning duties for each suitemate and to stick by it.
From someone who has gone through it, my best piece of advice is to always, always wear flip flops in the shower, or else you will get an infection and die. Kidding … but seriously. Oh, and if you’re a guy, expect triple the grime.
