Bathrooms - The Secrets of a Long Marriage
Bathrooms may not be the first thing you think of when you're considering a long and happy marriage. True love, romance, mutual respect perhaps might be higher up on your list. But in fact, bathrooms could be more important in the long run. Squabbles over who uses the bathroom first, arguments over a partner who particularly hogs the bathroom with long baths or showers, or who spends hours getting ready, and the irritations of someone else leaving the toilet seat up, not cleaning the bath after themselves or leaving wet towels all over the room are just some of the reasons why two bathrooms are the secret to a long marriage.
Bathrooms - The Key to Marital Bliss
The mini-mundane crimes of the bathroom may seem trivial, but day-in day-out, the irritations can build into a deep seated resentment. The daily quarrels can be enough to ruin your day. So it's no wonder that actor Michael Caine has said what every married couple already knows - separate bathrooms are the key to a long and perfect matrimony.
Bathrooms: Even Film Stars Go!
Bathrooms however can be expensive, and not every family can have two bathrooms due to space limitations or budget. Where there's a will, however, there's a way. And for the sake of a happy marriage, it might be worth considering converting an attic, basement, unused pantry or utility room or tiny spare bedroom into a second bathroom or shower room. Actor Michael Caine said separate bathrooms were the secret to his long marriage with his wife of 35 years. He spoke to press during the publicity drive for the Batman flick, The Dark Knight. The actor refused to share bathrooms with his wife, Shakira, a former model who he first spotted in a TV ad and decided to woo her into marriage. He was quoted as telling the press: "Never share a bathroom with a woman. We've always had two bathrooms." And it isn't just in his private home where separate bathrooms are a priority, but even when they travel and stay in hotels. He added: "We book into hotels and we ask for two bedrooms and you see them thinking that our marriage is on the rocks, but I'm just trying to get another bathroom."
Bathrooms - Shower on your Parade
Bathrooms can be huge bones of contention. In fact, the thrill of staying in a hotel on your own with an en-suite bathroom can be many people's idea of bliss - the thought of long, undisturbed soaks in the bath or brisk showers first thing with nobody else knocking on the door is pure heaven. But the fact is, most of us don't have hotel en-suites to retreat to that often and our bathrooms can be a daily battle ground. But bathrooms should be places of escape, rejuvenation and relaxation. So how do you cope with the irritations and frustrations that come with sharing bathrooms?
Bathrooms: A Sign of Wealth
Whether it's the previous person before you not cleaning the shower or bath after they've used it, leaving the sink clogged up, or if it's a man leaving the loo seat up for his girlfriend - there's always something to grip about in our bathrooms. If it's not the state of our bathrooms left by sloppy family members or flat mates, it's the fact we have to queue for hours or hire a hostage negotiator to convince teenagers away from the bathroom mirror. The battle over bathrooms is so extreme that some people are suggesting the only way to avoid divorce or relationship meltdowns is to install a second or even third bathroom. If you don't have space for new bathrooms - converting a utility room into a shower room for example could be sufficient. It's no wonder that the number of bathrooms a home has is often a unique selling point. In fact, the wealthier you are the more bathrooms you seem to have.
Multiple Bathrooms Sought After
Ignoring seemingly small annoyances such as hairs in the plughole or leaving the toothpaste lid off may be easier said than done - these irritations can build up into huge resentments and lifelong grumbling. Bathrooms are not just functional spaces, but places where we can find privacy and relax, it's no wonder that houses with more bathrooms tend to be so sought after.
Bathrooms - Secrets of the Soul
Are you a bathroom diva? Some people spend hours in their bathrooms. And going by the state of their bathroom cabinets, they spend more on bathroom products than on food. There's never been so much pressure to look our best thanks to our celebrity-obsessed culture.
Bathrooms - What They Say About You
And bathrooms no doubt reveal our inner weaknesses, natures and obsessions. Party animal? You ideally have a practical wet room with a separate bathroom with an indulgent bath for those recouping days with remedial products such as headache pills stashed in the cabinets. For women, expect a large well-lit mirror for the make-up and hair accessories necessary for any party diva. If you're a book lover, bathrooms should be practical but also places to escape to. A long soak with your favourite author, a pile of miscellaneous reading material by the toilet, and a couple of candles has to be the perfect night in. For sport lovers, their bathrooms should be vibrant, efficient and equipped with power showers and even spa or steam rooms for aching muscles. Gadget-freaks can wire-up their bathrooms with state-of-the-art entertainment systems complete with waterproof remote controls. Bathrooms, like any other room in your home, offer a chance for you to reflect your personality. Those with young children will no doubt have to compromise somewhat and make space for Thomas the Tank Engine water toys. Family bathrooms can be great places for kids - a chance to splash about in the bath.
Bathrooms: Hidden Secrets
But it's what's in our bathroom cabinets that can be so revealing about our innermost fears - consider cream for male baldness or receding hairlines; anti-anxiety medication or herbal remedies; facial bleach or hair removal creams; acne treatments - the list is endless. We may be fantastic at keeping our toilets clean and gleaming (according to research, cleaner than our kitchen chopping boards!) but bathrooms can hide all sorts of horrors. There's nothing worse than opening a cupboard to be met by an avalanche of make-up products. Or how about using friends' bathrooms where the bathroom products are all alphabetically organized with the labels facing one way. Bathrooms can say whether you're uptight, relaxed, easy-going, careless, anxious or calm and kind.
Bathrooms: Under Lock and Key
Many people are intrigued by other people's bathrooms and what they'll find. Bathrooms are places where we store everything from athlete's foot treatments, piles cream, thrush remedies and any other intimate and embarrassing bodily condition you can think of. But do you really want your Grandma discovering what contraceptive you're on, or the kind of condoms you prefer? Hiding these items behind bigger bottles is one way most of us deal with the problem, or getting cabinets with locks.
Bathrooms - Horror Stories
If you Google 'bathrooms' and 'horror stories' you'll be surprised at the huge number of message boards, blogs and various debates where people download their own experiences of horror in bathrooms. Bathrooms in hotels, offices, public bathrooms, unisex bathrooms, as well as bathrooms in our own homes seem to inspire a series of mishaps and misfortunes - many involving a broken lock!
Bathrooms: Hygiene Horrors
Bathrooms can be pristine sanctuaries, places of relaxation or invigoration - helping you wake up in the mornings or unwind in the evenings. But some bathrooms can be something much less desirable. Anyone who has seen the TV show How Clean is Your House, will have witnessed the kinds of hygiene horrors some bathrooms become if they're not looked after. Filthy, stinking, stained toilet bowls and baths and clogged up drains - some bathrooms are so bad it can be traumatic to even consider using them!
Bathrooms: Time for a New One?
Gripes around bathroom hygiene include men with poor aim who leave a puddle of yellow around the toilet, leaking showers that leave damp and mouldy patches, hair-catchers in showers that are never emptied, fuzzy bathtubs that are never cleaned with blocked drains that push the grime and hairs back up into the water! Urgh! Some bathrooms seem beyond repair, even with the help of clean Queens Kim and Aggie.
Bathrooms: Time for a Re-Design?
Some bathrooms are simply horror stories not because of hygiene but because of poor design. A bathroom that has holes where doorknobs should be, or whose doors swing open on their own accord, or where the locks don't work, can lead to some embarrassing scenarios. And some bathrooms are simply in dire need of repair - missing or broken toilet seats can turn going to the loo into a logistical nightmare, demanding strong balancing skills and stronger leg muscles!
Bathrooms: A Disastrous Date
For women who go on new dates, the anxiety that accompanies the first moment they use their new boyfriend's bathroom can be immense. Although some men's bathrooms are spotless, others fall into the hygiene horrors category. What's worse is visiting a bathroom in a friend's house that has no toilet roll, or taps that don't work with no soap or a towel that looks like it's been used to clean the oven with. Such poor hygiene in bathrooms can be disastrous for new dates - after all, if their bathrooms are that dirty, nobody would want to get too close to them!
Bathrooms - Food for Thought
Bathrooms are where we wash away the daily grime and flush away our waste. Bathrooms are the last place you'd want to consider taking food. But various research suggests that we may indeed be safer eating our dinner in our bathrooms than our kitchens. A study has found that three-quarters of homes in America have kitchen sponges heavy with harmful bacteria. The study by a major cleaning product company was based on a global survey by independent environmental scientists.
Bathrooms Cleaner than Kitchens
The tests were conducted in several countries targeting kitchens and bathrooms. The tests would fail the surface examined if it found more than 100,000 bacteria per square metre. Overall, 90% of kitchen cloths and 46% of kitchen sinks failed on the bacteria test. Whereas the results for bathrooms was far more favourable, with just 38% of sinks in bathrooms failing the test. E coli and salmonella are common bacteria that triggers food poisoning and diarrhoea.
Eating in Bathrooms?
It's thought kitchens are mores susceptible than bathrooms because bacteria can feed on food and drink. But there are general concerns that people make more effort cleaning bathrooms because of the idea that they become dirty quickly and because we're perhaps more conscious of bacteria and smells in bathrooms. But scientists have warned that there are risks in over-cleaning bathrooms at the expense of kitchens. Studies have shown that people don't regularly clean or bin dirty sponges. As a result it's been said to be better to live like a slob and not clean, than to spread bacteria across kitchen surfaces with an infected cloth. And it may be even safer to eat dinner in bathrooms going by the test results. The findings showed that men living alone had the best results because they rarely wiped down surfaces and so didn't spread bacteria as much.
Top Tips
And next time you see your dog drinking from the toilet bowl, don't be too disgusted - the research found that a post-flush loo is cleaner than a kitchen sink. The fact that bathrooms tend to be cleaner than our kitchens is a major cause of concern, but at least it shows the majority of homeowners take pride in their bathrooms. Top tips for cleaning kitchens include blasting cleaning clothes in a microwave for a minute, which will sterilise the clothes, although don't put it on too long so it's a fire hazard. As when you use bathrooms, make sure you regularly wash your hands, don't rinse chicken in the kitchen sink and ensure all surfaces that come in contact with raw chicken are washed thoroughly.
Bathrooms - Flying High
Bathrooms are necessary in every home - places where we refresh, relax and get ready for each new day. But there are times when having access to bathrooms simply isn't possible - and one of those places must be 40,000 feet up. But now it's possible to take a shower if you're a first class passenger on the new super jumbos that fly long-distance.
Bathrooms: The Height of On-board Luxury
Anyone who has flown economy will know what the state of the bathrooms usually are - tiny cabins that squeeze in a tiny, metallic toilet, minuscule sink and a rather scary powerful suction flush. Space is compromised, and using bathrooms on flights tends to be an unpleasant affair, not least because the idea of using the toilet 43,000 feet in the sky can leave you with a touch of vertigo.
Bathrooms - Showering at 40,000 Feet
But new levels of luxury have been introduced to airline bathrooms - for those that can afford it. The super jumbo's bathrooms feature water temperature and time control, and rather than a compact washbasin, the bathrooms feature a sink, changing area and vanity unit. Bathrooms are the height of luxury when space is at a premium, but the jets feature two fully equipped bathrooms in the first class section of the plane, complete with shower spa.
Luxury Bathrooms, Mini-Bars and LCD TVss
But unless you're occupying one of the 14 first-class suites, the economy class passengers will have to make do with the port-a-loo style bathrooms until they reach their homes or hotels. In fact, if there's one thing that makes you appreciate your bathrooms at home, it's a long-distance flight! As well as the super jumbos featuring luxury bathrooms, the design of the interior was done with help from the famous designer, Jack Pierre Jean. The first class cabins take the entire upper deck of the jet, featuring mini bar and work desks and state-of-the-art communication and entertainment systems, including a 23-inch LCD TV. For business class passengers, they may not have the luxury bathrooms but they do have lie-flat beds, mini bars and 17-inch LCD screens. For those first-class and business passengers who want to take a stroll, they can go and hang out in the lounge, with its fully stocked bar and 42-inch LCD screen to watch the views from the craft on TV.
Bathrooms - Detoxing the Bathroom
If adverts are to be believed, then homeowners require every product under the sun to keep their bathrooms clean and shiny but the truth of the matter is that bathrooms are simple to keep clean with the simplest of cleaning routines and rarely require industrial strength cleaners to get the job done. According to a report on alive.com , all you really need to keep bathrooms looking dazzling is three simple ingredients; namely white vinegar, baking soda and water. Bathrooms are the one room in the house that really do benefit from looking spotless and keeping showers, sinks, toilets and fixtures gleaming will ensure that your bathroom is a welcoming and relaxing place in which to spend time which, after all, is the overriding objective of bathrooms. Using these simple ingredients to clean bathrooms is also a much more environmentally friendly option which is of increasing importance to many homeowners today.
Bathrooms - Areas to Focus Upon
When it comes to cleaning bathrooms, certain areas of the room are more important to focus upon than others. The easiest area of bathrooms to keep clean is bathtubs and sinks as these can be cleaned simply with a damp cloth and baking soda. It is amazing how much more visually appealing bathrooms are when the fixtures and fittings positively sparkle and the fact that it is so easy to keep bathrooms clean with the minimum of effort is a good reason to keep on top of the cleaning regime. The reason that bathtubs and sinks should be cleaned with baking soda is because it won't scratch the enamel surfaces that are commonplace in bathrooms. When cleaning the backsplash tiling areas in bathrooms, it is better to use white vinegar first to remove the residue before cleaning the surface with baking soda. If there is a build up of dirt on the grouting in showers, then spray it with white vinegar and allow it to work for around an hour before tackling it with a coarse toothbrush.
Bathrooms - Thinking of the Environment
According to the report on alive.com , it is very important to use environmentally friendly products when it comes to cleaning bathrooms as the products used will end up going down drains and into the water system which means that the more environmentally friendly they are the better. Bathrooms are easy to keep looking in tip-top condition and bathrooms can be kept looking this way without relying on harsh industrial cleaning products.
Looking for Bathrooms? Speak to Bathrooms 365
Bathrooms 365 are one of the UK's leading providers of showers, baths and bathroom furniture and go that extra mile to give the best deals to their customers. Bathrooms 365 are an innovative supplier of bathroom supplies and pride themselves on the extent of their product range which spans from bathrooms suites to shower trays. Bathrooms 365 are delighted to offer quality branded goods at highly competitive prices that are sure to appeal. To find out more about the showers, baths and bathroom furniture available from Bathrooms 365 just call 020374 41212 or email info@bathrooms365.com