Which bathroom stall is the cleanest

So how can you pick the cleanest bathroom stall in a place like this? Well, go against your instincts. According to research, the middle stalls are the dirtiest. Studies show that when people are given several equally good or equally revolting options, people tend to choose the middle one. According to a paper published in the journal Psychological Science, psychologist Nicholas Christenfeld detailed a number of short experiments that focused on the centrality preference. If you do, you are not alone.

Experts theorize that people tend to skip the first stall in favor of stalls farther back to have a little more privacy. But because the first stall is used least often, it contains the lowest bacteria levels.

Instead of skipping the first stall, choose it to help avoid possible infections. International Bipolar Foundation.

Being at home is probably the most comfortable situation for most of us, and some people will even go to such lengths as to only use their own private facility. In most cases, the first stall you pass in a public restroom is the least private. Based on this, the first stall is likely chosen least frequently by people and could be the cleanest. A small survey done in , calculated that people generally look for the cleanest, largest, and most private stall when given a choice.

Do you think the handicap stall is used less frequently because most people follow the rules? Think again. Beyond visual and olfactory inspection, there are two things to consider when determining how clean that stall truly is. First, have you ever walked out of the bathroom and seen that checklist on the restroom door with times and initials from the building staff?

If it is up to date, you can probably assume that the facilities are well-maintained. If not, you'll have to draw your own conclusions. Second, how full are the toilet paper dispensers? The restroom stall with the fullest dispenser will likely be the most recently cleaned or the least frequently used.