Should Bathroom Door be Closed or Open when not in Use?

The bathroom is a special room set aside in every building for various private purposes. Most of the things human beings do inside the bathroom are tagged private; something you and you alone should do without having someone there with you.

Therefore the question is, should bathroom door be closed or open when not in use?

The bathroom door should be closed when not in use except you want to leave it open for some special reasons such as allowing ventilation inside the bathroom to quickly dry the floor and wall, etc. Also, if your house has an air conditioner, then you need to close the bathroom door when not in use to avoid the escape of the cold into the bathroom where it is not needed.

A bathroom is a place we visit anytime we want to use the toilet or take our bath. Aside from using the toilet and taking our baths, we do various other things inside the bathroom. They range from washing and urinating, etc. Some prefer to have s*xual intercourse inside their bathroom while the shower is on. That is why I said that we do private things inside the bathroom.

However, the idea of leaving the bathroom door open or close has drawn so much attention and argument. It has equally led to a quarrel between family members, boys, and girls who are in a relationship. I heard a story of a girl that visited her boyfriend only to have a serious beef with her boyfriend’s immediate sister regarding the fact that she does not close the toilet after using it.

Should the bathroom door be closed or open when not in use? Is there any reason why you should leave your bathroom door open when you are not using it?

There are certain times when the bathroom door should be left open if not in use and when it should be closed if not in use. First of all, it depends on the owner of the house. If you feel like leaving it open, you can; if you feel like closing it, then go ahead. However, closing or leaving the bathroom door open when not in use have their advantage and disadvantage. What you have to do is to follow what your guts tell you.

Why You Should Close Your Bathroom Door

Although many people are not comfortable with leaving their bathroom door closed when not in use, there are many reasons why you must do that, and some of the reasons are:

1. To prevent unpleasant odors

Most of the things we do inside the bathroom are private and dirty. We bath, wash, urinate, and poop in the toilet; these are messy things. We bath to be clean; we urinate and poop to remove some waste products from our bodies. Imagine leaving your bathroom door open right after pooping when there is a visitor around. The unpleasant odor from your bathroom is enough to deter such a person from revisiting you again.

Closing the bathroom door will help prevent unpleasant odors from embarrassing you. Apart from pooping, the bathroom can have an unpleasant odor when it has not been cleaned for some time. You may not have cleaned your toilet for some time because of a busy day; leaving the door open in that state will eventually circulate unpleasant odor to other parts of the building. Therefore, this is one of the bathroom mistakes to avoid this year.

2. To Avoid See Finish

Closing your bathroom door will prevent your visitor from looking inside your bathroom. The truth is that some people don’t feel comfortable seeing the bathroom, maybe because of the things we do inside there. No matter how clean that bathroom is, some people don’t feel comfortable seeing it, so closing it, especially when you have a visitor around, will help the visitor feel more comfortable.

Your bathroom doesn’t need to be open for your visitor to know that this is the bathroom. If he feels like using the bathroom, he will ask you. It is your responsibility to show him the way to the bathroom, especially if he is coming for the first time.

However, if he already knows his way to the bathroom, it is normal for him to knock at the door or request to learn if someone is currently using the bathroom or not. You don’t have any reason to leave your bathroom open.

3. To Prevent Your Pets From Entering inside the Bathroom

For the pet owners, you know how much dogs love drinking toilet water. If you continue to leave your bathroom door open when not in use, your dog will develop the habit of entering inside your bathroom to drink toilet water. Therefore, closing the bathroom door will deter the dog from trespassing.

When Should Bathroom Door be Closed

• When not in use
• When there is a visitor in the house
• When the water on the bathroom floor and wall dry
• When the bathroom has not been washed for a long time
• When someone is using the bathroom

Do you know that some people leave their bathroom door open while using it? I mostly do that sometimes, but that’s because I have a master bedroom, and my bathroom is right there inside my room. I’m the only one using the bathroom, and no one expected to enter my room without knocking or calling my name.

However, I usually leave my bathroom door open sometimes, but that’s when I’m bathing and playing songs to hear the music well. Closing the door does reduce the rate at which I hear the music in the bathroom.

Another time I leave my bathroom door open is whenever I’m washing. The reason is to allow much light into the bathroom to see well and wash my clothes. Aside from these two reasons, I close my bathroom when and after using it. It is like opening the bathroom door when the exhaust fan is on.

Effects of Closing Bathroom Door

Are there any effects of closing the bathroom door when not in use? What are the disadvantages of closing the bathroom door?

• Always closing your bathroom door makes way for moisture and humidity in the bathroom. This moisture and humidity may lead to indoor mold growth as well as excessive mildew build-up. We can’t start explaining everything about humidity and indoor mold, but it is very toxic to humans, leading to various respiratory diseases. Trust me, allowing mold inside your bathroom is like calling for expenses because removing it from the bathroom is expensive to run. Even if you decide to seek the mold cleaning agency’s services, they may be costly.
• Another effect of closing your bathroom after use, mostly right after you finish taking your bath, is that it makes it difficult for your bathroom floor and walls to dry completely. I’ve noticed it several times because I closed my bathroom window; anytime I finish taking my bath, it takes longer than 5 minutes before my bathroom floor and the wall dry completely. So, if I enter the bathroom lesser than that time, I will still meet the wet floor and wall.
• Closing the bathroom immediately after pooping may delay when your poop smell is supposed to stop smelling. This isn’t good, mostly if your bathroom window is closed like mine. What if someone wants to use your bathroom right after you’ve just finished it.

I’ve had a friend over at my house one day; we had a perfect time, then in the morning, because I have a master bedroom, he used the toilet after which he showered. I waited for him to finish using the bathroom. Immediately he got out of the bathroom; I rushed inside to use it as time was no longer on my side. Lo and behold, I could still perceive the odor coming from his poop. It was disgusting and unbearable.

Reason to Leave Bathroom Door Open

You can leave your bathroom door open only when any of these reasons written below are involved.

• Leaving the bathroom door open will signify to people that this is the bathroom. Your visitor does not need to ask you to show him to the bathroom when he can see it right there in his presence. He has to find his way to the toilet and use it. This is good especially during house parties.
• Leaving the bathroom door open will signify that no one is currently using the bathroom because if someone is busy pooping, bathing, or urinating in the bathroom, they will not leave the door open.
• Leaving it open is a one-way ticket that the bathroom is available for use. You don’t want to wait outside for a very long time only to discover that the door was just locked and no one is inside the bathroom.

Some people don’t like knocking at bathroom doors or asking if someone is inside the bathroom before entering. It’s like a disturbance to them. Some people don’t feel comfortable urinating or pooping when someone is around. Immediately they noticed that someone is around, it will be difficult for the urine or the poop to come out. Therefore, knocking at the bathroom door when such a sensitive person is there will affect the person and delay him from coming out of the bathroom.

When to Leave Bathroom Door Open

• Immediately after pooping
• Immediately after showering and washing
• During parties
• During gatherings
• When your visitor frequently visits the bathroom

As reiterated earlier, leaving the bathroom open after pooping will make the poop smell disappear quickly. It will also help your bathroom floor and wall to dry soon.

Leaving it open during parties will save you the stress of always showing people the bathroom and signifying that no one uses the toilet.

Nevertheless, you may close your bathroom door if your bathroom window is always open and if you have an exhaust fan in your bathroom. The window and the fan will help do the job for you.

Conclusion

C losing or opening bathroom doors personally depends on you. You do not need to fight with your partner or family because of that anymore. If your partner asks you to close the bathroom, then close it. The reason is that, while you are comfortable with leaving the door open, he or she may be irritated that the door is open, vise vasa.