Student Research
For many people, university is the first time they will be sharing a house (and more importantly a bathroom) with strangers - cue the passive aggressive messages in the group chat.
We’ve taken a deeper dive into the things that students, across the UK, find the best and worst about sharing a bathroom. Let’s have a look:
London
An academic hub, home to 18 universities in total (the most universities of any UK city), has the worst loo habits of all, with 38 percent of students revealing their bathroom behaviours are not up to standard. This may also explain why two in five Londoners (41 per cent) have never kicked out a fellow student for their bad bathroom habits.
East of England
But it's good news for the 10 universities in East of England, who are - according to themselves - ‘clean freaks’ when it comes to the bathroom, with over one in ten (11 per cent) saying they keep a bathroom rota to ensure hygiene is up to scratch and more than seven in ten (74 per cent) claiming they don’t have bad bathroom habits. That University of East Anglia course is looking a bit more attractive now, isn’t it…
Scotland
However, students in East England may have met their match with nearly three quarters of Scots (74 per cent) also describing themselves as not having bad bathroom habits which include stealing toiletries from another student, as over half (58 per cent) state they have never done so. In fact, 20 per cent said that stealing toiletries was considered one of the worst things about sharing a bathroom
South West
Those in the South West are putting the rest of the UK to shame with over half (54 per cent) claiming they have never kicked someone out for having bad bathroom habits. That does mean that almost half have though, obvs. Whether their kindness is due to the fact that nearly three quarters (74 per cent) clean their bathroom at least once a week, we’ll leave up to you.
Northern Ireland
Interestingly, students in Northern Ireland, are most likely to embrace the term sharing is caring when it comes to ‘borrowing’ a fellow student's toiletries, with over one in ten (12 per cent) disclosing that they have stolen a makeup item from another dorm room, and not gotten in trouble. A further 12 per cent of students admitted to taking deodorant. Desperate times people.
North East
Speaking of stealing, students in the North East have shown creativity when it comes to re-stocking their bathroom, with 16 per cent admitting to taking a toilet roll from their own university campus. But that’s where the North East draws the line, with over half (55 per cent) pledging they have never taken toiletries from another dorm room or student. In total, 1,000 university students were polled up and down the nation. A breakdown of the ten questions asked can be found below:
- Whilst living at university have you lived with someone who has bad bathroom habits? (This can include but is not limited to, not replacing toilet paper, leaving a mess in the bathroom, or stealing your toiletries)
- Would you or anyone you have previously shared a bathroom with describe you as having bad bathroom habits?
- Which of the following public places have you stolen a toilet roll from to use at home?
- Which of the following toiletries have you taken from another dorm room or student before?
- What is the worst thing about sharing a bathroom with another university student?
- Do you have a cleaning rota in your bathroom?
- How often do you clean your university bathroom?
- Have you ever kicked out a flatmate due to their bad bathroom habits?
- Which if any of the following has happened to you due to living with someone with bad bathroom habits?
- Which of the following would you choose over living with a flatmate who has bad bathroom habits?
