Tips for Finding a Public Restroom While Traveling

This post was written in partnership with Charmin. As always thoughts and opinions expressed here are entirely my own.

When you’ve gotta go, you’ve gotta go! Unfortunately, when you are on the go, finding a public restroom can feel like an impossible mission. Between staff-only bathrooms, impossibly dirty stalls, and other not-so-nice surprises, things can get frustrating. But there’s help!

Charmin’s SitOrSquat app is an awesome tool for female travelers making their way through restaurants, gas stations, bars, and rest stops of the United States and beyond. The app not only helps you find a nearby restroom, but it also tells you how clean it is.

Before you head out for a night on the town or a trip across the country, check out these tips for finding a public restroom while traveling.

Using the SitOrSquat App

Looking for a place you can sit down? You need Charmin’s SitOrSquat app. After you install the app, you can search for and view public restrooms near you. The SitOrSquat app will show you all of the available public toilets on a map so you can see what the best option is. Clean bathrooms will have a green “sit” rating, and dirtier spots will have a red “squat” rating.

When I did my Southern USA Road Trip back in 2014, this app was such a great tool, and if you’re traveling with kids, it’s priceless. You can see what facilities are available and make sure that your little one is all set to go.

It’s a super straightforward app that features more than 100,000 public restrooms throughout the United States. It’s also GPS enabled, so you can use it to see what’s near the bathroom of your choice and make a plan that doesn’t take you too far out of your way.

Downloading SitOrSquat

Charmin’s SitOrSquat app is a free download for iPhone and Android, so it’s low risk to check out (unlike some scary public restrooms out there!).

After you have the app, you can search, view, rate, and add public restrooms. And I highly suggest participating! Just like every review app, it gets better with each contribution. Take pics, write about your experience, and rate your public restroom as “sit” or “squat.” You’ll make the world a slightly better place with each one—and shame some of those spots with filthy bathrooms!

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New Updates for SitOrSquat

If you have used SitOrSquat in the past, you’re in for some nice surprises with the update. The app now has a Google Maps interface so you can search by location or address. The maps feature also has Google clustering, so it’s easy to figure out what’s where.

Best of all, the app’s photos feature lets you know exactly what to expect when you arrive.

Finally, another great feature that comes with the update is the quick filter function. If you are looking for a bathroom nearby, you can select to show only “sit” bathrooms to get a look at the closet clean and nice bathroom. If you’ve urgently gotta go right then and there, you can use the “show all” bathrooms feature to get to a toilet ASAP.