The establishments with the cleanest and dirtiest toilets – according to Britons

A restaurant’s toilets may not feature in a newspaper review and neither do clothes shoppers tend to choose what to buy based on a department store’s conveniences. Nevertheless, a lavatory can play an important part in the buying process. So, when nature calls, which toilets do consumers think are the safest bet? From the coffee shop to the concert venue, YouGov asked the British public to rate the general cleanliness of bathrooms in a range of public places and establishments.

For most hygienic: a dead heat between sit-down restaurants (85%) and hotel lobbies (85%), with the theatre (78%) a little behind. The practical reality of using a theatre’s bathroom when you do not have tickets to the show, or of using a restaurant bathroom when you have not purchased a meal or drinks is not for us to discern, but nice toilets if you can use ‘em. 

Two-thirds of Britons who have used the toilets at a gym claim they are generally clean. This puts them roughly on par with cinemas (74%), department stores (73%), airports (73%), and coffee chains (72%). The remaining establishments that most Britons consider clean are libraries (70%) and supermarkets (59%).  

But which water closets are the worst? Looking at uncleanliness, public toilets of the kind you’d see on the high street (76%) rank worst. These facilities are followed by those found in nightclubs (74%) – motion sickness from all the dancing, perhaps – and parks (74%). Most Britons also think stadiums (60%), train stations (60%) and concert venues (57%) have less-than-pristine privies, while half (or near-half) say the same of bars/pubs (50%) and fast food chains (47%).

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YouGov Surveys: Serviced provide quick survey results from nationally representative or targeted audiences in multiple markets. This study was conducted online between 30 August
- 4 September 2024, with a nationally representative sample of 2,070 adults (aged 18+ years) in Great Britain, using a questionnaire designed by YouGov. Data figures have been weighted by age, gender, education and social grade to be representative of all adults in Great Britain (18 years or older), and reflect the latest ONS population estimates. Learn more about YouGov Surveys: Serviced.