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Public Toilets in Mexico

I am surprised by how easy it is to find a bathroom in Mexico when you need one. I’ve seen everything from dedicated rest areas to people actually giving access to their own personal bathroom in their home! Look for a sign that says baño or servicios. I have yet to come across a Pemex gas station that doesn’t have a public bathroom

Bathrooms are often a little worn and grotty but still clean. I have yet to find a Mexican bathroom that is as scary as some bathrooms I’ve encountered in the US and Canada. Sometimes, there will be an attendant and you will need to pay a token amount to this person (usually 5 pesos), who will give you a few squares of toilet paper and possibly paper towels.

Of particular interest to ladies, often toilets do not have seats. I think this is because seats and toilets are sold separately in Mexico (don’t quote me on this, but I’m sure I read it in someone’s blog about building a home in Mexico). Today, both the bathroom at Pemex and at Soriana were luxurious — free to use and stocked with toilet paper, paper towels, and hand soap, but they had no seats. You can’t have everything, right?!

Ladies will also want to carry tissues and sanitizer in their purse, or, even better, wet wipes, as sometimes there is no toilet paper and/or water and soap to wash your hands. Always check the stall before sitting/squatting to make sure there is paper. Sometimes, as I learned at Ley this week and Soriana today, the paper dispenser is actually by the door (either inside or out!) and you have to grab some on the way in!

If there is a bin by the toilet, you need to put the paper in there, not into the bowl (ie. do not flush it). Please, please, please, cover your paper if it is messy. I really wish I didn’t have to say this…

Mazatlán Centro Histórico bathroom tip: pay admission at the Museo Arqueológico (less than 30 pesos and free on Sundays!) on Sixto Osuna (just past Plazuela Machado en route to Olas Altas). They have super clean newly renovated bathrooms with toilet paper, paper towels, water, hand soap, AND SEATS.

11 thoughts on “Public Toilets in Mexico”

  1. Those 3 – 5 peso toilets are very common in Mexico and as you say many people use the toilet in their home for this purpose during an event. They set up a small table and chair, collect the money and hand you maybe 18 inches of TP. As you say, the toilets are usually spotless. I went to one where the young man actually cleaned the toilet and sprayed the room between uses. It is not a bad way to earn some extra money. 50 uses at 5 pesos = 250 pesos, a good days pay in Mexico. It is not unusual to see a lineup of several people waiting their turn.

    Most Mexicans have an enterprising way to earn money. They have a “day” job that gets them on the government records, entitling them to their benefits but also have something else going, maybe selling in a weekend market, cleaning houses or renting out their toilet if they are close to something that attracts crowds.

  2. We were once on a beach south of Cancun with our Dutch friends Claudia and PJ. PJ went to one of the beach toilets with an attendant and was told it would cost him “one US dollar” to pee. PJ said, “I am not paying $1 US to pee! I deal in pesos and euros and do not even have a US dollar. I will give you five pesos or I will pi** on your leg!” (You have to know PJ ;). A waiter from the beach restaurant came over and saved the day by saying, “Come and sit here. I will sell you a beer for one US dollar and you can use my bathroom for free”. He eventually agreed to take pesos. It was a cruise ship dock where everything was highly inflated! Even the RV park was 40 US dollars.

    • *wipes away tears* What a great story! PJ sounds like a character!

      I can’t believe that I’m sometimes quoted prices in dollars here.

      Which reminds me of something I forgot to put in my post today! I saw a blouse I liked in the GZ and was quoted 10USD or 200 pesos. 200 pesos is 13USD! I countered with 150 pesos and the guy said I could pay in USD or walk away. Ooookay.

  4. Toilet seats aren’t that important, you still have to wipe them down before you sit on them. Paper in the bin, mostly an old habit when sewage drains weren’t well maintained or constructed and today because many places are still on septic tanks. We don’t put paper down our toilets here at home because we have a septic tank. Never have to pay to drain it, gravity and lack of paper allow for good filtering and drainage.

    • Chris, your two comments went to spam. I’m so glad I caught them!

      Toilet seats are more important to women than to men, methinks. 🙂 I’m used so squatting in the bush, so this doesn’t faze me. 🙂 I don’t flush my paper at home so I don’t have to empty the tank as much, so I do the same here even though the landlady said I can flush it.

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