Cultural Differences in the Bathroom, HELP!

Lisa367
Level 10
Catania, Italy

Cultural Differences in the Bathroom, HELP!

Does anyone have any experience with bathroom etiquette of people from Asian countries?  The entire bathroom is always completely flooded whenever they take a shower and it's definitely a cultural thing because it's specifically only happening with guests from Asian countries.   I thought perhaps they don't close the shower curtain, but I'm not sure that's it.  Basically I just need to know why so I can tell them not to do whatever it is they are doing. (Note:  This post is in NO way meant to be racist. It's a serious question regarding cultural differences that I'm trying to learn how to tackle.)

28 Replies 28
Branka-and-Silvia0
Level 10
Zagreb, Croatia

obviously they shower on a floor, they don't have bathtub or shower curtain so you have to explain them .

I've just found this pictures :

 

shower in Korea 


 

and another one:

 

I didn't read the whole article but this sentence is interesting: "....While I know a couple of people in Korea with a separate shower (and one girl who has a bath, the wagon), most bathrooms in Korea are of the wet-room variety, with the shower head connected to the sink taps. You have to turn a knob to switch between two...."

 

Try to find it , the title is : Ireland vs. Korea

 

 

@Branka-and-Silvia0   This is extremely helpful and explains a LOT!!   I really appreciate your reply.  I think I know now I just need to be VERY explanatory with the shower/curtain from now on with these guests.

@Lisa367 @Branka-and-Silvia0 You'd think they'd clue in by noticing the lack of a floor drain? .... but common sense is not all that common I've found! This is great information to have. Thank you! Thankfully our shower head is stationary. Whew. 

I didn't know this until now either 🙂 I have seen @Lisa367 post and search the internet. We didn't have that problem yet, but from now on we will explain them how to use a bathtub and curtains, just to be sure 🙂

 

@Karen-and-Brian0 After 6 months of hosting experience we do not rely on our guests common sense any more :)))

@Branka-and-Silvia0 @Lisa367

You are 100% right girls...and I can talk from experience, having been there. Throughout Japan, Korea and to a lesser extent the peninsular they do not have a designated shower cubicle. They do in more affluent areas have a large tiled area that serves as a bath but that is separate from the shower rose and those pictures of a flexible shower hose with a rose that you girls have shown are the main method of personal washing. It does not make as much mess in Asia because their bathrooms are designed with better room centre drainage than western bathrooms where the floor grate does not serve a primary function.

If you cater for Asian guests and you do have a western style bathroom with a shower enclosure or cubical, Lisa, it would be wise to do as I have done here and have a quick release hose, similar to garden hose connectors but made from stainless, (they are readily available) one on each end and when Asian visitors come un-click the flexible hose altogether and click the shower rose directly to the wall outlet so that they can't remove it for their use.

They will use a western style of showering if that is what is supplied, but if you give them the choice they will opt to remove the rose and proceed to get water everywhere....it's natural for them!

Hope this helps..

Cheers.....Rob

Paul154
Level 10
Seattle, WA

It is 100% cultural. Many guests come from countries where bathroom drains are common. Some have bathrooms with heated floors and some live in hot deserts where moisture is not a problem. Many have maids/mothers who clean up after them.

Welcome to the world.  

I live in a  cool grey rainforest. Moisture/mold in bathroom is always my bane.

To help, I discourage guests leaving their towels and junk in the bathroom.. I have only one hook for a towel so they have to bring their  towels back to their room. I have very few surfaces for junk and I move their shampoo bottles off the tub.

Besides having a sign, I have marginal luck getting guests to use the bathroom fan. 

So it does come down nice communication. " My bathroom doesn't have a drain, cound you please use shower curtain to contain water" Towel under sink to dry floor please..." . Even then, you will have to keep on eye on the bathroom floor daily and dry the floor if nedded.

 

Aoibhinn-and-Kenny0
Level 2
Dublin, Ireland

We have had this exact problem this week. Our guests arrived on Saturday and we noticed on Sunday that they were leaving the soaking wet bathmat outside the bathroom on our carpet floors. We explained to them very quickly that the mat is for outside the bath to keep the tiles dry and the guests were very apologetic. Unfortunately by Monday we realised the water had come through the ceiling! Has anybody had any success using the resolution centre to resolve damages?

Hi Aiobhinn and Kenny

I have had the exact issue with my guests tonight. It was their  1st night, of 2 with me and when I came home my apartment floor , under the main home bathroom,  where my guests were staying, was flooding! I rushed upstairs  to ask if they had a flood in the bathroom and I  know that their limited English, made it difficult to understand, they said no. I went into the bathroom, where all of the  towels,  that I had left for their visit were all over the floor. Tomorrow I will have my plumber, hopefully coming, to ensure it's not a leak and chat with my guests to find out how they bathe, an awkward chat. Either way, it's going to cost me, to get the plumber out. 

David262
Level 4
Australia

I don't think anyone should ever be afraid to discuss cultural differences, if the world was a homogenous place, then why bother travelling - as you would never see/experience anything different!  How boring 😞

 

The original question reminds me of the situation at a university in Sydney, where due to deteriorating sanitary conditions, signs had to be put up for international students, demonstrating how to use the toilets!

 

source Daily Mail

So my answer is never assume, make sure guests feel comfortable enough to ask you anything: if someone hasn't travelled much before visiting you (for example - check how many reviews they have) and comes from a country where squat toilets are the norm (if unsure - search online before they arrive), they may find a flushing bowl style toilet confronting and not know how to use it... and if they come from a place where used toilet paper gets placed into the waste bin and not flushed away (due to plumbing quality) you might end up with very smelly trash (but equally, if you ask people to flush their used toilet paper away, you may need to make sure they don't start flushing things they shouldn't).

 

I have to admit, when I have travelled to countries where "used toilet paper" goes into the waste bin, and is never to be flushed down the loo, I have always felt a bit dirty doing that...and as for squat hole toilets, I do not have enough practice aiming to be able to ever use them effectively! (Pity the poor host who has me as a guest in a home with one of them!)

 

Tara107
Level 2
Orcutt, CA

I've just had this happen twice. I think the first ones knew they made a mess on my bathroom floor, because even though they wanted to stay for breakfast they shuffled out in a hurry.The guests I just had, I actually showed them how the curtain stays inside the shower and my bathroom was flooded all the way out to the bed! Is there some picture that can explain the proper way to use a shower? I like the picture about the toilets that's a good one to have, but does anybody have one about how to properly use a shower curtain? Other than that I've always had just lovely people no matter where they came from.

Thank you for those wonderful suggestions. Most of our guests have been very considerate as well as neat and tidy which has made hosting a lovely experience. As super hosts for one  year, we love meeting diverse people from different countries and appreciate cultural differences.  The only time we had problems with guests damaging our property was when we made exceptions to our usual house rules by allowing them to bring two babies. The guests left dirty diapers on our furniture and new wood floors, left standing  water all over new bathroom floor, broke water pipe by stuffing too many items under the sink, etc.  We politely reminded these guests to be careful each time we had to call a plumber in for repairs, but there was no resolution over the guests 33 day stay nor did they pay damages.  Since that time, we no longer do automatic bookings but rather require guests to make inquiry first so we can get to know each other a bit before accepting their reservation.  Unfortunately, under current Airbnb rules, the hosts are penalized for longer Response Time because of chatting to determine if the accommodation is a good fit for both guest and host.  Our suggestion is that Airbnb consider how some of their rules seem to benefit the guests but put the hosts at greater risk.  It would be a good idea for corporate headquarters to make their rules more considerate of Hosts and to educate guests better on respecting the homes they stay in.  

Steven729
Level 1
London, GB

I can relate to this 100%. I rent out a spare bedroom via Airbnb and my experience with guests from the far east is exactly the same. I recently had two girls staying from China, who were very sweet, but unbelievable in the bathroom. They showered together for over 40 mins twice a day. As much as I didn't want to, I had to have a word! The bathroom was converted into a swimming pool. Everything was wet, water dripped from the ceiling and even my electric scales got a dose os humidity and failed to work properly for a while. It's definitely a cultural thing. I'm always reluctant to accept reservations from guests coming from the far east as it's the same story always! 

I'm sorry to hear that this has happened to you. Many people have criticised these guests for lacking "common sense," but I'd say it's less about common sense than common experience.

 

I live in Hong Kong now, where as a former British colony pretty well everyone has a Western-style bathroom, but when I lived in South Korea, these were very rare, even in the more modern apartments. Most people take showers in the room, with drains on the floor, period. It's not uncivilised or abnormal to them, because their bathrooms are set up this way. 

 

Remember, for a lot of these young travellers, this may be their first visit to a Western home, which may mean their first time to use a Western-style shower. So, they don't know it's wrong if they've no experience with it. How could they?

 

David mentioned above how strange it may seem to us when we go to places where you're not allowed to flush paper down the toilet. But that's simply because they don't have the infrastructure to break the paper down.

 

Final food for thought: many Westerners wear their shoes inside the home. But to most Asian people, this is the most disgusting habit on the planet. And if you think about it for a moment, they're probably not wrong. The outside ground has to be one of the dirtiest surfaces anywhere--there's a very good reason why your mother always told you not to eat that candy you dropped on it. And the idea of people bringing shoes that have been all over that filthy ground into the house and, in some cases, even lying down on sofas or beds with their shoes on (I saw people doing this on an American reality TV show recently) is just unfathomable to them. Just take a lot at some Asian hosts' opinions on this, and I promise you, your eyes will be opened.

 

So, we all have a lot to learn about each other, people. It's a big planet out there, and if we're going to invite people from all across it to come and stay at our homes, then I think it's up to us to do a little research on our guests--and not on Airbnb to provide it for us or them--so that we can all learn to understand, and tolerate, each other better. 

Nakayama0
Level 8
Oyabe, Japan

What we know about these countries next to ours:

 

1. These people use 2000 liter of hot water for shower in a single night.

2. They bring wash bowl and wash something in the bathroom not using wash machine on the next room.

3. Also they bring it in a toilet, wash something, then spread the water on the floor 😞

 

If you avoid the people who have these culture, how about writing '[NO SMOKING]' or '[SMOKE-FREE]' on top of your listing. Smoking is also the culture of these country. We did it and no guest like these country has come at present.