Shopping author and reporter, Sally Socolich, factors restrooms into her decisions to recommend stores. Many customers rely on her reviews. Read the San Francisco Chronicle story here.

Interesting statistics just released highlight the very reasons that a good bathroom is a marketing advantage ... particularly for businesses that wish to attract female customers:

• 30% of women say they need to use restrooms when they are out running errands, shopping, or eating out
• 27% of women restrict their public restroom use to those that they know are good
• 70% of women have walked out of a public restroom because they felt it was too dirty
• 56% of women have entered an establishment just to use the restroom, though they were not a customer at the time
• 13% of women have stopped what they are doing and gone home rather than use a public restroom

Nearly all Americans (99%) use public restrooms. Bottom line: A good restroom is a way to get potential purchasers in your door, keep them shopping, and keep them coming back!

Just when I thought I'd read it all . . . I received an email from a concerned friend with a subject line of, "Fwd: Fw: Fwd: FW: New Spider — deadly." From the long string of forwards, I could tell this one was a hot topic. Turned out it was a warning about a new strain of spider called the "Two-Striped Telamonia" — said to like cold, damp, dark places, and specifically — the underside of toilet seats. Several victims received fatal bites on their buttocks; readers were advised to start checking under public toilet seats before sitting down — and to forward the email to those they care about. It sounded fishy, and a quick visit to Snopes confirmed that this is indeed a hoax. Rest assured . . . a spider under the seat should be the least of your worries in a public restroom.

Sales of antibacterial soaps are soaring, yet a review of 27 studies on antibacterial hand soaps published in Clinical Infectious Diseases (September 2007) concluded that anti-bacterial soaps containing the ingredient triclosan are no more effective than plain soap and water for removing bacteria from hands or slowing the spread of disease. Besides concluding that there was no benefit to choosing triclosan-based products over plain soap, researchers identified possible risks: the use of antibiotic soaps could lead to antibiotic-resistant bacteria.

According to Lisa Farino for MSN Health and Fitness, even hospitals in the U.S. are concluding that the risk isn't worth it. Experts agree that the best way to prevent the transmission of disease is to simply practice proper hand-washing techniques with plain and soap and water.

In March, Starbucks launched MyStarbucksIdea.com along with an open invitation for suggestions to help make their store experience better. After seven weeks—13,390 points from voters—and 123 comments, "Sanitation in Bathrooms" has made it to their list of Top All-Time ideas. Furthermore, restroom cleanliness has been flagged as a ** TAKING ACTION ** item.

Besides cleanliness, Starbucks contributors voiced pleas for bathroom amenities including purse hooks, baby changing tables, and a place to put a coffee cup.

To read some of the passionate and lively restroom discussion on the Starbucks forum, visit MyStarbucksIdea.com.

Reprinted with permission from Dan Piraro at www.Bizarro.com

This released from Dyson, Inc., the English vacuum company. The first and only such certification for commercial hand dryers has been awarded by the NSF (formerly the National Sanitary Foundation) to the Dyson Airblade hand dryer. The NSF is a world leader in "standards development, product certification, education, environmental protection, risk management, and health protection". Whereas other commercial hand dryers can distribute bacteria, the Airblade contains a HEPA filter. The Airblade also features the ability to dry hands quickly—in 12 seconds or less.

A restroom should be restful; and lowering the lighting levels is one of the easiest ways to reach this goal. So many restrooms offer the same commercial lighting as the rest of the retail area where products need to be illuminated to attract attention and highlighted to show detail. Besides a more relaxing ambiance, lower lighting is a way to flatter your guests. Harsh overhead lighting creates shadows on the forehead, under the eyes and chin. The effect can add years to a face and be very unattractive.

Since I view restrooms from a retailer's perspective, it is of special interest to learn that they impact the bottom line at museums . . . in the same way they impact stores and restaurants. Just how important are the restrooms? This from Museum Audience Insight: "I don't care how wonderful your museum is, how great the program is, how excited the kids are about visiting. If the restroom is not clean, that is what visitors will remember, and our guest research has found that they form unexpectedly strong opinions about their overall visit based on how clean, or how not-so-clean, their experiences are." An unkempt restroom can keep people from coming back—and cause them to spread the word to their friends.

Need some restroom tips? Fresh flowers are always welcoming, and they make a clean restroom look even cleaner. Read more ways to improve cleanliness in a busy facility, and see what readers submitted as suggestions for a family restroom amenities checklist.

Six simple words can make the hair of any mother-at-the-mall stand on end: "Mommy, I have to go potty." As this Mommy on the Go could attest, Restroom Child Protection Seats can make life so much easier.