Why do auto-flush public toilets even exist?

You stand up to wipe your ass?

Because there are a ton of jerks that don’t flush.

Common curtesy goes a long way,

Common curtesy cannot be found today,

Auto flush will take the mess away.

they auto flush as soon as you stand up, knowing good and well you still gotta wipe your ass

Wait, you stand up to wipe? Why?

Are you saying you stand up and then wipe your ass? Like/// really? Holy shit.

Convenience and some people forget.

Auto flushing is also not consistent -- it really depends on the toilet. I've seen some that are very good, doesn't flush until you get up, and others that are so bad they flush while you're sitting on it.

I feel like they should tie the auto flush sensor to the door hinge, since any movement there indicates no ones actively sitting on the toilet. Unless you're one of those people who refuse to the lock the door...

You can tell this isn't Reddit because the bidet squad hasn't shown up.

More sanitary not touching others poopy surfaces, and otherwise some people wouldn't flush.

We have the opposite problem where I live. The auto-flush barely ever works, and more often than not nowadays the manual flush is a tiny button you have to actively search for to find.

Having cleaned toilets before, it's because a startling amount of people don't flush. In a high school, I'd say about half the kids from the 1980s didn't, so I can't imagine they started as adults. In companies I have worked for with auto-flushes, I have rarely seen a mess left in the bowl, but companies that don't about half the time as well.

I put a small piece of toilet paper over the sensor. Problem solved, and now I can flush at my leisure.

Back when I was a student, the auto-flush sensors on the toilets at my university were so sensitive that I could trigger an accidental flush just by leaning forward about 10°. Just the subtle variations in my normal sitting posture could sometimes trigger as many as five flushes before I even started wiping. It was so bad I started carrying a pad of post-it notes in my pocket so I could cover the sensor before sitting down.

Bring back foot pedals!

Someone will smear shit over the flush handle. Either because they're an asshole or because things went horribly, horribly wrong.

As someone who saves water at home, I feel wasting a little bit in the name of me-not-having-to-deal-with-someone-else's-shit is a perfectly reasonable use.

Honestly I have trouble too with timing sometimes but if I can't make the 3rd seashell you are pretty clean by the second one.

Some kids absolutely hate them too.

Took a looooong time to get my oldest over it, and he was comparatively very easy to potty train. I think he was 6 when he finally stopped asking me to cover the sensors.

I'm trying to figure out how you trigger auto flushing just by leaning over. Meanwhile, auto flush on most public toilets I've used has a 50-50 shot of just not working at all, so I have to find the manual button.

At least for me, I know that I have a small butt and don't sit all the way back against the seat (there's quite a lot of space), so often these sensors don't catch me in the first place. Do you lean so far you move away from the sensor or something?

Regardless, both of us have relatively unique problems, I think. These sensors have been tuned to the average ass.

Another reason might be for people with disabilities. I've only seen them in toilets for such people.

It's that way, with no lid, to make sure everyone in there can breath each other's butt COVID. And the air hand dryers are there to help make sure it happens. /s

Permanently Deleted

Here's an idea: let's not normalize putting electronic light sensors in private spaces. The opportunity for abuse is too risky. How many of these sensors have been swapped with cameras unbeknownst to the users? It's like a blackmail content factory.

And for the piss-poor performance of these flush sensors, it is not worth it.