How to Find and Access Bathrooms

If you have a smart phone or tablet, you may be able to find an app or website that may help you find public bathrooms. (I never used such while homeless.) Apps and websites with this info seem to be short-lived, so I am not going to put any specific names here.

More generally, some places you are likely to find public bathrooms:
  • Libraries
  • Public parks
  • Public beaches
  • Transit centers
  • Malls
The above may only be open during the day. In downtown San Diego, there are also at least two public bathrooms with an attendant that are open 24 hours. Because there is an attendant, they are safe to go to in the middle of the night. I have done so a few times.

Places of business generally do not want their bathrooms used as public restrooms. They have a bathroom for customers. In some cases, they actively protect their bathrooms with locks of some kind. It is best to be respectful of this fact.

If you are actually buying something or otherwise there on legitimate business, it is fine to take advantage of the bathroom facilities. But try to avoid doing so when you aren't actually shopping there. Abusing bathroom access can get you barred from the place. This can make an already difficult situation even harder.