If public restrooms would offer soap that’s not anti-bacterial, I would consider washing my hands in them. Until then, I’m keeping my immune system strong.

1) Restaurant restrooms are usually monitored by the host staff at the restaurant entrance. Most of these hosts are women, and mens rooms therefore don’t get as much attention from hour to hour, especially when the place gets very busy. Health inspectors need to visit restaurants at night — not just during office hours — and go to the restrooms immediately. That will force restaurant managers to take this more seriously.

2) Set up the handwashing area and the entrance/exit to allow easy handwashing with virtually no hand-contact required. There are towel dispensers with electronic sensors (expensive) or just levers that can be operated with your elbow (affordable). Faucets in the sinks can have electronic sensors (expensive) or very long handles that can be turned off with your elbow — there’s even foot pedals available for this.

3) Trash cans may look more attractive with a swinging-door lid, but what’s the point of washing your hands and then contacting a trash can to dispose of paper waste? And air-dryers are fine as options for hand drying, but if there’s no paper available then many more men will avoid washing the hands altogether, and door handles will re-infect the hands — defeating the purpose of washing altogether.

4) Provide levers as “doorknobs” instead of conventional handles, so that, again, you can use forearms or elbows to open the door.

Health Departments have created safer standards for food preparation that have reduced the incidence of food-born illness enormously the last 30-40 years. Now they need to make similar strict standards for public restrooms anywhere — gas stations, bookstores, or restaurants.