Coffee shop toilets found to be dirtiest in SMU study of 2,600 public loos

No improvement in cleanliness despite stiff penalties, it finds

- Zhaki Abdullah

The cleanliness of coffee shop toilets here has not improved over the years despite the authorities imposing stiff penalties for lapses, according to an islandwide study of public toilets by the Singapore Management University (SMU).

Coffee shop toilets performed the worst, with a score of just 46.26 out of 100.

Hawker centre toilets fared better, with a score of 66.28, while toilets in shopping malls fared the best, scoring 77.01. MRT station toilets performed second best, with a score of 75.97.

The results of the study were released in late December 2024.

Conducted between August and September 2024, the study looked at 2,602 public toilets in 1,428 coffee shops, hawker centres, MRT stations and shopping malls in Singapore.

The team behind the study, led by SMU statistics principal lecturer Rosie Ching and comprising more than 200 undergraduates, visited the toilets to check them using 17 criteria. The criteria included the cleanliness of toilet bowls and sinks, as well as the availability of soap and toilet paper.

Out of all toilets surveyed, the study found below-acceptable standards for 14 attributes, with clogged sinks, dirty toilet bowls and insufficient ventilation being frequent complaints.

"Cleaning schedules were often outdated or entirely absent, with only taps, sinks and soap achieving reasonable ratings," SMU said.