9 Crucial Tips for Sharing a Bathroom with Everyone on Your Dorm Floor (Yes, You Need Shower Shoes!)

In the weeks leading up to my first year of college, I remember being most nervous about the idea of sharing a bathroom with strangers. If you’re living in a dorm or in an on-campus building, you’ll likely have a communal bathroom to share with your floor. It’s certainly an adjustment, but really isn’t as bad as it sounds. 

Here are a few pieces of advice (and some useful product recommendations) from myself, a recent college grad, to make your shared bathroom experience more comfortable and clean if you aren’t lucky enough to have your own. 

When you’re packing to move into a dorm, make sure you put these three must-have shower items on your list. (You’ll also probably want a robe or a body wrap that you feel comfortable wearing to and from the bathroom when you shower.)

If you only take one thing away from this article, let it be this. Shower shoes are an absolute necessity in a shared bathroom to protect your feet from infections, warts, and fungus. A warm, wet bathroom floor is basically a breeding ground for bacteria, so be sure to keep your feet covered at all times. Designated shower shoes with holes for ventilation and quick dying are great, but a regular pair of flip-flops or slides will also suffice.

My least favorite part of sharing a bathroom was having to keep my toiletries and shower products in my dorm room. Depending on your school and dorm, there might be space to keep some of your toiletries in the bathroom, but most don’t have that luxury, or you might not feel comfortable leaving your products in a public space. I highly recommend getting a shower caddy to store your shower necessities and easily carry them back and forth. I also kept a pack of disinfectant wipes in my caddy just in case I needed to wipe anything down in the bathroom, and those came in handy more than I would have expected. 

My recommendation is to get a smaller shower caddy and an additional toiletry case for mornings and nights when you’re just using the sink to wash up. A shower caddy can get very heavy very fast, so I kept a small toiletry case with my toothbrush, toothpaste, hairbrush, and face wash separately. This smaller bag was easy to grab in the morning and evening to wash up for the day or get ready for bed. 

A little courtesy goes a long way when sharing a bathroom. Here’s what to remember as you adjust to a likely new-to-you bathroom routine.

I was locked out of the bathroom in a robe waiting to shower before class more times than I’d like to admit. In the first few weeks of the semester, try to keep track of the times that your communal bathroom is being cleaned and factor that into your routine. Pro tip: If you see a custodian in the hallway, ask them if the cleaning schedule is posted somewhere. 

Before you leave your room, be sure you have your room key. It’s not fun to go down to the front desk in a towel to get let into your room, so always run your mental checklist before it’s too late. You can store your key in an easily accessible spot near your room’s door so you see it (and grab it!) before you head out.

Typically, the mornings and evenings are the most common times students will probably want to shower. If this also works best with your schedule, be mindful of how long your shower is during peak times. There’s nothing worse than standing and waiting for a shower, and then having to rush to class. Take the time you need, but be considerate, is my advice. 

I remember my friend’s dorm being near the communal bathroom in her dorm, and some students would bring speakers to play music while showering. Don’t get me wrong, I love a good shower concert. But a communal bathroom definitely isn’t the place to be playing music or singing in the shower (and the people in surrounding rooms can probably hear you!). 

When preparing food in a dorm room, there are not many places to go for a quick trash can or sink. However, that isn’t an excuse to start disposing food in the bathroom sink or trash cans. Be careful not to be the one stinking up the communal bathroom with your leftovers. 

If you make a mess in the bathroom, it is your responsibility to clean it up. Take the extra minute to wipe down the sink, pick up stray hairs, and rinse away toothpaste or soap. If the trash can is overflowing, don’t just pile your trash on top. These might seem like little things, but they make a huge difference — especially in a shared space!