Peek before you pee: New app flushes out clean and dirty public toilets

For those on the go, finding a clean toilet in Singapore and giving feedback on the best and worst commodes is now in hand with a new app for mobile phones and tablet computers.

The Restroom Association of Singapore (RAS) already has the LOO Connect service on its toilet.org.sg website that allows people to pinpoint and comment on public facilities and to see those given three, four or five stars.

With the new app for Android smartphones and tablets, the non-profit group said it was "leveraging on the 'crowdsourcing' trend and technology to recognise clean toilets and encourage socially responsible behaviour".

"The mobile app also facilitates the collection of information by the RAS volunteers during mystery audits of toilets under the Happy Toilet Programme," it said in a statement.

A similar app for iOS devices will be out in July, it said.

An RAS survey last year showed the foulest toilets in Singapore - a wealthy Southeast Asian city-state where the government runs regular campaigns to promote cleanliness and courtesy - tend to be in coffee shops, markets, bus terminals, food courts and subway stations.

The cleanest are in government offices, hospitals and restaurants.

Bad design and poor cleaning were cited in the survey as causes of dirty toilets. But the overwhelmingly worst offenders - at 79 percent - were identified as "irresponsible users".

© Thomson Reuters 2013