Chicago Is Getting a Self-Cleaning Public Restroom and People Have Thoughts

In this day and age, technology can do some pretty wild things.

Refrigerators can tell us when we're out of milk. Doorbells can show us who’s stealing our Amazon packages. Some cars can even drive and park themselves, but the one thing I never thought I'd see in this lifetime? An automated, self-cleaning, public restroom.

Chicago's First Self-Cleaning Public Restroom

I think we can all agree that one of the biggest problems we encounter when visiting a big city like Chicago is finding a public restroom that isn't nasty with a capital N.

For years, technology has technology has been trying to solve our dirty bathroom troubles, and soon Chicago will get to experience the fruit of its labors.

Block Club Chicago reports:

The city’s first standalone, automated restroom will be installed at the Polish Triangle in the middle of the Milwaukee, Ashland and Division intersection, above the Division Blue Line station. It will be supplied by JCDecaux, which provides street furniture like bus shelters as well as other services to the city.

So, what does an automated, self-cleaning restroom look like? A little something like this:

So how does this magical bathroom work?

After each use, the toilet automatically flushes and the interior surfaces, including the floor, are sprayed down with water and disinfectant before the next person enters.

The Cons of Self-Cleaning, Public Toilets

Having a clean public restroom to use in Chicago certainly sounds awesome, but many residents are voicing concerns about its longevity in the city.

When WGN TV posted the story on Facebook some of the comments painted a pretty unpleasant picture:

So new housing for the homeless.

It’s only a matter time to get either tagged or vandalized.

That bathroom is gonna be used for drug addicts to do drugs in the bathroom. Plus it’s gonna be tagged up as well.

People are going to do the horizontal dance there. Lol

I really hope none of those things happen to this fancy, self-cleaning toilet, but I guess we'll just have to wait and see how it goes.