Line of duty: Our columnist reviews Phlush, Philly’s first public bathroom in Center City

If you’ve wondered what it would be like to use Philly’s new public bathrooms, urine luck. I’m here to leak all the details of my inaugural trip to Center City’s first public restroom.

As soon as I learned it opened at 15th and Arch Streets Tuesday morning, I armed myself with a 40-ounce Wawa fountain iced tea and went to check it out.

» READ MORE: Center City’s first public restroom is now open at 15th and Arch. Yes, it’s called ‘the Phlush.’

Philly has lagged behind other metro areas when it comes to the public restroom game, but that’s set to change this year with the installation of six bathrooms across the city as part of a pilot public restroom project. The first quietly opened June 17 in Fotterall Square Park in North Philly, the second opened Tuesday in Center City. The third is slated for West Philly’s Clark Park, with the remaining three sites yet to be chosen.

The stand-alone models are called Portland Loos, but the Philadelphia Department of Public Health held a “potty poll” last month to give them a Philly name. On Tuesday, it was announced “Phlush” was the clear winner, with 70% of the votes.

With about 70% of my extremely large beverage consumed, I approached the Philly Phlush at 15th and Arch. From the outside, the oblong sheet-metal gray bathroom was fairly nondescript.

The first thing I noticed was a handwashing station that has soap, running water, and even a hand dryer embedded into the exterior. It’s great, but aside from a blue sign at the top that reads “HAND WASH,” the buttons for each feature weren’t marked.

I stood with soap in my hands for a solid 15 seconds before I realized it wasn’t an automatic sink. And I was not alone. I watched several others who were both delighted and confused by the feature.

I also noticed that Philly not only needs public bathrooms — it needs public drinking fountains. I saw several people drink from the handwashing station and cool their heads off in the water. According to a city spokesperson, the water supply comes from the nearby Municipal Services Building and is the same water used in bathroom sinks there. While the spokesperson did not directly answer my question as to whether the water is potable, they did say it’s tested daily to make sure it doesn’t contain harmful microorganisms.

Anton Pongon, 64, who’s currently experiencing homelessness and living in Center City, stopped to use the restroom and fill up his water bottles at the handwashing station. Pongon is battling prostate cancer, which causes him to urinate often. He said he was grateful for the new bathroom, which he found far more secure, private, and clean than the nearby porta potties.

“We need more of these,” he said.

After hearing Pongon’s rave review, I stepped inside. The curved, convex door and metal interior made me feel like I was walking into the bathroom on a spaceship. I was surprised by how clean it was and how much cooler the temperature was than outside. The bathroom has a ton of ventilation on top and is raised off the ground an inch or two. There’s no floor, only the concrete sidewalk below (and yes, from the outside, you can see how many feet are in the loo at any one time).

Unlike the TV reporter who came after me (and shall remain nameless), I remembered to lock the door before I used the bathroom. At first, I marveled at the features within — a cabinet stocked with naloxone, a needle disposal station, grab bars near the toilet, a diaper-changing station, a machine filled with free tampons and pads, hand sanitizer, toilet seat covers, toilet paper, and even a purse hook. This potty had everything!

My user experience was a genuinely pleasant one. Everything worked and nothing was out of stock.

I talked to others who used the new bathroom too, like the Alii family from Saudi Arabia, who were happy to see the public restroom after visiting nearby LOVE Park.

“Always public bathrooms is so dirty, but this is so clean,” matriarch Sho Sho Alii told me.

When 18-year-old Liam McManus of South Philly opened the door to use the restroom, he couldn’t contain his excitement.

“DUUUUUDE!” he said, as he stepped inside (he later gave me a 10 out of 10 review).

Outside, I talked with his friend, Aman Islam, 18, of West Philly. Islam was impressed by the hand dryer (”Whoa!”) and the sink (”No way!”).

“This is a good thing,” he said. “They need this in more places. I feel like they need this everywhere in Philly.”

The new bathroom was all I’d hoped and dreamed it would be, for about an hour. After stepping aside to chat with some folks, I went back in to do one final check. The toilet was clogged and filled to the brim with a number two.

Wanting this bathroom to be a success, I did something I never thought I’d do and tried to flush it on my own, to no avail.

I walked out and when a construction worker went to head inside behind me, I warned him it was clogged.

“Oh well, I just have to pee,” he said, and used it anyway.

Realizing this would not end well, I used the QR code listed on signs posted on the bathroom to report the issue (reports can also be made by calling 311). I had to head out shortly thereafter, but I was told by a city spokesperson (though I could not independently confirm it), that my report was received and the clog was fixed within the half hour.

According to another city spokesperson, there are three “public restroom specialists” who are responsible for cleaning the bathroom about every two hours. Those specialists also handle repairs and visit the unit multiple times a day to restock toilet paper and other supplies (supplies can also be requested through the QR code and 311). Currently, the city only has staffing to keep the bathroom open from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday to Friday and 8 a.m. to 11 p.m. on weekends.

So if and when you use the new bathrooms, please think of those three public restroom specialists, who after their first day on the clock, already have one of the toughest jobs in this city. I hope you’ll be grateful to them, I hope you’ll keep the bathrooms clean, and I hope if you see an issue, you’ll report it before someone else makes their job even harder.

And here’s my promise to you: I’ll do my duty and go back in six weeks, in six months, and again in a year, to keep you privy to the condition of Philly’s new public bathrooms.