There are many reasons why people place a red cup or even an empty roll of toilet paper under the toilet seat. Some of these include letting others know that there is no toilet paper, as a warning system when animals crawl up the sewage system, and more.
Putting a red cup under the toilet seat makes a lot of sense once you realize what leads people to do this. Keep going with this article to understand why this trick is so popular.
Why Put a Plastic Cup Under the Toilet Seat?
You might shake your head when you first hear the notion of putting a red plastic cup under the toilet seat at night, but there is reasonable justification to do so. In fact, the impressive reasons for placing a red cup under the toilet seat seem endless, and most of them genuinely are very useful.
Let’s have a closer look at some of the most prevalent ones.
Lack of Toilet Paper
It is very unpleasant to go to the bathroom and reach for the toilet paper only to find that there isn’t any left. Of course, the best thing to do would be to check whether there is toilet paper or not before using the toilet, but most of us forget to do this.
Placing a red cup under the toilet seat at night or even during the day can let others know that there is no toilet paper. This will save people an embarrassing and frustrating moment when they need toilet paper the most.
To Warn of Intruders
You might not expect intruders to get into your home by using the toilet, but four-legged critters and snakes do this all of the time. This is especially true if you live in places like Florida, where alligators and other animals can easily find their way into homes.
If an unwanted guest gets up your toilet’s pipes, the red cup will fall, and the toilet seat will make a banging noise as the creature exits the toilet. This will provide you with a heads-up to deal with the situation.
To Potty Train Children
Teaching children how to urinate in a toilet can be a difficult task. Using a red cup under the toilet seat as a visual aid is very effective for this.
When the child goes to the bathroom, seeing the red cup propping up the toilet seat will remind them that the seat has to be lifted. This simple step goes a long way to avoid getting urine all over the seat and around the toilet.
To Measure Urine Excretion
There are medical conditions that require people to measure how much they urinate. Putting a red cup under the toilet seat will cue a person to measure their urine.
This does not necessarily mean that you should use the red cup to measure the amount of urine. Rather, it is simply a reminder.
Hygienic Purposes
You can use a red cup to prop up a toilet seat slightly for hygienic purposes, especially in public toilets. Imagine using a public restroom and having to put the seat up with your hands. You would come into contact with more germs than necessary.
The slightly propped-up toilet seat means that you can use your foot to push it all the way up and not have to touch it at all.
Red Cup or Toilet Paper Roll?
You might see posts where people talk about placing an empty roll of toilet paper under the toilet seat instead of a red cup. Does it really matter?
Yes and no. It depends on your intent. If, for example, you are using this trick or hack to point out that there is no toilet paper, both will do. However, if you intend to get a person’s attention as best as possible, the red cup will do a much better job because of its prominent color.
By the way, the cup does not have to be red. Red just happens to be a color that gets people’s attention, which is why it has become popular. This attention-grabbing color will be beneficial for children and older adults.
As you can see, the idea of putting a red cup under the toilet seat is not so silly after all. There are valid reasons to employ this trick. But should you use just one cup under the toilet seat or two?
Placing two cups under the toilet seat might be a good idea if you are worried about it getting accidentally knocked off somehow. In most situations, though, it will not be necessary and can even be detrimental.
For example, two cups instead of one would make it harder for a child to remove to use the toilet.
We recommend using just one cup unless the need for two becomes apparent.
Conclusion – Red Cup Under Toilet Seat
Putting a red cup under the toilet seat is a trick that can seem like a fad that comes and goes, but this practice is very worthwhile.
If using a red cup for one or more of the many reasons we talked about here would be useful to you, we suggest you give it a try!
