Everyone has come across dirty toilets – even in developed countries.
But the second World Toilet Expo and Forum is asking people to stand up and demand for better.
Over 800 delegates will be attending the three-day event in Thailand that kicked off yesterday.
The CRI's Jennifer Pak tells us how the movement for a clean bowl is gaining momentum.
 When it comes to gender inequality, nowhere is it more apparent than having to lineup for the ladies’ washroom while men breeze in and out of theirs.
Sylvia Phua is the organizer of the toilet expo and forum.
She says washrooms have historically been the same size for men and women.
"But right now, especially in the more developed western countries, the women are demanding that they have more cubicles, a bigger area allotted to female toilets as compared to male toilets."
That's what this forum is designed to do – allow people to freely talk about toilets.
Jack Sim is the founder of the World Toilet Organization.
"The reason people don't talk about toilets is because they have subconsciously blocked the subject out of their minds all the time. Toilet is relating to health that person's body, that a person's body could be very unhealthy if he's always suppressing urination. Also when you go to a dirty toilet you will catch some diseases. So if you don't go you get into trouble and if you go you'd get into trouble. So a clean toilet is very, very necessary."
Sim says it's a fitting choice to have Thailand hosting the event this year. He says this is the first time the country has discussed toilets and sanitation in a legitimate way because it's generally seen as an embarrassing topic.
"But now with the Minister of Public Health, officially talking about toilets, taking photographs seated on the toilet, this gives people permission physiologically that 'Hey it's not wrong to talk about toilets' and when people start talking about it, they will demand better situation."
Not only that, Sim says a good clean toilet can also affect tourism.
"If the tourist site is very beautiful but the toilet there is disgusting, tourists cannot come. In some places there are no toilets."
Shanghai hosted the event last year and they're once again requesting to be the hosts for 2007.
Phua says Shanghai has recognized the importance of hygienic toilets with millions of tourists expected to come for the Beijing Olympics and 2010 World Expo.
Singapore knows clean toilets make good business. Phua says they have taken it to the next step by launching a campaign that gives five star ratings for toilets.
"Just like a hotel. So your establishments, your outlets, when you're given a five-star rating or four-star, or three-star rating, it is equivalent to your service."
To boost the hygiene of toilets, Sim says training cleaners is very important.
10:28 "A toilet cleaner has always been seen as a lowly paid, and lowly skilled person with very low morale. But I think that if we professionalize the toilet cleaner, you can enjoy toilets that don't have any smell. So we have a World Toilet college that trains people to upgrade their skills as restroom specialists and by doing so they also do minor repairs for toilet damages and lock sets, and leaky taps and pumps that are blown, windows that are broken."
Sim says this can also help boost wages for cleaners.
"In Singapore the salary was 700 dollars but now it goes up to 950 after training." Novemeber 19th has been designated as World Toilet Day.
Sim says they're asking supermarkets to give discounts on toilet paper to mark the occasion.
"When people find a reason to celebrate, especially with financial incentives, they start to discuss about toilets and the taboo becomes broken and people again feel legitimacy to discuss."
Sim encourages people to tell management or officials about dirty toilets.
12:02 "Because only by talking and demanding can you get. If you don't ask, you don't get."
Jennifer Pak, CRI News, Beijing.
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Director: Liu Chi