AITA For Asking My Husband To Not Poop In Our Main Bathroom?

Marriage is full of compromises, but this one has sparked a surprising amount of debate: Is it reasonable to ask your spouse to use a different bathroom for, well, their “business”?

A frustrated wife took to Reddit to explain her dilemma. Despite having three bathrooms in their home, her husband often uses their main ensuite bathroom during busy mornings—especially when she’s getting ready.

While the couple has a smaller half-bathroom downstairs and a hall bathroom upstairs, she’s asked her husband to use the hall bathroom for bowel movements instead of the ensuite. Her reason? The smell makes it uncomfortable to do her hair and makeup or spend time in the bedroom.

She even clarified that this isn’t a one-sided request—she also avoids the main bathroom when she knows he’ll need it. To her, it’s a small courtesy for a shared space, especially since the other bathroom is just a few feet away. Read the original story below:

‘AITA for asking my husband to not poop in our main bathroom?’

This isn’t that big of a deal but it’s a fight we’ve had multiple times so I thought I’d bring it to Reddit to put it to rest. We have 3 toilets in our house. A half bath downstairs, the hall (kids) bathroom and our main bedroom bathroom.

The half bath has the littler box in it so we don’t tend to use it, don’t expect him to. The two upstairs are equally nice and clean. Most of the time my husband uses the hall toilet. I don’t really care which one he uses. Except for when we have to get ready.

Our bathroom has all our shower stuff as well as all of my hair and makeup stuff. Is it that crazy to ask if he’s going to poop to just do it in the other bathroom so that I don’t have to smell it while I’m getting ready or sitting in the bedroom? Am I being unreasonable or unfair?

ETA for context: I myself use the other restroom when I know he will be needing our main bathroom. This isn’t specific to him. I don’t want to smell anyone’s poop, not even the 5 year olds while I’m having to spend time in the bathroom. I am asking for a curtosey of walking 5ft on the rare instance that anyone needs to poop immediately before everyone needs to use that bathroom to get ready.

Here’s the feedback from the Reddit community:

Ok-Bank-9051 −  Lol NTA. My boyfriend has asked me not to poop in the bathroom he uses during the day (we’re both WFH) because of how bad my shits are. I’m also a girl if that matters. It is truly and honestly a consideration thing. It’s not “his house his bathroom he can do what he wants”.

It’s being honest about how f**king rank his poops are and being considerate of you and the kids. I now have a designated pooping toilet (we also have 3) and it works great for us. Everyone’s happy. Easy fix.

redneckerson1951 −  Well, this falls in the category of not eating crackers in the marital bed. It is simply being considerate of the other person. You might also consider examining what you consume during the day. Some foodstuffs can create quite offensive flatulence and stools.

Another thing to consider is using the toilet water spray that provides a thin layer of oil on the surface of the water in the toilet. It captures the gas escaping from stool under the water’s surface and when flushed takes the offensive odors with it.

Poo\~Pourri Citrus is a brand that works well and kept my ex from becoming an axe murderer. I think I saw it in a WalMart recently but it can be found online. Spritz the toilet water and the smells are held under the oil and water interface..

South_Butterscotch37 −  NTA I feel insane by how many people are acting like it’s an unreasonable request for him to use the toilet 5 feet away if you’re about to have to do your hair and makeup routine in s**t air.

forgeris −  It does seem reasonable, but he has to agree with you and not random reddit strangers. NTA.

Jinja_Boo −  NTA. We have two bathrooms in our house and we’ve both kind of claimed one as our own. I use the guest bathroom cause it has better lighting for when I’m getting ready.

Husband uses the main bathroom because he wakes up first, and the toilet in its own smaller room with a door that closes so he can contain the smell better. Marriage is full of compromise so hopefully you guys can meet in the middle somewhere.

MarthaT001 −  Get him some Poopouie. I got some as a prize at a baby shower, and it really works. I keep it on a shelf above the toilet in our 1/2 bath. We also have a bidet installed, so it’s our favorite poop toilet, lol.

rulstdbgrl −  NTA. But depends on how you ask him not to use the main bathroom. Jus politely explain to him that you can’t bare the smell. Tbh, air fresheners and candles won’t do the trick quickly. It’ll take time 😅 not unless it was lit more than 5mins before OP’s husband use the toilet.

wisegirlliana −  Get an air freshener and ask him to use it or turn on the ventilation. Does his poop smell exceptionally bad? I don’t see how you could smell it in the bedroom. Anyways not a big deal, but I understand that It would be kind of annoying to go to another bathroom when you have one very close.

MountMiso −  Seems reasonable to me, but maybe buy a can of air freshener (e.g., Lysol). NTA.

Will0JP −  NTA. There are multiple bathrooms. It’s not an unreasonable ask. Seems like basic courtesy not to stink up the room your partner uses to get ready/ room that’s next to the bedroom if there’s other options available.

So, is she the AH for making this request, or is it just a matter of mutual respect in a shared space? The community seems to lean toward her being reasonable, as long as the request is made politely and with understanding.

What’s your take? Should her husband accommodate her, or is she being too picky about bathroom habits? Share your thoughts below!