Are You Making These Common Toilet Mistakes?

The Everyday Habits That Could Be Weakening Your Pelvic Floor

Think you’ve mastered going to the toilet since potty training? Think again! Many women unknowingly develop toilet habits that can place unnecessary strain on the pelvic floor muscles over time. These everyday mistakes may seem harmless, but years of poor bladder and bowel habits can contribute to pelvic floor dysfunction, including bladder weakness, urinary incontinence, pelvic organ prolapse, constipation, and even pelvic pain.

The good news? Small changes can make a huge difference to your long-term pelvic health. Here are four common toilet mistakes you should stop making today.

1. Holding Your Wee for Too Long

We’ve all done it — crossing our legs and waiting “just a bit longer” because we’re busy, travelling, working, or there isn’t a toilet nearby. But regularly ignoring the urge to urinate can put unnecessary stress on your bladder and pelvic floor muscles.

When you constantly delay going to the toilet, your bladder becomes overstretched and may lose some of its ability to contract properly. Over time, this can contribute to bladder weakness and difficulty emptying fully. This bladder weakness often places additional strain on the pelvic floor muscles, increasing the risk of leaks and urgency issues.

Ideally, you should empty your bladder every 2–4 hours throughout the day. If you need to go, try not to hold it for too long. Giving yourself regular toilet breaks is one of the simplest ways to support bladder health and protect your pelvic floor for the future.

Pelvic Floor Tip:

Strengthening your pelvic floor with regular Kegel exercises can help improve bladder control and reduce urgency symptoms.

2. Hovering Over the Toilet Seat

Many women squat or hover over public toilets to avoid touching the seat, but this habit can actually prevent your bladder from emptying properly.

When you hover, your pelvic floor muscles remain tense and activated instead of relaxing. This makes it harder for the bladder and bowels to fully empty, which may lead to incomplete emptying, increased urgency, and even urinary tract infections (UTIs).

Repeated hovering can also create excess tension and dysfunction in the pelvic floor muscles over time.

And here’s something reassuring — toilet seats are often cleaner than you think! Studies have shown that public toilet seats typically contain fewer bacteria than many everyday surfaces, including kitchen counters and mobile phones.

So next time you’re in a public bathroom, try sitting fully on the seat and allowing your pelvic floor muscles to relax naturally.

Pelvic Floor Tip:

Relaxed muscles empty better. Sitting properly can help improve bladder emptying and reduce unnecessary pelvic floor strain.

3. Straining When You Poo

If you regularly strain or bear down when having a bowel movement, your pelvic floor could be paying the price.

Excessive pushing and straining places downward pressure on the pelvic floor muscles and pelvic organs. Over time, this repeated strain can weaken the pelvic floor and increase the risk of prolapse, haemorrhoids, bladder weakness and bowel control problems.

Constipation is one of the biggest contributors to pelvic floor dysfunction, so it’s important to support healthy bowel habits by:

• Drinking enough water
• Eating more fibre-rich foods
• Staying physically active
• Avoiding rushing in the bathroom

Using a toilet stool can also help enormously. Raising your knees into a squatting position helps straighten the bowel, allowing for easier and more complete emptying with less strain.

The Go Better Stool is specifically designed to improve your toilet posture and reduce unnecessary pushing and straining.

Pelvic Floor Tip:

Never force a bowel movement. Your pelvic floor muscles should relax — not push aggressively downward.

4. Going “Just in Case”

Do you always go to the toilet before leaving the house, even when you don’t really need to? While it may seem practical, constantly emptying your bladder “just in case” can actually train your bladder to hold less urine.

Over time, your bladder becomes more sensitive and starts sending urgency signals before it’s truly full. This can lead to frequent trips to the toilet, urgency, and urge incontinence.

Instead, try to trust your bladder and only go when you genuinely feel the urge.

If you already struggle with urgency or leaks, pelvic floor exercises can help retrain the muscles that control urination and improve bladder control naturally.

The Kegel8 Ultra 20 Pelvic Toner and Kegel8 Tight & Tone Pelvic Floor Toner for Bladder Weakness & Intimate Wellness both include targeted pelvic floor exercise programmes designed to help strengthen weak pelvic floor muscles, improve bladder control, and support women experiencing stress incontinence, urge incontinence, and pelvic floor weakness.