“The other day I noticed that one of the toilets was filled with ice just before a long flight. Maybe this is part of the cleaning procedure. I pointed this out to the flight attendants and they made sure that it was fixed. Thankfully I noticed it before someone had to perform a more solid operation than the one that I did.”
Why Was the Toilet in the Lavatory Filled With Ice?
That observation was posted in the Comments section by Barry Graham — who is a reader of The Gate With Brian Cohen — of an article whose title is 16 Tips on How to Use and Leave a Lavatory Aboard an Airplane.
I found a few articles that claim that adding ice to a toilet helps as part of the process to clean the toilet — but the articles were not from what I considered to be reputable sources…
…so I asked members of the flight crew aboard airplanes during my recent travels about whether ice helps to clean toilets in the lavatories — or even why a toilet would be filled with ice in the first place.
Not only could any of them verify an answer; but at least two of them — who had seniority, as they were working on a transpacific flight — looked at me like I had five noses and eight eyes on my face, as they had never heard of that.
I wish I could have taken photographs of the looks on their faces, as they were beyond flushed.
Final Boarding Call
I would have liked to say here that urine luck, Barry Graham; but despite my research, I was bowled over with the fact that I could not find the answer as to why a toilet in a lavatory aboard an airplane would be filled with ice…
…so although I am still seeking out the answer, I am deferring to you: why would a toilet in a lavatory aboard an airplane be filled with ice prior to a long flight?
Photograph ©2025 by Brian Cohen.
