Believe it or not, gas station bathrooms used to be squeaky clean. Here’s what changed.

But that wasn’t always the case. Spotless bathrooms were once a crucial selling point for gas stations. In fact, oil giants’ gas station ads in the early and mid-20th century assured travelers that their bathrooms were as clean as those in drivers’ own homes. Texaco, Gulf, Shell, Sunoco, Esso, Phillips and other companies plastered billboards on roads, ran color ads in national magazines and created catchy slogans such as “Registered Rest Rooms” and “Clean Restroom Crusade” to highlight their facilities. The companies battled to surpass each others’ bathrooms, with some companies even sending out “White Patrol” and “Highway Hostess” teams to inspect and certify them.Companies tried to make their bathrooms feel more like home in response to the growing number of women who were driving and traveling around the country. By 1928, women bought half of gas stations’ fuel that year, according to an industry journal. Drivers became more focused on finding the cheapest gas — not the station with the cleanest bathroom or best service — and many were willing to sacrifice clean toilets if it meant saving a few cents per gallon.”Gas became more transactional with self-serve,” Simon said. “Service and amenities fall by the wayside.”However, a handful of gas station chains today still borrow tactics from the earlier era of clean bathrooms as a way to draw customers.Kwik Trip in the Midwest posts a “Clean Restroom Promise” sign in all of its bathrooms with CEO Don Zietlow’s name and a hotline number to call for complaints. Zietlow personally receives and responds to every call.And Buc-ee’s in Texas regularly ranks as having the top-rated bathrooms in the gas station industry. The company uses billboards along the highway to advertise its facilities, including “Top Two Reasons to Stop at Buc-ee’s: Number 1 and Number 2” and “Rest-Rooms You Have to Pee to Believe.”