Why is the operative word in toilet seat arguments
As we’ve all become aware in the last year hygiene is the foundation of health.
Toilet hygiene has become a focus in the home and at work. The simple toilet seat has been focused on as never before.
Arguments over the toilet seat revolve around:
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why can’t I leave the toilet seat up
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why should I put the toilet seat down
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why do I need to close the toilet seat
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why do toilet seats have a lid
The answer to all these “whys” is because of basic personal hygiene and overall community hygiene.
Harpic photos reveal the danger of not closing the toilet seat lid before flushing
Over the years, I’ve been asked countless times why do toilet seats have lids. Generally, my answers have centred around because it’s called into law in the Plumbing and Drainage Act, which satisfied most people.
However, now I can finally answer all the questions about toilet lids.
I can better answer that perennial question of why you should always close the toilet seat lid before flushing.
The answer is simple. The lid is there for good hygiene to protect your health and community health.
I can answer these questions thanks to Harpic the #1 selling toilet cleaner in Australia and forty other countries worldwide.
Harpic commissioned a study to illustrate the dangers we all face by not closing the toilet seat when we flush. Harpic used sophisticated high-speed specialist camera technology to capture a fireworks display of thousands of tiny aerosol droplets being catapulted into the bathroom, contaminating all surfaces up to two meters away. Not only did the droplets spread over a wide area of the bathroom, but they also stayed airborne for up to a minute as they are tiny.
The photos above and below illustrate these fireworks displays graphically illustrating how far into the air a flushing toilet catapults these aerosol droplets.
Flushed toilet water aerosol droplets can contain bacteria & viruses
These photos are of a single toilet flush. Imagine what your towels, facecloths, laundry, makeup and toothbrush look like after multiple toilet flushes with the seat up.
Water in a toilet bowl that has been exposed to harmful pathogens will remain contaminated despite clean water being flushed into the toilet pan multiple times. The contaminated aerosol droplets and particles are very fine and are more than capable of reaching your lower respiratory tract. This potentially can create infections.
If you touch any surface in your bathroom contaminated by the toilet bowl flushing of aerosol droplets you can risk infections if you have cuts or touch your mouth or nose.
Would you clean your teeth with a toothbrush sprayed with flushed toilet water?
Let’s face it. None of us would knowingly clean our teeth with a toothbrush that has been sprayed with contaminated toilet water. But the reality is over 50% of the population never close the toilet lid before flushing.
Unhygienic bathrooms really are dangerous
As a spokesman for Harpic stated after their research was made public, “There has never been a more important time to take extra care around our homes. Although the risks associated with germ spread in unhygienic bathrooms are high, the solution to keeping them clean is simple. We hope our new #CloseTheLid campaign helps inspire people to make simple changes to their cleaning routine that can have long-lasting benefits to the health of the nation.”
The Harpic survey of 2000 respondents was undertaken in the UK, but I guarantee the results would apply equally to Australia.
When asked why they did not close the toilet seat lid when flushing the toilet were:
- 47% said they were unaware of the danger in not closing the lid
- 24% said they were afraid to touch the toilet seat lid
- 15% said they forgot to close the toilet seat lid
Three simple solutions to bathroom hygiene
COVID-19 has been a huge motivation to increase bathroom hygiene with Harpic, suggesting the three steps below are a simple common sense approach for a more hygienic bathroom.
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Always close the toilet seat lid when flushing the toilet to prevent germs that potentially contain bacteria and viruses spreading over your bathroom.
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Ensure you clean your toilet bowl, toilet seat and cistern with a toilet cleaner that removes limescale, providing a home to germs and disinfecting the toilet to guarantee ultimate hygiene.
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Always wear gloves when cleaning the toilet and wash your hands afterwards.
It’s simple just close the toilet seat lid every time you flush
Closing the toilet seat lid is simple hygiene that helps eliminate the potential spread of COVID-19, which we know is found in human waste.
Just remember when you flush with the toilet seat lid up the contaminated aerosol droplets spread up to two meters in all directions spraying you with the droplets as you redress for up to 35 seconds.
Teach your children always to shut the toilet seat for their health: your health and the health of the entire community.
