Put the Toilet Lid Down

Straight to the point

If your toilet seat is up when you flush, fecal matter (poop) sticks to everything inside the bathroom.

Your toothbrush, think about it.

You're hair comb and brush, everything.

Yuk !

Is Your Toilet Making You Sick?

Please prevent the spread of feces to your toothbrush.

Put the toilet seat down when you flush.

Don't you hate the loud noise of a toilet seat crashing down when you slap it shut?
Get A Soft Closer

"Link to Soft Close Toilet Seats"

The long story

Let me paint a little picture for you of what happens every time you leave the seat up after going to the bathroom: With one little flick of the lever, the swirling water whisks away your business ... down into the sewer but also up into the air, all over your counters, and even in your towels and toothbrushes. Gross!

In the field of science (yep, there's science about this!), it's called the "toilet plume," a.k.a. the germs and fecal matter that get shot upwards — up to 15 feet high! — with the force created by the sudden gush of water.

There's been a study done about this.

The first foray into this poop-tastic piece of physics happened during the '50s, with a particularly groundbreaking (and skin-crawling) piece of research emerging in 1975, when Charles P. Gerba published a study in the journal Applied Microbiology. Gerba found that a single flush sent E. coli airborne and viable for at least four to six hours later. That means your 7-year-old could flush the toilet with the lid up after he gets home from school and harmful bacteria would still be floating around your bathroom at dinnertime.

"Research suggests that this toilet plume could play an important role in the transmission of infectious diseases for which the pathogen is shed in feces or vomit," the scientists wrote in the American Journal of Infection Control. "The possible role of toilet plume in airborne transmission of norovirus, SARS, and pandemic influenza is of particular interest."

"Oh come on," you might say. "You're being a little dramatic. It's really not that bad." Oh, watch the YouTube video below. Plus, here are some more equally valid reasons as to why closed toilet lids are necessary:

• Practical purposes: Nothing will accidentally fall into the toilet if it's closed. Also, your dog can't drink out of it.
• Aesthetics: It just simply looks better.
• Every time you flush with an open lid, bacteria spray into the air around your toilet. And some of these germs could pass along symptoms of diarrhea or vomiting
• Did I mention the poop particles yet?

The best way to prevent the spread of these bacteria? Keep the lid closed! The study found that this reduced the spread of bacteria by 10 times. If someone if your family has come down with the winter bug, clean off all areas of the toilet regularly. And if you’re out in public among lidless toilets, make sure to wash your hands.

Tap or click anywhere on the above video to watch.