Chances are you’ve heard about the infamous toilet plume. One piece of advice to minimize the plume that gets thrown around is to close the toilet lid before you flush. But does it really make a difference? And what else should we be doing to have some peace of mind germ-wise when we use the bathroom? We talked to a couple of microbiology experts to get the (kind of gross, tbh) truth.
Flushing the toilet does, in fact, spray poop particles into the air.
First things first: Poop particles are all around us, according to Paul Pottinger, M.D., professor of medicine and codirector of the Antimicrobial Stewardship Program at the University of Washington Medical Center.
When you flush a toilet, the power of the flush aerosolizes whatever particles are in the bowl, says Kelly Reynolds, Ph.D., M.S.P.H., professor and director of the Environment, Exposure Science and Risk Assessment Center at the University of Arizona. “Aerosols can disperse anywhere from one to six feet; three feet is the average,” she tells SELF. That means that microscopic organisms from your poop, pee, and whatever else is in your toilet have a chance to spread out across your bathroom.
“The world is covered in stool, the only question is how [much],” Dr. Pottinger says. So, sorry to break it to you, but if you live with other people and share a bathroom with them, then…yep, you guessed it. “Believe it or not, there is a great chance that housemates are already covered with a fine fecal patina from one another. Sounds gross, but the truth is we are all covered in germs. They are usually quite harmless and often beneficial.”
Toilet plume usually isn’t a big deal—unless someone using the toilet is sick.
Okay, so, toilet plume sounds gross, but how worried should you be about it in terms of your health? Experts say it really depends on a few different specifics. “We all have different susceptibilities to getting an infection when exposed to microbes,” Dr. Reynolds says. “Some people never get sick, some get sick all the time, and some of that is hard to explain.”
Relatively speaking, though, the overall risk of getting sick because of microbes that spread during a toilet flush is low, Dr. Reynolds says. “We find that bathrooms have a much lower risk of exposure to pathogens than our own kitchen,” she says. (That’s a story for another day.)
The biggest toilet plume risk happens when someone using the toilet is actually ill with a contagious illness. “Diarrhea is usually caused by a bacteria or virus that infects the digestive system. When it’s expelled in a bowel movement, it can end up on a surface that a second person touches and then touches their mouth,” Dr. Pottinger explains. So, the bugs that are in your average run-of-the-mill feces aren’t likely to make you sick, especially since you’re already sharing those microbes with whomever you live with. It’s the illness-causing bugs that are more concerning. (Yes, possibly including the SARS-CoV-2 virus that causes COVID-19.) And the reality is that we don’t always know when someone is sick, Dr. Reynolds says, explaining, “You don’t have to be symptomatic to be shedding organisms that can make people sick.”
So, with all of that in mind, the obvious question is: Can closing the toilet lid before flushing actually make much of a difference when it comes to toilet plume? Thankfully, yes.
Closing the lid when you flush is a good habit to get into.
Closing the lid before flushing can definitely curb the spread of some aerosolized microbes that would otherwise be sprinkled throughout the bathroom, says Marilyn Roberts, Ph.D., professor of environmental and occupational health sciences at the University of Washington School of Public Health.
“Using a lid certainly makes a difference. It keeps everything much better contained,” Dr. Roberts says. “It’s not perfect, but it certainly is better.” A 2021 research review published in the journal Environmental Science and Pollution Research found that flushing without closing the lid leads to surface contamination of the toilet. One study that looked at C.difficile in particular found that closing the lid before flushing resulted in a bacterial level contamination that was 12 times lower than leaving it open. (The review also notes that the type of toilet and the power of the flush also factor into just how many particles are spread and how far.)
Of course, the toilet lid isn’t airtight, Dr. Reynolds notes. But it will significantly reduce the spread of pathogens since it will keep many larger particles contained. Some microbes only require a few particles to make you sick, while others need thousands—but any time you can minimize your exposure to a pathogen, you’ll minimize your risk of getting sick, Dr. Reynolds says.
That said, if you live with other people, closing the lid when you flush is only one part of the equation. For truly minimal exposure to all the…stuff…that’s regularly hanging out in your toilet bowl, you’d want to get everyone in the household on board with closed-lid flushing too.
Washing your hands and cleaning the bathroom regularly are even more important than flushing with a closed lid.
You’re probably very much over being told to not touch your face and to wash your hands after you touch public surfaces, but it really is the best advice out there to prevent transmission of germs that could make you (or other people) sick. The primary way we get sick from the microbes in feces is the oral route (as in, accidentally getting particles into your mouth), Dr. Reynolds says. So if you make it a habit to always wash your hands after using the bathroom (and generally just avoid touching your face and mouth in daily life), you’ll cut back on the chance you’ll get sick from whatever’s lurking on your toilet handle or bathroom countertops. Here are some tips to help you stop touching your face so much, in case that’s helpful, and a step-by-step guide to washing your hands the right way (even though you’re probably well-acquainted with said steps at this point).
Speaking of bathroom countertops: It’s definitely a good idea to regularly clean those, and all other hard surfaces in the bathroom (including the toilet bowl and lid). Dr. Reynolds suggests cleaning the entire bathroom weekly with a product that says disinfectant on the label. One example is this Scrubbing Bubbles Bathroom Grime Fighter and Disinfectant Spray ($17, Amazon). If you know someone in the household is sick, it’s time to up the ante. “If one of your housemates has a GI illness with diarrhea, then you really want to be sure that they are using their own lavatory if possible,” Dr. Pottinger says. If that’s not possible, then it’s still a good idea to at least wipe down bathroom surfaces very often, preferably after every time the sick person uses it (and if they’re well enough to clean it themselves so you don’t have to expose yourself as much, even better). Ideally, you’d wash or otherwise swap in clean towels—which can definitely be in that toilet-plume range—at least once a week as well.
And, finally, in case you’re wondering about how to keep your toothbrush away from that toilet spray: Dr. Reynolds says she keeps hers in a drawer and recommends you do the same if you have the storage space. (Just make sure it’s able to dry out between uses.) “Studies show toothbrushes are readily impacted by fecal particles,” she says. The American Dental Association notes this fun fact, too, but adds that there’s no proof of the bacteria that live on the average toothbrush actually being problematic for your health. So, whatever decision you make is most likely going to be fine. As they say, whatever helps you sleep at night.
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