Flush the toilet.. Take a shower in GERMS!!

United States
October 13, 2008 6:55pm CST
i was watching something on tv about how if you have the toilet seat (cover/lid) up and flush it that it sprays all kinds of bacteria and germs etc into the air and they stay in the air for a period of time.. well this got me to thinking (which i should never do..) think about the public bathrooms? those little stalls and flushing the toilets.. your boxed in and unknowingly getting sprayed by god knows what.. and yeah even if you try to do it while exiting there are always those random automatic flushing ones!! and of course i think about this as i HAD to go to the bathroom with only public bathrooms available.. i wanted to puke!!
4 people like this
10 responses
@peavey (16936)
• United States
14 Oct 08
I think sometimes we can know too much! We've survived worse than that (really) and those germs aren't going to hurt you if they haven't yet. Better to not know....
3 people like this
• United States
14 Oct 08
blah i wouldnt have thought about it today if i hadnt been stranded and had to use them.. i usually only go at home or some one i knows lol..
1 person likes this
@granmeme (162)
• United States
14 Oct 08
I had never heard about keeping lid down or germs splashing up on surrounding area and I read a lot, so somehow I missed that one. This does make a lot of sense but I wish I had not found out about it. I find their are things I can ignore and go on just fine and I am adding this to the list. It is kind of like watching a tv program about how dirty restaurants or hotels rooms are. If we feel like we have to kill ever germ around we will go nuts. Germs are on everything and we can not kill them all. We all eat out and occasionally have to stay in a motel or hotel and have to use a public restroom all we can do is try and get the cleanest ones available and hop for the best. We are suppose to be immune to most common germs and bacteria so just hope for the best. Good luck and have a fine day.
2 people like this
@ahgong (10064)
• Singapore
14 Oct 08
ha ha ha ha ha... well, in this case, ignorance is bliss eh? I too saw something like that on Discovery and eversince then, I always try to close the lid before I flush. I guess it also depends on the kind of bowl you get. If the bowl is design to draw out everything in the bowl after you flush before filling it up with water again, then you will encounter what is seen on Discovery. Otherwise, if the bowl is the one that will just flush without the water lever going below the hole to expose it, then you will not have this worry that much. I don't know for sure. Do correct me if I am wrong.
• United States
15 Oct 08
i think no matter what there is gonna be a mist we just wont see it.. ugh
1 person likes this
@ahgong (10064)
• Singapore
15 Oct 08
Well, regularly washing your toilet should reduce this problem. Also, stuff like your toothbrush, comb... etc, should be kept covered. Best if you can install an exhaust ventilation fan in the toilet to keep it well ventilated. That should reduce the problem to some extend as well.
1 person likes this
@eaforeman6 (8979)
• United States
14 Oct 08
Its best to close the lid before you flush and leave the lid down. I had read about the germs reaching up as far as where your toothbrush is. Thats scarey. So yea, we can be in the habit of closing and then flushing. As far as public goes...we are just on our own....yuk!
2 people like this
• United States
14 Oct 08
i always have my home one closed because of my cat and dog thinking its another water dish blah!! but of course public ones dont have them ugh
1 person likes this
@redkathy (3374)
• United States
14 Oct 08
Gross thought, thanks! No really, I think there are too many germ fanatics out there. I mean public rest rooms have to be full of germs, I'll give you that. They say "spray" when the toilet is flushing, which implies force of air so any public place that has a spray of air has germs... fanatics I say
2 people like this
• United States
14 Oct 08
i am a germaphobic lol
1 person likes this
• United States
8 Nov 08
I have heard of this also. it is disgusting i am not to worried about the bathroom at home because it is always getting cleaned but public bathrooms freak me out i hate them soooo much. They are just so disgusting. When we go on vacation and go to the rest stops {which are usually disgusting also but when you gotta go you gotta go} my mom packs a bunch of toilet seat covers. She has a pouch she keeps them in. She also has hand soap in a little case it is like a thin sheet of paper and you take it out and run it under water and it turns into soap. I heard you are suppose to leave your truth brushes 5 or more feet away from your toilet but what if you have a small bathroom?
1 person likes this
• United States
9 Nov 08
thats really good ideas to take that stuff with you.. my bathroom is too small to have my tooth brushes far away.. i think at the most it could be 3 feet away but i flush with the cover down so hopefully that is keeping everything good lol
@jesssp (2712)
• Canada
14 Oct 08
A friend of mine did her bathroom in white and chrome. She had a chrome waste basket close to the toilet and she was absolutely disgusted my how splattered it would get from the toilet being flushed! I've always heard that you should flush with the lid down, but I never remember too. And public bathrooms are even worse because they have such a powerful flush some of them literally splash up. It's gross; I try to avoid public bathrooms at all cost but when I have to use them I always stand as far back and too the side as possible when I flush. And I hate those goofy automatic flush ones too! They either go off when you don't want them too (like when you're sitting down) or you have to try all sorts of silly things to make them flush.
• United States
14 Oct 08
i forgot where i was shopping but the stall was literally so small i could barely squeeze into it and shut the door behind me and im 117lbs here.. you felt like you had to step into the toilet to get in and then turn around and you were right against the door going.. i am really confused on how they think that the majority of the population can use that size
1 person likes this
@katkat (2378)
• Philippines
20 Oct 08
Oh! That means I have to flush with the toilet seat cover closed. There are lots of public toilets with a cover seat but not all have it. In malls, the water of the toilet has some sort of chemicals. I think is it a little safer for people to use it. It is color blue and some malls used it in toilet for flushing. Thanks for the post about this matter. Next time I flush the toilet; I’ll cover my nose and closed the toilet seat cover for some protection.
1 person likes this
@Hatley (163776)
• Garden Grove, California
25 Oct 08
hi moonlitmagikchild I had read about this t oo so I always put the lid down first before flushing so as' to prevent the flood of germs.I hate having to put my purse down on the floor in a public bathroom but whenI hung it up on the hook provided someone tried to steal it. I grabbed it and yelled, and three other ladies stopped the would be thief. lol
1 person likes this
• United States
26 Oct 08
i hate sitting mine on the floor too!! most of the doors never seem to have hooks on them anymore grr!! i havent had anyone try to steal my purse though.. how horrible
22 Oct 08
Worse still was a survey over here recently that found bus/train station hand-rails are thriving with fecal bacteria. Due to people not washing their hands after using the toilet, many busy public areas have traces of the bacteria, which are then transferred when another member of the public comes into contact with a rail, door, window, table, chair etc. Apparently certain big cities contain more dirty people. Also in the majority it was found that woman carry these bacteria more than men .... which defeats an old stereotype that women are more hygenic :p
• United States
23 Oct 08
im never touching anything again.. lol
@saundyl (9783)
• Canada
14 Oct 08
Thats such a gross thought...makes one wish that all public toilets had a lid that closed! I always close the lid at home or work because i know my toilet flushes fairly "hard" and sprays water onto the seat. Same idea with not leaving your toothbrush uncovered within 6 feet of a toilet. I keep mine in a travel case.
1 person likes this
• United States
15 Oct 08
what sucks is my bathroom is small so there isnt 6 feet from it to the wall.