Far be it for us to spend too much time delving into your toilet habits but when was the last time you made sure you put the toilet lid down before flushing? If you can’t remember, we have some very grim news for you.
In a recent TikTok video, Dr Karan Rajan explained the science behind how murky our toilets really are and the dangers of flushing without the lid down. Safe to say that if you’re not in this habit, it won’t take you the usual 40 days that it takes to form a habit.
If you’re eating, you may want to take a pause for this one.
The importance of putting the lid down before flushing the toilet
Dr Raj said: “Your puny human eyes can’t see this but every time you flush the toilet with the lid open, you create a raging sewage volcano.”
Lovely.
He went on to explain that this allows aerosolized toilet juice (vom) to travel far and wide. This is because during a study, scientists captured the movement of tiny water droplets from toilets.
These droplets moved at two metres per second and reached heights of 1.5 metres above the toilet bowl in just eight seconds.
Not only that but some of the smallest droplets could linger in the air for more than several minutes, placing them at what Dr Rajan describes as ‘optimal nose height’ for unsuspecting humans.
If this wasn’t concerning enough, Dr Rajan went on to say that various pathogens like E.coli, adenovirus, norovirus, can all be ‘spewed’ into the air, riding on the back of these droplets.
Dr Rajan advises that as well as closing the lid before flushing so that these droplets don’t spread, you should disinfect both your toilet bowl and toilet brush regularly to ‘reduce the pathogen load.’
Additionally, he advises that you should move your toothbrush out of the line of fire, considering that you put it into your mouth every single day, as well as anything else you put on your face regularly.
Unless, he adds, “you like them covered in microscopic poo flakes.”
I’m just as sickened as you are.