Closing the toilet seat before you flush has ‘no meaningful impact’ on surface particle spread: study – CTV
Feb. 2, 2024
When it comes to ensuring the toilet doesn’t leave tiny particles of fecal matter all over your bathroom every time you go number two, one piece of advice has held strong: just make sure you put down the toilet lid before you flush.
However, a new study suggests closing the toilet seat may not have as big of an impact as we thought in cutting down the risk of pathogens getting on our bathroom surfaces.
The study, published last week in the peer-reviewed American Journal of Infection Control (AJIC), found that the amount of viral contamination of bathroom surfaces did not change whether the toilet seat was up or down during flushing.
“With results showing that closing toilet lids has no meaningful impact on preventing the spread of viral particles, our study highlights the importance of regular disinfection of toilets to reduce contamination and prevent the spread of viruses,” Charles P. Gerba, professor of virology at the University of Arizona and senior author of this study, said in a press release.
