My cats LOVE the taste of toilet water.

I keep the lid open to watch the poop circle the drain, very satisfying

That same study also includes this figure,

But the study doesn't measure other surfaces or things like "a nearby sink" or "a hand towel". Perhaps for airborne particles they roam more freely, but what about surface particles? I feel like there is more to study.

has an infection ever occured due to the lid being close, seems like it would be too small to cause problems.

Of course nothing's 100% poof. But that doesn't mean that you should stop. There is a massive difference between the particle numbers.

But if you close the lid, all the particles concentrate on it. Then when raise it back up and sit down, there's a chance you'll pick it all up with your back.

So the question becomes, do you want shit more evenly spread out in the air or do you want concentrated shit on your back?

I think it can help to lay some toilet paper down before you flush. I found it to be less smelly after doing so.

Every other sexual post these days seems to be about eating ass, I’m not sure toilet plumes are high on the GenZ+ concern list.

Yeah, I'm of the mind that if I can't sense something, and I'm not getting sick all the time because of it, it's not bad enough to avoid. Lo and behold, I almost never get sick, even when my wife gets sick all the time. Now, it could absolutely be confirmation bias or some hidden 3rd factor that's causing this, but either way, bring on the fecal matter mistings!

Life is a collection of very small problems and minor precautions that are hopefully never needed. But I’m with you on this one. I think the only reason we’re talking about it at all is “ew poo poo gross!!” and meanwhile most peoples phones are dirtier than money or toilet seats yet they press them to their faces all day long. I’m for taking any precaution that I can easily take but I’m also for not stressing so damn hard about dirt and such. People freak out about public toilet seats and all I can think is: how clean does it need to be for me to press my ass into it? “How clean does it need to be” is really my guiding question. Without that, people start trying to absolutes and that is really unhealthy as well as impossible.

Everyone knows there's no such thing as a ten second rule.

It's a five second rule.

Also, to the shit thing; it's a very well established fact that shit spreads tons of disease and infections. You sound dirty for just trying to bring up the counter point of getting some shit on you at birth and I don't want to shake your hand.

Also, the 5 second rule is bullshit. Those people are yucky.

but also: who the fuck doesn't close the lid before flushing??

anyways i keep my toothbrush in the kitchen because i find it gross to brush near the toilet in general, i don't get why brushing in the kitchen or some other faucet isn't more common, it seems much more sensible to me!

I dated a guy that didn't get sick. Like ever.

I found out later that he didn't use soap (ever) or wash his hands or brush his teeth. (In my defense, he was tall and pretty and endlessly fascinating!) He would take multiple showers a day, but just no soap.

My point is, just because YOU don't get sick, doesn't mean you aren't spreading around sick. Dude used his... layer as an offensive shield and didn't see an issue with it.

There has to be a balance, for sure. Because that bio layer is part of our immune system. But also, what is that balance? Surely it can't be being... that stinky, can it?

This kind of reminds me a little bit of the SUV argument of the 90s, where you don't want to be the small car on the road, so just buy an SUV (and murder others).

Different is between a fart of poo water and a small geyser.

Thats what I am saying.

true, but if I gotta close the lid anyway to stop the cats from drinking from it, I may as well do it before flushing rather than after

Agreed. Obviously there are some things that, as we acquire new knowledge that may change daily behavior, need to be reconsidered, but this is not one of them. People will look for the dirty hypodermic in the haystack of swords.

There’s so many other things to care about more. In the age of information, our mental health depends on conscious gate keeping of what we allow to concern us and modify our behavior. Everyone needs to decide their own path but if you don’t and just scroll the feed you’ll go mad.

How is this considered being afraid? It’s science. It literally happens so why not just close the toilet seat it’s not like it costs you anything

-- Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

, cocaine.

With cleaning in general, there is never fully anything. It's about abatement. If a measure is (for example) 80% effective, the whole chain forward will have contamination numbers 80% lower. So even if you keep your toothbrush in a case, it will have (again, made up numbers here) 80% less contamination. Which, depending on the microbe, it could mean the difference between a immuno-compromised person catching or not a disease.

Now, in your house, you do you. But it baffles me that the norm for public restrooms in the US, even in hospitals, is to have no lid at all.

I'd much rather have something fall onto the toilet lid than into the toilet. That alone makes closing it worthwhile.

Also it’s good for your immune system to get exercise.

Houses are too sterile these days.

No thanks. Balls and dick touching toilet waters a thing for some of us. Having to sit in a tiny ass toilet and somehow maneuver your junk with your hands also getting in there..nah.

I'll sit to pee once elongated toilet bowls are mandated by law.

I'm not a fan of urinary tract infections

Just do it. But also accept folks will laugh at you.

Hell, if you were my friend, I'd rag on you all day for it, but that's because we were friends, and I also have sat down to piss before. It's not my preferred method.

Like now that I think about...isn't it really actually nasty to sit down with our junk dangling inside the toilet bowl? We are all sitting here talking about shit atoms floating through the air... but wouldn't we be trapping our junk in there with it?

Sit if ya want, but just accept the judgment of others. You can't escape it.

EDIT: I see I got downvotes. Fuck you all. (Joking) My bad if I hurt feelings or made anyone mad. I'm not perfect, and when I said I'd rag on em it's not like I'd be 'hurr durr you pee sitting down like a girl!" I mean, yes, I would in a sense of making a joke out of a joke. I pee sitting down plenty. 5 am? Fuck standing. So high my head spins? I'm sitting. Old age got my knees shaking? I'm sitting.

Hell, I make fun of my best friend whose gay for sucking dick. And I suck dick myself! Really sorry if I came off like I was making fun of women or people peeing sitting down. I gave an example of if I was a friend to the person, they'd have to deal with me ragging on em a bit. Which I'd hope they return the favor for something I do.

Again my bad yall.

I even put the lid down before I piss.

There was a Mythbusyers where did cultures, which is when you put the sample in a growth medium (think ideal environment for microbe multiplication). This can only detect presence or absence of microbial contamination, and which kind.

As a science experiment, it's fundamentally flawed. A preventative measure must be evaluated by quantitative methods.

You know how antiseptic soaps / gels proudly display they kill 99.9 or 99.98% of germs? It's not 99.9% of species of germs, it's 99.9% of germs that come in contact with it. Because 100% is impossible, and our bodies can deal just fine with a little bit of foreign invasion. (Incidentally, regular soap is about 99% effective, so use whatever soap you like and leave the antibacterial stuff for only when someone is actually sick.)

Anyway, closing the lid (or any other measure) will not be 100% effective, but a half-second intervention that significantly cuts exposure. It's a no brainer, just close the fucking lid.

Anecdotally it's pretty accurate, toilets smell less when the lids are kept down. Smell strength is directly proportional to the amount of particles in the air.

As stated in the article

Lowering the toilet lid has been historically believed to help prevent the dispersion of large droplets, and some earlier studies recommended discouraging the use of lidless toilets. However, a January 2024 study showed that there is no statistically significant difference between having the toilet lid raised or lowered during flushes, instead recommending vigorous brushing of the toilet bowl and associated surfaces with disinfectant as a more effective method to mitigate the impact of toilet plumes.

OP confirmed for not reading their own article.

Or ones that don’t have a lid and is permanently open…

Because cleaning those surfaces is extra work, toilet is already in a stall that helps inhibit the mist, and the door handle you use to get out is dirtier than anything else in that room.

To mark you