Forcing guests to close toilet lid before flushing

[MerryBlimminXmas]

In our house, we close the toilet lid before flushing. Reason being is that the poo/wee water spray will go absolutely everywhere if the lid is left open (lots of videos available online if anyone is interested).

The issue we have is that pretty much ALL guests don’t do this. Now, I don’t mind what people choose to do in their own homes and appreciate that the majority of the population are happy for everything in the vicinity of their loo to be covered in urine and faeces don’t bother to close the lid. However, I would much prefer it if they closed the lid before flushing in our house.

How can we make it happen? In a previous home, the flush button was literally behind the toilet lid, so it should have been easy to close the lid just to get to the button and people STILL left the lid up every time.

Don’t really want to put a sign up (would be annoying the majority of the time when we don’t have guests), nor to speak to people about it (cringe). Any ingenious ideas that could work? Surely we’re not the only people who prefer the lid closed - how have others made it work with guests?

There is a scientist on tik tok who swabs different things ( escalator belts, cafe tables, toilet roll holders etc etc) . People can suggest things for ger to swab . She then grows what she finds in petri dishes . She tested the atmosphere after multiple poo flushes. THERE WAS ABSOLUTELY NOTHING THERE. NO BACTERIA ON SURFACES, NONE IN THE AIR . NOTHING AT ALL. Its a myth sold to us all by the makers of febreeze and bleach products

Because they’ve put the lid down after they’ve flushed?

So you don't want to use your words, and you don't want to put up a sign, you want an inspector gadget style machine that will pop its arms out and close the lid once your guests have sat down?

Is there genuinely something wrong with saying "we've started closing the lid before we flush because the water goes everywhere"?

Yes this, we have young kids and I prefer toilet is ready for them to use, particularly after bedtime when they are a bit like zombies if they get up to pee! So flush and reopen. Also means I can check throughout day that it’s clean!

IF YOU DO NOT CLOSE THE LID
MY TOOTHBRUSH GETS COVERED BY THE FUMES FROM YOUR SKID

Problem solved OP, just put one of these in your house.

www.facebook.com/watch/?v=434340129248923&vanity=LADbible

Send all your guests the poo particle videos you’ve been watching

That will solve the issue because you won’t have any guests

I always remember reading about the household where they had a sign in the kitchen saying "Life is short - lick the bowl" - and they had a constant stream of mischievous guests who would keep taking the sign and placing it on the back of the toilet.

Each toothbrush has 10, 000 bacteria on it . It should have that many because you are removing the bacteria in your mouth with it. If it didn't have that many it would mean you weren't cleaning your teeth enough. If your tooth brush is touching someone else's toothbrush you are sharing all that bacteria ( although if you are giving oral sex to the person who owns the other toothbrush it's really beside the point isn't it)

I hate finding a lid down. Always makes me wary of what I'll find under it and assume it's a blockage they couldn't flush. Even if I did close the lid to flush I'd still open it again for the next person.

Why do people think that toilets have lids in the first place, if they're never to be put down and used as, you know, lids?

It wouldn't work positioning the flush chain/button in such a way as guests are unable to flush without closing the lid, as the result will be that they just don't bother flushing.

Maybe you could attach one end of a string to the lid and the other to the door handle - so it will make a satisfying thud sound as it slams down when they close the door after themselves. Either that or a thud sound as the guest trips on the string and slams their heads on the bathroom floor; but you can't have everything perfect in this life.

Exactly. The only time I’ve ever given any thought to how visitors use my toilet was when one of the men renewing our drains had a dump in the toilet on the half landing. He was in there for over 20 minutes, and god only knows what he had been eating but our eyes watered for the next eight hours with the aroma, which rolled down the stairs and through the whole house. We really thought that it was something to do with the drains he was renewing at first, obut it was just an unbelievably pungent poo. I suspect if he’d put the seat down before flushing, it would have blown it off again. 😆😆😆

That sounds like an insult they'd use on Eastenders.

"I can't believe I'm 'earin' this; shut it, you absolute toothbrush head case!"

Well, even if you put a sign/ask politely/command, there's still a chance they'll forget and then put the lid down after flushing.
And you won't know.

That wasn't a 100% serious suggestion - just following the vibe of the thread!

Here you go @MerryBlimminXmas

https://oceanfootprint.co.uk/product/propelair-lowest-water-flush-toilet/

This is designed for use in public lavatories and service stations and the main point of the design is to use minimal water and electric suction for the flush so businesses use them to reduce the water usage. However the suction requires the lid to be down for it to work and it includes an option for the lid closure to be the trigger for the flish

😂 brilliant

My father leaves little handwritten notes around saying things like 'please be gentle with the taps' so you could just do similar. It's weird but endearing

No, there is no splashing. Having peed from a height for nearly 60 years, I can confirm that just doesn't happen.

Rather than something high-tech, you can always just go old-school and angle the lid in such a way that it will only stay open if it's held or somebody's back is against it.

Only problem there is that men will probably not bother holding it open when they have a wee and will just use the sink instead.

OP, I sympathise with you. I absolutely hate to see loo lids left up, not just because of the hygiene issues when flushing, but also from an aesthetic point of view. Our downstairs loo is located in such a way you can see in coming down the stairs - DH NEVER closes the door, and frequently doesn't flush, and of course leaves lid and seat up. It is horrid. Wish I could find a new loo which automatically closes lid too!

‘ I don’t want to see the inside of the loo when entering the room.’

I know that these are words in a language I understand but I have no idea what they mean 😂🤷‍♀️

Put an out of order sign on the door and issue your visitors with adult nappies.

Do you feel the same about bins with closed lids?

After all, a toilet is essentially just a different kind of bin.

I really hate it when people leave the lid up. All our loos are left with the lid down, yet some guests will leave them up.

I also hate seeing estate agent photos of properties with the loos open like a gaping maw. To me, it’s like leaving cupboard doors open.