to be pleased that the scientists agree that you should close the lid before you flush??

[RachelHRD]

here. I saw about the spread of germs from an open toilet flush on Kim & Aggie years ago and have always closed the lid before flushing since and so does DH.

Recall previous threads on here where people disagree but surely it makes sense that germs are contained if the lid is closed?? If I ever have to use a toilet without a lid I always prep myself ready to pull handle and close door behind me before the plume arises ......

Not just the one Mrs Wembley.

@ Sparklingbrook

After me and dc having a recent case of threadworms I'm keen to keep worms and germs at bay and apparently worm eggs landing on the toothbrushes is how they're spread !

Yep but if you leave the lid up the poo particles go all over you - ewwww and you then carry them everywhere with you. I'm sticking to my lid closing thank you and poo-plume-free clothing

A closed lid has got to be better than an open one for preventing the spread - I reckon those stray toothbrush particles were from secret lid open flushers......

Every time I read one of these threads I just want to go and live in a vacuum bubble, disinfect my toothbrush before each use and excrete somewhere which can be totally decontaminated after each flush.

Then I forget about it and get on with life.

So chosenone someone with worms has come to your house, had a poo, flushed with the lid up, the plume has gone over your toothbrushes and you got worms?

Do the poo particles head straight for toothbrushes, like an angry swarm of e-coli laden poo-bees?

Toothbrushes, dentures,contact lenses, they're not fussy by the sound of it Large. grin

Given that the odour (of anything, not just poo) is composed of atoms of the substance in the air around us, if you can smell it, the poo is already out there regardless of whether or not you close the lid.

If you walk up your stairs and get a whiff from someone busy in the bathroom, the poo particles have already escaped far beyond your toothbrush! Same for kids with dirty nappies in your kitchen....if you can smell it, it's already circulating in the atmosphere. I don't know whether these tiny particles could result in the same consequences as larger particles bouncing up into the air from the toilet (hope not or we're all doomed).

I wish I'd never heard of poo particles. For the last few years, I've been fanatical about putting the lid down before flushing, and am extremely about people who don't. One of my over sharing friends was on her second day of Lighter Life, used the loo in my house, then told us in some detail about the effects of said diet on her, ahem, digestive system. I went to the loo half an hour later, only to discover that SHE'D LEFT THE TOILET SEAT UP!!! I had to throw away our toothbrushes.

On the "seat down, particles pressurised" conundrum, the also concerns me enough to only bend down as far as is absolutely necessary to pull the pants of DS up, lest I get a faceful of pressurised poo particles.

I put the lid down but at the Horrible Science show we took DS to they said if you leave the lid up some particles just waft out but if you shut the lid jets of them are pushed out faster and further

You're worrying too much. I never shut the lid and I'm alive.

Anyway haven't 80% of mobile phones got poo germs on? There's poo everywhere.

I assume worms can be spread in that way as when dd had them it said in the advice leaflet that came with our worming tablets that you should wash bedding and towels regularly, damp dust surfaces in the kitchen and bathroom regularly, wash bum regularly, keep nails short, dress kids in close fitting pants at night and keep toothbrushes in a cabinet or out of the bathroom if possible.

Oh FGS! Trust me on this one.

Fire! Flush! Forget!

Getting everyone to wash their hands without fail is a MUCH bigger issue.

Agree MoreBeta but you can't personally change how many people wash their hands but you can limit your exposure to potentially harmful bacteria by something as simple as closing the lid in the same way you do by washing your hands before you eat!!

Meh, Beta a little bit of dirt is good for you

A toothbrush umbrella - that's what is needed :)

And what about those over enthusiastic public loos that detect when u stand up and flush?

LoL Once I could not use one of those!! Preparing myself for the pull the handle and dash with an unlidded seat is difficult enough!!

I usually like to see it all go down the pan ,and wish it well on its journey to the seaside or water treatment place .Maybe a transparant lid would be good for this.If it really bothers you why don't you hang a curtain inbetween loo and sink or have a bath splash screen inbetween and just get your regular window cleaner to include it in his window round to save yourself wiping it just a thought.

So what happens if you flush whilst still sitting on it? Does it pepper your bum with poo particles? You could then do a wipe and a second flush especially in other people's houses as this limits the smell and sometimes you can get away with it completely.

Go in the garden, less trouble all round and it will keep the cats away.

Baroness Poo particles in your fanjo.

of course lid down or airborne flora lands on adjacent items
toothbrush
sink

do recall Kim and Abbie did this yonks ago.eugh

Airborne flora plume. Yikes.