Flushing with the lid down

[mightyducks]

Went to the gym yesterday and there was a sign on the back of the toilet door asking people to close the lid before flushing to help reduce the spread of covid 19, first time I’ve seen a sign saying this - not sure if it’s entirely true but if it could help it should be a basic public health message surely? Like washing your hands etc

I'm always amazed how people can know so little about basic hygiene...do people not understand that if you can smell wee or poo it's because wee and poo particles are going up your nose!!!if you work in a hospital you know exactly when someone has norwalk or other infections.Then again how many people walk straight out of a public loo, some never even wash their hands, others touch their face then their hair before they wash.In addition I always close loo lids because sods law something will get dropped in them....we had a kitten fall in when I was little .

I've always flushed with the lid down anyway, I thought it was common knowledge why you should!

@StCharlotte

A friend had a new bathroom which only her adult son uses. You have to put the lid down to get to the flush button. This should be standard going forward.

Great idea

But people just wouldn't flush

My workplace has had these signs for months. I dont normally put the lid down at work, although I do at home.

@anappleadaykeeps

I always like checking everything flushes away, and how would I do that with the lid closed. I generally do close the lid after flushing if I am worried about any residual smells.

I may completely have missed the point of toilet lids all of my life.

I am pretty embarrassed to think I might have been doing this wrong for decades.

You can wait and check after it's flushed, surely?

*I always like checking everything flushes away, and how would I do that with the lid closed. I generally do close the lid after flushing if I am worried about any residual smells.

I may completely have missed the point of toilet lids all of my life.

I am pretty embarrassed to think I might have been doing this wrong for decades.*

I put down lid, flush, wait a few seconds, check and thing out of cubicle and wash my hands.

Sorry to be a dissenting voice, but 40 years ago, my professor of microbiology at medical school told us that toilet lids should be banned.
He said studies showed that if you close the lid then flush, the force of air pressure through the narrow gap between lid and seat meant that the infected faecal aerosol actually travels further than leaving the lid open!

I thought that the rationale for closing public toilets during the start of the pandemic was the aerosol effect of flushing the toilet spreading particles through the air just waiting for the next person to go in the cubicle. Not sure if this has been disproved since though.

My normal routine has always been close the lid, flush, check everything has gone then shut the lid again, wash/sanitise hands.

@Babdoc

Sorry to be a dissenting voice, but 40 years ago, my professor of microbiology at medical school told us that toilet lids should be banned. He said studies showed that if you close the lid then flush, the force of air pressure through the narrow gap between lid and seat meant that the infected faecal aerosol actually travels further than leaving the lid open!

Interesting. I always assumed that the seat would direct particles downwards. But I'm not going to argue with a professor of mircobiology.

I clean public toilets at a station. They've been open throughout the pandemic, no lids. I flush each one several times a day. Some full of poo and wee. Haven't got covid, yet.

That said I do get a lot of tummy bugs and I'm sure it's from the toilets.

Why don't hospital toilets have lids? That seems like common sense. I always put the lid down to flush, especially after seeing an episode of Mythbusters where they tested the amount of germs on toothbrushes when flushing with the lid open and closed. What was worse is that they found faecal matter on the control toothbrushes which were put under a jar in a separate room. It gets everywhere.

@anappleadaykeeps

I always like checking everything flushes away, and how would I do that with the lid closed. I generally do close the lid after flushing if I am worried about any residual smells.

I may completely have missed the point of toilet lids all of my life.

I am pretty embarrassed to think I might have been doing this wrong for decades.

You've never seen the video clip where it shows how far germs from the toilet can spread if you don't close the lid?? I hope you have something blocking the route to your toothbrush.

Manners aside, is there any evidence that there is any Covid transmission linked to flushing? Methinks even if there is, it's hardly the case that doing a number 2 is going to be a major superspreading event

When a covid infection starts, it lives primarily in the upper respiratory tract and shedding occurs from here - sneezing, coughing, talking etc.

As the infection progresses, it moves down into the body and people become less infectious via the respiratory tract, but start to shed the virus via the faecal route.

[quote VanGoghsDog]@Walkaround

Well, I don't leave loos blocked and shit smeared over seats, so me leaving the lid down does not have that impact. That was a ridiculous response.

And I said "bathroom" not public toilet, most of which don't even have lids.[/quote]
@VanGoghsDog - The OP was talking about toilets at a public gym and nobody there knows that you might have been the last person to use the public toilet and that, unlike a great many members of the general public, would never deign to leave the toilet in a disgusting state. So your response was, frankly, the ridiculous one, considering.

@Puppylucky

I saw exactly the same thing in the toilets at work. I agree it's a basic public health message but will have absolutely no impact on the spread of covid

Well given covid is found in faeces and waste, it would not be that big a leap to think that flushing on covid infection toilet waste throws it all up in the air for the next person to be covered in or breathe in....

Given how vile toilet waste is anyway, I cannot understand why toilet seats aren't automatically put down before flushing.... For anyone disagreeing, have you never heard about the toothbrushes covered in faeces bacteria..

I never do this, I've survived so far, no point worrying about it now.

It's much more hygienic anyway to flush with the lid down anyway

We have always flushed with the lid down, it's just basic hygiene.

Ew who doesn't close the lid to flush the toilet anyway?!

@anappleadaykeeps

I always like checking everything flushes away, and how would I do that with the lid closed. I generally do close the lid after flushing if I am worried about any residual smells.

I may completely have missed the point of toilet lids all of my life.

I am pretty embarrassed to think I might have been doing this wrong for decades.

You'd lift the lid back up once it's flushed to check?

Also, if your toothbrushes are near by you're essentially brushing your teeth with your shit particles on the toothbrush.

Most public toilets don’t have lids do they?

Who is flushing their shit all over their toothbrushes anyway! Use the lids.

I've never put the lid down to flush. DM had a bad back when I was growing up, so I was asked not to. These days I'm the one with the bad back. I suppose it is a bit minging given that our toothbrushes are a few feet away, and yet none of us have become ill as a result.