How to Flush Hygienically

Flushing can leave germs on bathroom surfaces for up to 90 minutes after you do it. Many people don’t even realize that there are different ways to flush a toilet, but doing so hygienically can be important for keeping your home free from germs and bacteria. Here’s how to do it.

1. The wrong way to flush

Imagine this scenario: you go to the toilet, do what needs to be done, flush, wash your hands, and leave. This is probably one of the most common activities we all do. Research has found that when you flush the toilet with the seat up, the possibility opens for droplets to spread through the air that you’ll breathe in. Scientists have measured this in tests where they flushed a toilet more than 100 times, and what was left in the air were airborne germs.

These drops, specifically one they tested for, C. difficile, managed to fly up in the air up to 10 inches. The germs were then found around the side of the toilet, the floor, and nearby surfaces for up to 90 minutes. Cleaning the bathroom might seem like the solution, but we don’t have time to do that every day, and some cleaners can also cause damage to our health.

2. The right way to flush

One thing you can do to reduce all these germs is extremely simple.

• Next time you go to the bathroom, do your business and remember to sit, get up, close the lid, and flush. Always close the lid before flushing since researchers have found that closing the lid will help to reduce the spread of airborne droplets.
• Besides this, there’s the most obvious tip of all: keep the bathroom clean whenever you can, and don’t forget to wash your hands.

Bonus

There’s always something to learn, so here are some extra mistakes we do when we’re in the bathroom:

• Don’t keep your toothbrush too close to the toilet or, while you’re at it, the sink. You should keep it away from the toilet because of what we explained above. And you should keep it away from the sink because of the possibility of it getting sprayed with soap and dirty water when you wash your hands. Aim for 4 feet away.
• When you shower, make sure to not let the water run too hot. It might seem ridiculous, but it has been found that having the water too hot has caused a lot of injuries we’d all be happy to avoid.
• Don’t mix chemicals while cleaning. The goal is for the bathroom to be clean, but be aware that some products that we use to get a sparkling clean house have chemicals that clash with one another, possibly causing breathing problems. Keep your bathroom ventilated while cleaning and wear gloves to avoid this.