Why you should never flush the toilet with the lid up (2024)

FAQs

Why you should never flush the toilet with the lid up? ›

Microbiologist Charles Gerba and his research team at the University of Arizona determined there's little difference whether you leave the lid up or down. Closing the lid on a residential toilet does not prevent the spread of viral particles from the powerful whoosh of a flushed toilet.

When you flush with the lid open, the flush creates a plume filled with microdroplets of bacteria and viruses that can spray up to 6 feet into the air. These microdroplets then settle on surfaces throughout the bathroom.

The lid was designed to keep germs where they belong, in the bowl and down the drain! If you leave the lid up when you flush, those germs can float around your bathroom, landing on any available surface, including towels, hairbrushes or even toothbrushes. Nobody wants that!

When you shower with the toilet lid open, the humidity and water droplets from the shower causes the germs to float around, landing on spaces inc your toothbrush, skin (can cause acne), hair, walls and more. Research says you can reduce airborne particles by 50% from flushing the toilet with the lid closed.

Medical student and influencer, Mehraveh Seyyed Sayyah, has revealed that this seemingly innocuous practice comes at a cost. She explained: "When the toilet is flushed without closing the lid, small droplets, containing bacteria can be released into the air and travel up two metres."

Whether the toilet lid is up or down doesn't make much difference in the spread of airborne bacterial and viral particles.

Smaller particles that remain suspended in air can expose people to respiratory disease, such as influenza and COVID-19, through inhalation, while larger particles that settle quickly on surfaces can spread intestinal diseases, such as norovirus, through contact with the hands and mouth.

When should I avoid flushing? In short, it's up to each household – if you've just had a wee then there's no real need to flush every time if the lid is kept down, says Russell.

First and foremost, reduce odors by flushing the toilet as soon as you can. The quicker the flush, the less the odor. A "courtesy flush" is not only courteous, it's smart.

A courtesy flush is flushing the toilet mid-business in hopes that its odor doesn't linger for anyone else to catch a whiff of because nothing says friendship like leaving your, um, aroma for the next person.

What happens if you don't close the toilet lid when flushing? ›

Bowl disinfection slashed contamination

With results showing that closing toilet lids has no meaningful impact on preventing the spread of viral particles, our study highlights the importance of regular disinfection of toilets to reduce contamination and prevent the spread of viruses.

The study found no difference in overall viral contamination if the residential toilet lid was open or closed before flushing, but it noted that a closed lid may have changed the "trajectory of the the aerosol plume contamination."

They can zoom directly into your face, settle on your skin, or even land on various objects – such as your toothbrush, shaving razor, and towel – inside the bathroom. Aerosolised particles will linger a long time in a poorly ventilated bathroom, increasing the risk of exposure to infection.