Always leave the toilet seat up when you're flushing?

Well, this article will make you think twice about your toilet-flushing habits from now on.

Potentially dangerous for some people

A group of Chinese scientists have found that flushing the toilet with its lid up can propel a plume of spray up and out of the toilet bowl.

According to BBC News, the scientists found that droplets can travel up to three feet - or 91cm - from ground level.

Basically, it means that when you flush your toilet after doing the number two, poo particles will shoot up and land on your body.

Eeewwww!


The scientists from Yangzhou University came to the conclusion after running simulations on a computer model.

Not only is the whole thing really gross, but this habit of flushing the toilet with the lid up could be potentially dangerous because people who are infected with, say, the coronavirus can have traces of the virus in their faeces.

The study by author Ji-Xiang Wang and colleagues, published in the journal 'Physics of Fluids', said the flushing water in a toilet creates turbulence and in turn, creates small droplets.

These droplets, Wang found, are so small that they float in the air for more than a minute.

Put the lid down when you flush.
BBC News also quoted Dr Bryan Bzdek from the Bristol Aerosol Research Centre at the University of Bristol as saying that while there was no clear evidence that the coronavirus might spread through the flushing of toilets, it’s always better to be safe than sorry.

"The study authors suggest that, whenever possible, we should keep the toilet seat down when we flush, clean the toilet seat and any other contact areas frequently, and wash our hands after using the toilet," he said.

Even though it's not proven that the coronavirus can be spread through faeces, there are many other viruses that are proven to be able to do so, said Dr Bzdek.

So guys, we hope you learn something new today. Always keep your toilet seats down when you're flushing, ya?