Something everyone can agree on: public toilets suck.
Everyone has their way of using a public toilet to ensure the least amount of germs go near your genitals, whether it be covering the entire seat with toilet paper or doing the #squat… however it turns out there is a right and wrong way to use public toilets.
Buzzfeed had a chat to three toilet experts about the best way to use one (to prevent the spread of germs) and here’s what they had to say.
Don’t cover the seat with toilet paper
It’s actually unhygienic to do this! According to Raymond Martin, managing director of the British Tolilet Association, “placing toilet paper on the seat actually increases the surface area for germs to multiply and therefore is considerably less hygienic.”
Beware of the toilet roll
Because it could be just as bad as the toilet seat… or worse.
Laura Bowater, professor of microbiology at the University of East Anglia, revealed that “If it is an exposed roll that might have encountered hands that are gripping it while a strip is being ripped off and those hands aren’t very clean then there is a chance that they may have transferred germs to the roll.”
There is also more of a chance for water, and other contents in the toilet, to spread to the toilet paper when the toilet is flushed.
Ick.
Get your squat on
The less contact with the toilet, the better.
Hovering could cause an accident
Sure, there’s less chance of you touching the toilet, but Raymond Martin revealed that “hovering just leads to accidents and discomfort.”
Hovering also causes strain on your bladder, meaning it cannot relax properly.
It also has the potential to cause a mess.
Antibacterial wipes and sanitiser is KEY
Some public toilets provide these, which is great. Getting into a habit to bring hand sanitiser with you means you can always wipe down the toilet before you use it.
And PLEASE for the love of god, always flush with the toilet seat down
As a personal rule to never open a close public toilet seat (because who the hell knows what you’re going to find in there?) this is something that has to be eased into, but is so important.
Closing a toilet seat is to prevent “toilet plume”, which is the official term for all the contents that can splash out of the bowl when being flushed.
Happy public toilet using!