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submitted 4 days ago* (last edited 4 days ago) by yonderbarn@lazysoci.al to c/youshouldknow@lemmy.world

It's called toilet plume.

A toilet plume is the invisible to the naked eye, cloud-like dispersal of raw, infectious sewage particles as a result of flushing a toilet. Flush particles rapidly rise out of the bowl and several feet into the air after flushing. Aerosolized droplets can remain suspended in the air for tens of minutes between users, posing an inhalation risk. These invisible particles go on to coat and spread onto surfaces like floors and counters or objects like hand towels, bathmats, or even toothbrushes.

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[-] NotASharkInAManSuit@lemmy.world 41 points 4 days ago

Mythbusters.

Do whatever you want, indoor plumbing means there is shit everywhere, closing the lid has little to no effect. This is just life, get over it.

Different is between a fart of poo water and a small geyser.

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[-] MurrayL@lemmy.world 89 points 4 days ago

You close the lid to avoid a plume of fecal particles. I close the lid because otherwise my dumb cat jumps directly into the bowl. We are not the same.

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[-] Zoldyck@lemmy.world 70 points 4 days ago

YSK to not be scared of every little mundane thing in life. It will paralyze you

[-] boobookittyfrick@lemmy.zip 1 points 2 days ago

How is this considered being afraid? It’s science. It literally happens so why not just close the toilet seat it’s not like it costs you anything

[-] r3g3n3x@lemmy.zip 11 points 4 days ago

Agreed. Obviously there are some things that, as we acquire new knowledge that may change daily behavior, need to be reconsidered, but this is not one of them. People will look for the dirty hypodermic in the haystack of swords.

There’s so many other things to care about more. In the age of information, our mental health depends on conscious gate keeping of what we allow to concern us and modify our behavior. Everyone needs to decide their own path but if you don’t and just scroll the feed you’ll go mad.

[-] cactusupyourbutt@lemmy.world 10 points 4 days ago

true, but if I gotta close the lid anyway to stop the cats from drinking from it, I may as well do it before flushing rather than after

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[-] daychilde@lemmy.world 74 points 4 days ago

People are fascinating.

There are people who follow the "10 second rule", i.e. food hits an unclean surface like the floor and they will pick it up and eat it.

Meanwhile, every single person who was born naturally has been shit on at birth. This is a thing that happens. And studies show that excessive cleaning of newborns leads to all sorts of allergies.

So there has to be a balance.

I'm sure a non-zero number of people have gotten ill from toilets flushing. I'm also sure that number is pretty small. And I'm as sure from studies that show that keeping the lid closed still lets particles out that it's going to happen.

I'm of the opinion that this is a very small problem.

But as it happens, I keep my toothbrush at my desk because it's more convenient for me.

So if it bothers you, keep your toothbrush in a cabinet and/or in one of those little cases.

[-] manualoverride@lemmy.world 44 points 4 days ago

Every other sexual post these days seems to be about eating ass, I’m not sure toilet plumes are high on the GenZ+ concern list.

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[-] Signtist@bookwyr.me 11 points 4 days ago

Yeah, I'm of the mind that if I can't sense something, and I'm not getting sick all the time because of it, it's not bad enough to avoid. Lo and behold, I almost never get sick, even when my wife gets sick all the time. Now, it could absolutely be confirmation bias or some hidden 3rd factor that's causing this, but either way, bring on the fecal matter mistings!

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[-] Wren@lemmy.today 18 points 4 days ago

I've been inhaling the shit plume for thirty years and I'm not about to stop because of Wikipedia.

[-] Bytemeister@lemmy.world 33 points 4 days ago

YSK that your toilet lid isn't a gasketed seal.

https://www.ajicjournal.org/article/S0196-6553(25)00630-3/abstract

Putting the lid down does reduce the amount of shit mist, but it does not even get close to eliminating it.

[-] _haha_oh_wow_@sh.itjust.works 11 points 4 days ago

I'd much rather have something fall onto the toilet lid than into the toilet. That alone makes closing it worthwhile.

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[-] BeN9o@lemmy.world 50 points 4 days ago* (last edited 4 days ago)

"A 2024 study showed evidence that even closing the lid may still lead to small viral particles escaping through gaps under the lid, resulting in viral cross-contamination of the air and surfaces in a washroom."

This is what I remember, there's no actual solution to this. Still close the lid though!

[-] MimicJar@lemmy.world 37 points 4 days ago

That same study also includes this figure,

But the study doesn't measure other surfaces or things like "a nearby sink" or "a hand towel". Perhaps for airborne particles they roam more freely, but what about surface particles? I feel like there is more to study.

[-] protist@retrofed.com 18 points 4 days ago

This is similar to why we all wore masks during the pandemic. No, they're not always effective, but yes, they reduce transmission rates.

[-] evasive_chimpanzee@lemmy.world 9 points 4 days ago

Yes, but there is incredibly strong evidence that mask wearing does reduce transmission rates. I haven't looked (so definitely correct me if I'm wrong), but I suspect that lid closing likely does not have strong evidence for decreased transmission.

One factor that I think likely weighs heavily into this is that public toilets, where you could be exposed to particles from a stranger dont have lids usually, and they have a much more violent flush, while home toilets are mostly just used by your own household.

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[-] SpaceNoodle@lemmy.world 31 points 4 days ago
[-] saltesc@lemmy.world 24 points 4 days ago

Which would make your colon a farticle accelerator...

[-] Cytobit@piefed.social 20 points 4 days ago* (last edited 4 days ago)

How about we quantify how dangerous the farticles are first, before we decide how useful closing the seat is? Who cares how many invisible particles it stops if they turn out to be harmless?

[-] TBi@lemmy.world 14 points 4 days ago

Also it’s good for your immune system to get exercise.

Houses are too sterile these days.

[-] bridgeenjoyer@sh.itjust.works 21 points 4 days ago

Dont even get me started on how coddled the modern anus is.

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[-] DrunkenDuckling@lemmus.org 27 points 4 days ago

Unless your toilet lid is airtight, you'll never fully defeat the plume.

Just keep your toothbrush in a case

[-] acockworkorange@mander.xyz 22 points 4 days ago

With cleaning in general, there is never fully anything. It's about abatement. If a measure is (for example) 80% effective, the whole chain forward will have contamination numbers 80% lower. So even if you keep your toothbrush in a case, it will have (again, made up numbers here) 80% less contamination. Which, depending on the microbe, it could mean the difference between a immuno-compromised person catching or not a disease.

Now, in your house, you do you. But it baffles me that the norm for public restrooms in the US, even in hospitals, is to have no lid at all.

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[-] Creddit@lemmy.world 15 points 4 days ago* (last edited 4 days ago)

The invisible particles that spread by air are not generally able to transmit disease because of their size, low concentration, and the short lifespan of pathogens surviving the airborne journey.

However, when you flush under a closed lid a MUCH higher concentration and long-lived pathogenic layer is deposited on the underside of the lid.

When you then sit down to shit, your shirt brushes against that moist underside of the lid behind you and THAT is much more dangerous as it moistens your garments and follows you back to your couch or bed.

[-] Buddahriffic@lemmy.world 7 points 4 days ago

I'm appalled that you just assume it's normal for your clothes to rub up against the toilet lid at all or that its position when you flush can make that not gross.

[-] INHALE_VEGETABLES@aussie.zone 8 points 4 days ago

You shit and then pull your pants up by your belt.

You have never once washed your belt - anyone who says they have is coping.

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[-] Tower@lemmy.zip 17 points 4 days ago

Along with this... Normalize dudes sitting down to piss.

[-] Surp@lemmy.world 4 points 4 days ago

No thanks. Balls and dick touching toilet waters a thing for some of us. Having to sit in a tiny ass toilet and somehow maneuver your junk with your hands also getting in there..nah.

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[-] SadSadSatellite@lemmy.dbzer0.com 19 points 4 days ago

This seems like the pinacle of sensationalized bullshit. You're going to be fine. Flushing the toilet has never killed anyone.

There are people who literally eat shit as a fetish. If you're afraid of the possibility of errant molecules, you need to go outside.

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[-] Ellvix@lemmy.world 19 points 4 days ago

I've also heard this was debunked, that there's not much difference between lid up or down, just clean your bathroom regularly

[-] acockworkorange@mander.xyz 18 points 4 days ago

There was a Mythbusyers where did cultures, which is when you put the sample in a growth medium (think ideal environment for microbe multiplication). This can only detect presence or absence of microbial contamination, and which kind.

As a science experiment, it's fundamentally flawed. A preventative measure must be evaluated by quantitative methods.

You know how antiseptic soaps / gels proudly display they kill 99.9 or 99.98% of germs? It's not 99.9% of species of germs, it's 99.9% of germs that come in contact with it. Because 100% is impossible, and our bodies can deal just fine with a little bit of foreign invasion. (Incidentally, regular soap is about 99% effective, so use whatever soap you like and leave the antibacterial stuff for only when someone is actually sick.)

Anyway, closing the lid (or any other measure) will not be 100% effective, but a half-second intervention that significantly cuts exposure. It's a no brainer, just close the fucking lid.

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[-] TWeaK@lemmy.today 11 points 4 days ago

Anecdotally it's pretty accurate, toilets smell less when the lids are kept down. Smell strength is directly proportional to the amount of particles in the air.

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[-] SocialMediaRefugee@lemmy.world 12 points 4 days ago

It is how I build my immune system.

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[-] _haha_oh_wow_@sh.itjust.works 9 points 4 days ago

It also stops things from falling into your toilet, pets from getting to the water, etc.

Closing the lid is the only sensible thing to do.

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[-] Harvey656@lemmy.world 10 points 4 days ago

No can do. Lid stays up, i like to look down at my shit smugly as I flush it. It wasnt good enough to stay in my body, and I want it to know despair as I flush it down the tubes.

[-] DarrinBrunner@lemmy.world 4 points 3 days ago

I'm happy to see the top comments are from rational people.

I'm 60, the last time I was sick was when my son brought covid home from his work. Before that, it was when he was in kindergarten and first grade and brought home god-knows-what from school.

If a germophobe ever saw how I live, they'd run away in horror. I swear not being fastidiously clean is what keeps me healthy.

[-] SocialMediaRefugee@lemmy.world 6 points 4 days ago

Just remember, when you smell stink in a public bathroom you are inhaling strangers' colon molecules.

[-] mavu@discuss.tchncs.de 6 points 4 days ago

I can not be the only one who is very aware, whenever i smell a fart, where those molecules were before they were in my nose.

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[-] arin@lemmy.world 7 points 4 days ago

It's not a risk, it's a fact

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this post was submitted on 31 Aug 2026
332 points (88.6% liked)

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