Are you one of those people who always flush the toilet with the lid open or have you already realized the importance of keeping it closed? Well, here’s the bad news: when it comes to viruses, close the toilet lid it’s useless. Luckily, this helps with bacteria, but there are a lot of viruses that can be transmitted in the bathroom, so this is quite discouraging news.
This is part of a study recently published in American Journal of Infection Control. In it, the authors took bathroom samples after flushing the toilet in different situations. They mainly wanted to know whether closing the toilet lid would do any good, but they were also interested in measuring the power of the toilet. disinfection.
The toilet lid failed the test to contain the virus. However, disinfection has proven to be very effective against all types of microorganisms. Don’t just shrug it off and that’s it. Add some bleach to the equation.
Why doesn’t closing the toilet lid help against viruses?
There are already many studies that show that closing the toilet lid is very effective in preventing bacteria from spreading throughout the bathroom. Nevertheless, viral particles are much smaller. They sneak through tiny nooks and crannies and the toilet lid isn’t securely closed. Can viruses get there?
To answer this question, a group of scientists from University of Arizona conducted an experiment consisting of two parts. First, they planted public and private toilets with crops bacteriophage viruses. These are viruses that infect bacteria and are harmless to humans. Thus, people flushing the toilet were not at any risk; but since the size is more or less the same, it can be extrapolated to other viruses.
In the second part of the experiment, after flushing the toilet in different situations samples were taken from water and porcelain of the toilet bowl, as well as the floor and walls around it. When they analyzed them, they saw that there was no difference between closing the toilet lid and not doing so. The location of the viruses varied slightly; but in general, the levels in the bathroom were the same.
This indicates that, as expected, the size of viruses is a disadvantage, meaning that they cannot be preserved with a closed lid. It was studied, like some viruses, as a cause of COVID-19, can be spread through the air in bathrooms, especially public ones, so it’s important to look for ways to avoid it. If closing the toilet lid is not one of them, what do we have left?
Something as simple as disinfection
This study also tested virus levels around the toilet after cleaning it with either a bare brush or a bare brush. using a brush and disinfectant based on hydrochloric acid. Bleach works too.
They found that in the second case, virus levels dropped dramatically compared to wiping alone and, of course, compared to no scrubbing at all. In addition, there were fewer viruses on the wiper blade itself afterwards.
Therefore, if we want to get rid of almost all pathogens in the bathroom, It is not enough to close the toilet lid. You should also disinfect more often. Come on, now is a good time.
Source: Hiper Textual
