It did say that it reduces particle spread by 30-60% though, yet with qualifiers too.
My natural intuitive thought is that the lid down surely limits the spreading, i.e. the left side of this picture, especially as compared with the right side:
Also, I want to (half jokingly) complain that they treat the MS2 bacteriophage like one of the bad guys there, as if killing the E. coili wouldn't make it one of our allies in that fight:-). (I say jokingly bc most people reading such an article would know that, but also what they really used it for was a detection vector, probably bc the protein wrapping eases sample collection by reducing degradation.)
There is no product on the market I could find (with a normal price that isn't some $15,000 super toilet) that will open and close the lid and then flush for you. There are automatic seats, but they are timed such that it's completely unreasonable to stand and wait for them to close before flushing.
Crazy to think they're are no hands free options available.
My partner and I have separate bathrooms. It saves bottlenecks and conflicts, and is worth it to us, even in our small house. We keep our own rooms clean, enforcing the "I am an adult" rule, you make a mess, you clean it up.
Piss splash is gross to clean up. I don't make an extra mess if I do not need to.
It doesn't make any difference if you flush with the lid up. Poop particles will still go everywhere, even if the lid is down. There was a study on it that came out earlier this year.
Men, women, and everyone in between and between all sit at some point when using the toilet.
The most efficient thing to do is leave the toilet seat the way it is when you're done. Minimal effort.
The most fair thing to do, oddly, is to leave the seat in the opposite position it was when you got there; everybody flips it once, it may be before or after you use it. Fair.
It's unsanitary to flush with the lid up.
I'm in this camp though, so it's always left down.
The most fair thing to do, oddly, is to leave the seat in the opposite position it was when you got there; everybody flips it once, it may be before or after you use it. Fair.
I'll remember this one, I love it when people are actually logical about things.
Reminds me of canal locks. The etiquette is to always close the doors after you leave, and people get angry when you don't. But it's infuriating because it actually creates more work for everyone. If you leave the doors closed then the next person always has to stop their boat to open them, but if you leave them open there's a 50% chance the correct set of doors is open for the next person to sail right in. If you're in the unlucky 50% it makes no difference, because you had to stop to empty the lock anyway and afterwards you get to sail off without closing them.
People also think closing them saves water, which is another can of people-not-understanding-physics worms.
But wait tho, does that mean some people never flush while they’re on the toilet? Like they keep sitting there in the poo smell? Unless you’re passing deer pellets and their presence underneath doesn’t begin to haunt your soul, you need to flush while you’re sitting there and not quite done.
For anyone that thinks about shit plumes: Iirc last time I heard it mentioned and looked at the study, it was based on public restrooms with high pressure flushing mechanisms, not the slow flush tank dump I think most people have at home. If it sounds loud and splashy, maybe a shit plume, if it's a sploosh swirl blub blub, prolly not a shit plume. Pouring water on shit doesn't really aerosolize it, power washing it does.
I think women should start pissing standing so my fellow fragile penis owner, who think standing while pissing is the only option, learn how filthy a toilet gets if you don't put your parts in the bowl.
Just check it before you use it, and adjust it if needed, unless you're hyper conscious of the particulates that tend to result from flushing, in which case fuck it, close it everytime.
it's the middle of the night and the house is silent. You finish your business and in your sleepiness know that you have to put the seat and lid down because you don't want all that bacteria on your toothbrush, your towel, your clothes. So you turn around grab the lid and
#SLAM
you whisper "fuck"
your baby is crying and your wife is awake. You're not going back to sleep
If it's a problem from there, it's not a battle of "who needs the seat in what configuration," it's a battle of "who deserves to touch the icky parts and who deserves the icky parts touched for them" at which point we're through.
It's best to have an agreed default in a household, so there's no surprises during a half awake trip or an emergency. Lid down is the best hygienically, but seat down is better than all up as it's a shared need for everyone sometimes.
Women who do lid up for the men have done that out of a history of men in their lives thinking their aim is perfect.
I used to have to tell my female friend to put the lid down when she stayed over. My cat loves drinking from the toilet so if the lids up when I open the door and I don't catch him in time he'll just dunk his head in it.
You should really put it down when you flush too which minimises the amount of fecal or urine particles that get into the air.
I mean, considerate of you and all but maybe this is just my chaos sitzpinkler enby opinion but if you get into the habit of checking the toilet for a second beforehand because you don't expect it to be reset for your specific needs this doesn't happen.
I never expect people to put the seat down for me nor do I expect to put the seat up for them as both require the same amount of effort to rejig the toilet seat and it cannot be counted on who will be using the bathroom next. This feels a little bit "holding the door open for the lady" courtesy. A weird holdover gendered etiquette expectation for folks who stand and pee that just hasn't been re-examined.