“Take showering: if you’re in Finland or in the UK when it’s cold, you probably don’t need to shower quite as often as if you’re in, for example, the southern states of America. Photograph: Witthaya Prasongsin/Getty Images So it changes if you live in a warmer or colder climate? That means that, whereas right now we think we live in a wet country, where there’s lots of rain, there will come a time when we need to divert water that we’re profligately flushing down loos to help our food grow.”Ĭareful with the cocktail of chemicals. “This year has been a really clear example of the trouble that climate change is causing our food production is likely to be massively affected. There may be other reasons, too: “I live in a very small, compact house and the cistern for our loo is behind the panelling at the foot of my bed, so we have a strict rule that nobody flushes the toilet after I’ve gone to bed,” says Russell. And there are compelling environmental reasons to abstain when possible, not least because most wastewater created by flush toilets ( more than 80% worldwide) goes directly back into the environment with no treatment. In short, it’s up to each household – if you’ve just had a wee then there’s no real need to flush every time if the lid is kept down, says Russell. Anything that’s not loo roll or human waste should never go down a lavatory.” When should I avoid flushing? A kitchen towel is designed to have what’s called ‘wet strength’ so that when you wipe your kitchen counter, it holds together. Which is why I don’t like people using things such as kitchen towels. “Lavatory paper is specifically made to disintegrate very quickly in water, and designed not to block up our pipe work. Yes, basically anything except toilet paper, says Russell. “There are people who will say that it’s disgusting but it’s probably not going to do you any real harm.” Is there anything I should avoid chucking down the loo? “Again,” says Russell, “it’s best to try to make sure the loo lid is closed to stop your toothbrush, or anything else, getting contaminated, but I have yet to hear of anyone being made ill by their toothbrush.” That’s despite your toothbrush hosting as many 1.2 million bacteria to begin with. “It’s best practice – though, let’s be honest here, it’s not going to kill you if you don’t.” What if my toothbrush gets contaminated? “Essentially, yes – especially when you’ve had a poo,” Russell says, “because the flush can spray very fine particles and toilet water all over your bathroom.” A 2022 global review found that contaminated aerosol particles can travel as far as 1.5 metres away when the toilet is flushed and linger for up to six hours the difference in the amount of bacteria spread when flushing with the lid up versus down is, according to a study from 2011, nearly 12-fold. Photograph: Kinga Krzeminska/Getty Images Should I always flush with the lid down? A thought to ponder.) So, how do we settle the right (and wrong) way to flush a toilet? Ann Russell, author of How To Clean Everything and TikTok’s favourite cleaning Auntie weighs in. Does flushing a lidless toilet – and exposing ourselves to a “plume” of microscopic particles – make us sick, for example? And do you flush public toilets using your feet, as one 2013 survey asked? (Two-thirds of American respondents answered that yes, they do. When we flush, we run the risk of spreading those bacteria around the room, and potentially all over ourselves, too.įor decades, debates over how we do our duty – or, more specifically, what we do afterwards – have divided nations, rearing up once more earlier this week. On average, a toilet bowl contains 3.2m bacteria per square inch, rivalled only by the toothbrush holder. By now we’re all well aware of the fact that, if bathrooms are a breeding ground for bacteria, the loo is their epicentre. But, according to research, the answer might be more complicated. How do you flush the toilet? Hopefully it wouldn’t be too much to presume that, after finishing up important bathroom business, you locate a button or handle and press it.
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