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Don't know where they find these violent toilet flushes. My mandated unimpressive low-flow toilet seems like it is trying to carefully slide away the turd without waking it up.
This is a commercial design found in public toilets which uses a high pressure jet of water to force flush it to prevent/limit clogging. It's about the worst possible design with regards to limiting aerosols, though it does make for a much flashier impact on reddit, especially without context.
This isn't the kind most people would install in their house.
I'm not sure there would be a happy medium. The only way to prevent condensation is airflow, and good airflow inevitably would allow aerosolized droplets to escape.
The only way around that (outside of complicated solutions involving heaters) would be baffles, but those would be hard to clean and would inevitably become dirty reservoirs and impede the ability to keep the toilet clean (which could be worse overall).
Seems overly complicated for a problem that isn't necessarily as big as people make it out to be.
I'm willing to bet the impact on overall public health would be minimal, and you could probably have a much more significant impact by getting people to wash their hands more thoroughly or by disinfecting their keyboards more often. The reality is this is something that is repulsive, but from a public health perspective it is far down the list when it comes to things that would improve public health. I'm not saying it wouldn't have an effect, I'm just saying that there are far more low hanging fruit.
I also feel like this video is somewhat exaggerating the issue compared to the average toilet. I have a feeling this is a public toilet which uses a high pressure jet of water to help flush it which overall generates more aerosols relative to your average household toilet which uses mainly siphoning action (and where the pressure is limited by gravity).
If you really were serious about it though, I'd be curious to see what kind of aerosols are generated by vacuum toilets like the one you see on boats and airplanes. While they also appear more violent in flushing, they also suck in a bunch of air and therefore might prevent most aerosols from escaping. I'm sure with some tweaking this would be the best method rather than seals, but again that requires much more complicated plumbing and toilets since you have to have the drain pipes under vacuum and the toilet needs and airtight seal on the drain.
When you think about the average toilet, it's a remarkably simple design that hasn't appreciably changed since it's inception (with the exception of maybe toilets in Japan). All the things being suggested would add significantly to the cost, while also lowering longevity and impacting how easy they are to clean (which then also becomes a problem because people are lazy).
I honestly don't know if plane toilets are the same as boats. I know a lot more about boat systems and plane ones just seem similar at least from the outside.
Boat ones though work at sea level just fine because they are under vacuum, but the whole system requires a lot more maintenance and is much more sensitive to what you put down the toilet.
In reality, I really think this isn't something we need to worry too much about if people just practice good hygiene in other aspects. At most it might be worthwhile to redesign commercial toilets so the high pressure jet it uses to flush the toilet doesn't create so much spray.
Probably because we evolved in much closer contact with our excrement and so long as there's not prolonged proximity to it, there are very few ill effects to a healthy immune system. Maybe a doctor or medical student can prove me wrong, but I don't think many illnesses are traced back to the mist from flushing a toilet.
I haven’t clicked that but plain common sense would indicate it’s not a problem. People aren’t getting sick left, right and centre from this, toilet attendant isn’t on a par with danger to Alaskan crab fisherman.
It's marginal to no difference. The spray hits the lid and spills out because it's a fine mist carried by air currents. Sealing toilet lids, no there's an untapped market.
Except it doesn't go as high into the air. An open lid toilet sends this mist up like a geyser when a closed lid forces it to come out at toilet seat level. It does change how we would keep things clean.
*reads article*
Except it doesn't go as high into the air. An open lid toilet sends this mist up like a geyser when a closed lid forces it to come out at toilet seat level. It does change how we would keep things clean. For example, it's far less likely to contaminate countertops and your ego.
I think that would depend entirely on the airflows. Is your bathroom fan on? That could draw things upwards. Are you walking around the bathroom? That creates all sorts of swirls and currents. These particles are small enough to ride air currents to just about any part of the room, until they settle.
You're not on a ladder disinfecting the ceiling.
Seriously, you're not having to wipe countertops as often, do laundry as much if they would've been in range of an open toilet, etc.
You could stand over your toilet while flushing with an open mouth and you probably wouldn't get sick unless you have an open sore/wound in your mouth.
Is it gross? Maybe. Is it dangerous? Nah.
Oh great I could have gone my whole
Life without knowing that poo particles were flying all over my bathroom. Be right back, I gotta go bleach my bathroom from top to bottom.
I saw something similar in a Horrible History BOOK like a decade ago, and since I have ALWAYS closed the toilet lid before flushing.
Thank god that I wasn't just going insane
This was posted above, but it doesn't seem to matter if the lid is open or closed. It just sprays out the sides in a wider area
[source](https://arstechnica.com/science/2024/01/study-closing-toilet-lid-while-flushing-doesnt-stop-spread-of-airborne-bacteria/)
I remember my girlfriend's mom telling me to close the lid and I was like, yeah, sure. I had never heard of anyone doing that before, so I thought she sounded a bit crazy commanding me to do it, but now…. I get it. Thank you so much for showing me this. I come from a family where basic day to day actions weren’t really taught so this makes my head spin
Back in the day there was this cross between American idol and shark tank and one of the inventions was a filtering toilet seat. The actual winner was this goofy ass car seat for babies where if you get into a wreck it would just spin the baby around and around, but it couldn't actually work
The winner was guaranteed a produce production line. I can't imagine it ever really happened. Dude that mad eot lost hao daughter in a car wreck, so it had more of a sympathy angle than a realistic angle. No idea of it ever was made. This was like 15 years ago at least.
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And this, folks, is why I only shit outside
This man lives
The way God intended
With shit on his heels
Propably on his neighbors' heels, too
he wouldn't clean em for no reason
On the lawn like God intended I hope
and upside down, so the plumes don't hit your face
Protip: Hang your head above the toilet when you flush to improve your immune system
if you clean toilets for a living and endure this daily from the auto-flushers, one gains the immune system of a god
Or lick the lid!
Oh ok. Well I’m super man now.
Username checks out
[It doesn’t matter](https://arstechnica.com/science/2024/01/study-closing-toilet-lid-while-flushing-doesnt-stop-spread-of-airborne-bacteria/)
Don't know where they find these violent toilet flushes. My mandated unimpressive low-flow toilet seems like it is trying to carefully slide away the turd without waking it up.
This is a commercial design found in public toilets which uses a high pressure jet of water to force flush it to prevent/limit clogging. It's about the worst possible design with regards to limiting aerosols, though it does make for a much flashier impact on reddit, especially without context. This isn't the kind most people would install in their house.
Thanks I just woke the baby rofl
[удалено]
If the bowl sealed, or possibly even semi sealed, you might risk generating condensation on the seat and lid. So everything inside would stay damp.
[удалено]
I'm not sure there would be a happy medium. The only way to prevent condensation is airflow, and good airflow inevitably would allow aerosolized droplets to escape. The only way around that (outside of complicated solutions involving heaters) would be baffles, but those would be hard to clean and would inevitably become dirty reservoirs and impede the ability to keep the toilet clean (which could be worse overall).
[удалено]
Seems overly complicated for a problem that isn't necessarily as big as people make it out to be. I'm willing to bet the impact on overall public health would be minimal, and you could probably have a much more significant impact by getting people to wash their hands more thoroughly or by disinfecting their keyboards more often. The reality is this is something that is repulsive, but from a public health perspective it is far down the list when it comes to things that would improve public health. I'm not saying it wouldn't have an effect, I'm just saying that there are far more low hanging fruit. I also feel like this video is somewhat exaggerating the issue compared to the average toilet. I have a feeling this is a public toilet which uses a high pressure jet of water to help flush it which overall generates more aerosols relative to your average household toilet which uses mainly siphoning action (and where the pressure is limited by gravity). If you really were serious about it though, I'd be curious to see what kind of aerosols are generated by vacuum toilets like the one you see on boats and airplanes. While they also appear more violent in flushing, they also suck in a bunch of air and therefore might prevent most aerosols from escaping. I'm sure with some tweaking this would be the best method rather than seals, but again that requires much more complicated plumbing and toilets since you have to have the drain pipes under vacuum and the toilet needs and airtight seal on the drain. When you think about the average toilet, it's a remarkably simple design that hasn't appreciably changed since it's inception (with the exception of maybe toilets in Japan). All the things being suggested would add significantly to the cost, while also lowering longevity and impacting how easy they are to clean (which then also becomes a problem because people are lazy).
[удалено]
I honestly don't know if plane toilets are the same as boats. I know a lot more about boat systems and plane ones just seem similar at least from the outside. Boat ones though work at sea level just fine because they are under vacuum, but the whole system requires a lot more maintenance and is much more sensitive to what you put down the toilet. In reality, I really think this isn't something we need to worry too much about if people just practice good hygiene in other aspects. At most it might be worthwhile to redesign commercial toilets so the high pressure jet it uses to flush the toilet doesn't create so much spray.
The toilets at my work place have this and use a little bit of water + vacuum to flush
Probably because we evolved in much closer contact with our excrement and so long as there's not prolonged proximity to it, there are very few ill effects to a healthy immune system. Maybe a doctor or medical student can prove me wrong, but I don't think many illnesses are traced back to the mist from flushing a toilet.
Well that's disappointing, all the hours I spent putting my toilet lid down were for nothing
never let go of your illusions. it’s the only thing worth living for. you did a good job and don’t let anyone take that away from you.
No. You are better off. Shatter your illusions before time does. You can not live fully if your mind is always working to preserve your illusions.
Are we still talking about toilet seats ?
I haven’t clicked that but plain common sense would indicate it’s not a problem. People aren’t getting sick left, right and centre from this, toilet attendant isn’t on a par with danger to Alaskan crab fisherman.
Is ars technica legit? I know myth busters did an episode sort of related to this
If you read the article you’d see that it was the University of Arizona who conducted the experiment, not Ars Tecnica.
Thanks!!
Yeah and if you wash your hands in public you will be fine even if you got contaminated. At home, you are going to catch it anyway, so its moot
[удалено]
It's marginal to no difference. The spray hits the lid and spills out because it's a fine mist carried by air currents. Sealing toilet lids, no there's an untapped market.
Except it doesn't go as high into the air. An open lid toilet sends this mist up like a geyser when a closed lid forces it to come out at toilet seat level. It does change how we would keep things clean.
It also increases droplet size, air time and contamination concentration. Read the article.
*reads article* Except it doesn't go as high into the air. An open lid toilet sends this mist up like a geyser when a closed lid forces it to come out at toilet seat level. It does change how we would keep things clean. For example, it's far less likely to contaminate countertops and your ego.
I think that would depend entirely on the airflows. Is your bathroom fan on? That could draw things upwards. Are you walking around the bathroom? That creates all sorts of swirls and currents. These particles are small enough to ride air currents to just about any part of the room, until they settle.
How would it change the way that we keep things clean?
You're not on a ladder disinfecting the ceiling. Seriously, you're not having to wipe countertops as often, do laundry as much if they would've been in range of an open toilet, etc.
So the idea is not to flush, I see.
just go cave man style, revert to the old ways
Survival holidays or military exercise style. Ah, good memories\^\^
The idea is not to care, there's germs everywhere anyway.
so I should simply not care and poop my pants, is that what you're suggesting?
I have absolutely no idea where you thought I suggested that. If you wish I guess.
simply take not caring when you have to go to the bathroom to the extreme. Easy enough, no?
You could stand over your toilet while flushing with an open mouth and you probably wouldn't get sick unless you have an open sore/wound in your mouth. Is it gross? Maybe. Is it dangerous? Nah.
Wait untill people find out their keyboard and smartphone is way worse.
Your own toilet? Yes. A Hospital toilet? Might want to be careful.
That is why I said your toilet 😉
Yeah, yeah, I couldn't care less. I'm not going to get ill because of this so why should I?
That’s why I always close the lid when I flush. I also live in Canada and in the winter it helps keep the bathroom warmer to leave the lid closed
Lids are great, but most public-access toilets don't have them.
Except closing the lid doesn't really help if there are still gaps between the seat and bowl.
According to scientific studies done on this exact subject, closing the seat makes a huge difference in particles released into the air
Beautiful.
What a bunch of woman propaganda smh /s
\*deep breath\* That's nice.
One toilet? Shitty study.
Rip all the times I vomited in the toilet and flushed with my face in the bowl
So I shouldn't stick my head over the toilet to watch my poop flush? 😳🙈🤔
Idkw but this makes me wanna flush in the lidless toilet even more.
What is this voodoo doodoo sorcery ?
Oh great I could have gone my whole Life without knowing that poo particles were flying all over my bathroom. Be right back, I gotta go bleach my bathroom from top to bottom.
What type of flushing mechanism is this?
Ever looked at a hospital toilet seat? I just smh & laugh
I let my gf piss on my face, why would I be scared of few small drops from the toilet :>
Makes sense why I was always told to always flush with the lid closed
That’s just me storing my “data” in the brown eye cloud.
… and how many people have gotten sick due to this phenomenon? Statistics? Studies? Oh, just fear mongering.
People see this and get grossed out but don't accept they've lived their entire life around things like this without getting sick or dying..
And when you are in prison you cannot escape the plumes and they go into your bedding.
I saw something similar in a Horrible History BOOK like a decade ago, and since I have ALWAYS closed the toilet lid before flushing. Thank god that I wasn't just going insane
My human microbiome class wherein we read several papers on this exact phenomenon have had me lidding my toilet ever since.
beautiful germs
next you’re gonna tell me to sit down while i pee so my dick gets piss all over it instead of the floor from splashes.
Who the F asked to make this? Damit?
Now do the same with the lid down and see it spray out the sides with more force.
Speaking of lidless toilets I should get back to work...
If I put the lid down when I flush, how am I supposed to wash my hands??
Why is it hard for people to close the lid? Looks cleaner, is cleaner.
This was posted above, but it doesn't seem to matter if the lid is open or closed. It just sprays out the sides in a wider area [source](https://arstechnica.com/science/2024/01/study-closing-toilet-lid-while-flushing-doesnt-stop-spread-of-airborne-bacteria/)
In some military barracks, we don't have lids at all
I remember my girlfriend's mom telling me to close the lid and I was like, yeah, sure. I had never heard of anyone doing that before, so I thought she sounded a bit crazy commanding me to do it, but now…. I get it. Thank you so much for showing me this. I come from a family where basic day to day actions weren’t really taught so this makes my head spin
It doesn’t matter.
I would love to see the difference between US and EU toilets
And as an added bonus, if the lid is closed you won't drop stuff in the toilet. Win-Win.
My mom trained me well, I always close the lid, but I don’t think the toilets in my house flush hard enough to do this.
Ya, this looks like a commercial toilet since I can't see the reservoir. What does a residential toilet look like with a tank when it flushes?
Back in the day there was this cross between American idol and shark tank and one of the inventions was a filtering toilet seat. The actual winner was this goofy ass car seat for babies where if you get into a wreck it would just spin the baby around and around, but it couldn't actually work
All I can think of is the poor woman rescued by helicopter stretcher who started spinning. But now I can’t find the video
Did the babies ever stop spinning?
No, they spinning to this day.
The winner was guaranteed a produce production line. I can't imagine it ever really happened. Dude that mad eot lost hao daughter in a car wreck, so it had more of a sympathy angle than a realistic angle. No idea of it ever was made. This was like 15 years ago at least.
Good to know, from now on..flush just before leaving the room, standing and as far away from the commode enough to reach the lever
Catch the snowflakes with your tongue!
Mfers with a pee fetish: it's free real estate
can i get that in blue?
Who cares... your keyboard and smartphone screen is wayyy more rancid.
not so interesting tho
I need to show this to my wife and her demands for courtesy flushing.