Originally published at: Scientific video reveals how much toilet water sprays into the air when you flush… and it's disgusting | Boing Boing
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Could be worse.
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Coincidentally, a close-the-lid-before-you-flush policy puts a—ahem—lid on the whole seat up/down skirmish…
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just popped in to say the same!
close the lid before you flush, kids!
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I would love to see a test like this with the lid closed. My understanding from previous articles on toilet aerosols is that most of what we’re seeing in this case must not be aerosols at all – what we’re seeing is simply too big.
Again, I’m not even pretending to be an expert, but articles I’ve read have characterized the tiny gaps between the lid and the toilet rim to be “Grand Canyon” sized compared to the typical size of an aerosolized particle suggesting that even closing the lid should have negligible impact.
Those articles haven’t had cool laser-based videos, though, so I’m back to wanting to see such.
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I mean, Mythbusters confirmed this this back in 2004 so this shouldn’t be any surprise.
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Similar thing happens in kitchen sinks with water spray. Especially with pre-rinse faucets. Noteworthy when working with raw meats, etc.
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Check if there’s a time of the day in summer when the sunlight can shine in a window and directly down into the bowl.
Flush and watch/record all the sparkly droplets as they catch the sunlight.
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I think I’ll brush my teeth in the kitchen from now on.
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oh, man! you just spit in my produce prep sink!
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Well, do you want it sprayed on your knees or your face?
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They had a contamination problem at Toronto Sick Kids Hospital a while back. They eventually traced it to lab sinks where the faucet would fire a jet of water into the drain, and spread a plume of whatever was lurking in the u-bend.
Other places too:
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The glamour bath feature of having the toilet in its own little space with a door that closes is a good thing, especially with a good vent fan. No room for that in my 60s house, though, without big renovations or an addition. 
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Yet another reason to keep masking up.
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Ah yes, the Poop Chamber. Our house has those, the main bath has a toilet & tub and the family bath has a toilet & shower in their own little rooms off their respective vanities.
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They should do the same for stand-up peeing.
Sitzpinklers unite!
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I was leaning over an industrial (big whoosh, no cover/seat) auto flush toilet to grab some toilet paper off the roll when my face triggered the flush and of course airborne drops of water hit me straight in the face and mouth.
Damn toilet robots.
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This is the kind of video we need to be shown on the evening news telecast every quarter, along with the well-intended reminder to close the lid before you flush.
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And then in public toilets, a lot of it settles right back down on the seat, yay.
Which makes it more sensible I guess to cover that thing with strips of TP before sitting down.
(And for those who already do that, please don’t leave it there when you’re done! 
)
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