[1] A toilet plume[2] is the cloud like dispersal of microscopic sewage particles & water vapor as a result of flushing a toilet. Day to day use of a toilet by healthy individuals is considered to be of a lower health risk. However this dynamic rapidly changes if an individual is fighting an illness and currently shedding out large quantities of an infectious virulent pathogen (virus or bacteria) in their urine, feces or vomitus. There is evidence that specific pathogens such as norovirus or SARS coronavirus could potentially be spread by toilet aerosols, but as of 2015[update] no direct experimental studies had refuted actual disease transmission from toilet aerosols. It has been hypothesized that dispersal of pathogens may be reduced by closing the toilet lid before flushing, and by using toilets with lower flush energy. 2024 Science[3] empirically built on to this theory, by illustrating that the viruses that toilet plume contains still spreads out the gaps in the seat onto the walls and concentrating on the surrounding floors.
- ^ New study shows what happens when we flush a lidless toilet | CNN. 19 December 2022. Retrieved 3 September 2024 – via www.cnn.com.
- ^ New study shows what happens when we flush a lidless toilet | CNN. 19 December 2022. Retrieved 3 September 2024 – via www.cnn.com.
- ^ Gerba, Charles (January 2024). "Impacts of lid closure during toilet flushing and of toilet bowl cleaning on viral contamination of surfaces in United States restrooms". American Journal of Infection Control.