Whenever you enter in a public bathroom, you are probably doubting whether you should hover, or cover the toilet seat. This is understandable as the thought of sitting on a public toilet is definitely not a pleasant one, since the entire restroom is packed with a bunch of strange germs and bacteria.
Nevertheless, no matter how much you hate using a public restroom, sometimes you’ve got to go, right? A lot of people tear off lots of toilet paper and place it on the toilet seat before sitting on it, as some way of a protective layer. However, this is totally wrong! Actually, it is better not to put anything on the toilet seat, neither toilet paper nor paper seat covers are present in some bathroom stalls.
You might be surprised by this, but when you cover the toilet seat with paper, you are actually exposing your body to an even higher number of bacteria and germs. The shape and the smoothness of the toilet seats have been specifically designed to ward off bacteria. This characteristic design hardens the bacteria and germs to latch onto the toilet seat.
On the other hand, toilet paper has been specially designed to absorb stuff, so its rough texture makes it an ideal place for germs and bacteria to stick to. Moreover, whenever the toilet gets flushed, millions of nasty bacteria and germs are spread throughout the air, flying until they end up sticking to the toilet paper roll. This means that if you lay toilet paper on the seat, you will sit right on top of them.
The human skin is capable of protecting our bodies from the strange inhabitants in and around the toilet. We are protected from micro-organisms by our own natural barrier, and what’s more, our bodies already have most of the bacteria found on toilet seats. Moreover, according to studies, the average public toilet seat is cleaner than the average cutting boards, kitchen sinks, and dish sponges.
So, the most important thing to do to avoid bacteria and germs is to wash your hands well after you have used the public restroom. This means washing them with warm or hot water, using soap, and rubbing them together for not less than 20 seconds. Don’t forget the areas under nails, and in-between fingers, and then wash off the soap and dry them thoroughly.
Always choose paper towels instead of electric hand dryers when possible, since the latter only blows germs on your cleaned hands. Another thing to keep in mind is to avoid touching the handle or door when exiting. Instead, use your foot, hip, or other covered parts of your body to open and close the door, of course, if it’s a push door.
In a conclusion, we can say that hovering is a much cleaner and more effective way to use a public toilet than making a “protective” layer of toilet paper. Besides, you do a mini-workout in the process, so hovering is definitely the best way to use public restrooms.
Via Sun Gazing
