Do You Flush Paper Toilet Seat Covers? [Everything You Should Know]

Paper toilet seat covers are designed to protect you from picking up germs when you use a public restroom, but recent studies have found that they may actually do more harm than good.

Flushing paper toilet seat covers releases aero sizeable numbers of potentially harmful bacteria into the air – enough to cause respiratory infections in people with weakened immune systems.

So next time you’re in the loo, think before you flush!

The Dangers of Flushing Toilet Seat Covers

Most people flush their paper toilet seat covers without a second thought, but did you know that this could be releasing harmful bacteria into the air?

A study by the University of Arizona found that flushing a paper toilet seat cover can release up to 500 million CFU (colony-forming units) of bacteria into the air. For perspective, that’s about the same amount of bacteria that are found in the average person’s gut.

And while most healthy people won’t be affected by these airborne bacteria, they can cause respiratory infections in people with weakened immune systems.

So if you’re healthy, you probably don’t need to worry about flushing your paper toilet seat cover. But if you’re immunocompromised, it might be worth reconsidering.

There’s no need to flush that little paper toilet seat covers down the loo – they’ll just end up in a landfill. And besides, it’s a waste of water. Just bin them instead.

Conclusion:

The bottom line is that there’s no need to flush your paper toilet seat covers – they’ll just end up in a landfill anyway. If you’re healthy, there’s probably no need to worry about the bacteria being released into the air when you flush them.

But if you’re immunocompromised, it might be worth reconsidering. Just bin them instead!