Thursday, March 5, 2009

Golden Showers

You can find more germs on a desktop than a toilet seat says the author of this book in her interview on 20/20...Myth: Toilet Seats are the Dirtiest Thing in the Bathroom...

She admits she has spent years herself dangling over toilet seats, but now this self-professed germ freak is changing her attitude. She says paper toilet shields help your head more than your bottom, and those who hover often just leave a mess for the next person...


How Many Germs Sit on the Seat?

Mothers teach their daughters not to sit on a public toilet seat, but is this really a big source of germs?

"No," said Janse. "You're not going to get germs from your backside. You're going to get them from your hands."

Okay lets talk you 'hover'ers'! BTW the print is in gold for a reason. I go to open mics and the worst bathrooms I ever see are the ones like last night in a Pub. I guess women who hover while peeing drunk are staggering when they do their business and they make a mess! I hate it when I go into a bathroom and I look at the seat before I sit, and place the protectors or paper for myself. When that happens and I see someone has sprayed all over the seat because they HWI...I want to start giving out tickets to those people who do not bother cleaning the toilet seat off if I catch them coming out of the stall I go into. Why? Because it is their piss, not mine I am wiping off!!!

Am I upset, Yes, because this issue is as old as dirt, and you hover'ers need to take responsibility and start cleaning up your golden shower mess...

Do you hover when you take a POO? If you do I would like to know how you do that and not miss the seat...a girl I knew once said she would squat to pee, but sit to poo...explain that crazy notion to me please...

To see if that's true, "20/20" asked Janse's co-author Dr. Charles Gerba to check our bathroom with his germ meter.

"Usually, actually the floor is the dirtiest, as you might guess," said Gerba.

The floor test revealed about 2 million bacteria per square inch. Gerba says that's about 200 times higher than a sanitary surface.

"This is pretty bad," said Gerba. "We consider that a fail. So you don't want to walk around barefoot in ABC News toilets."

Not surprisingly, the sanitary napkin disposal unit also failed the test and rated as the spot with the most germs in our ladies' room.

But our sink, an area that is usually a haven for germs, was found to be unexpectedly clean. The biggest surprise was found on the toilet seat.

"This is the cleanest spot so far," said Gerba.

Gerba defines a sanitary surface as something clean enough to eat off of, with no more than 1,000 bacteria per square inch. The toilet seat passed that test, but "20/20" reporter Don Dahler's desk failed.

They go on to talk about once you do wash your hands you should not use the air dryer...sure it saves trees, but it also is sucking germs from the air in the restrooms and into your hands...going to Culinary School's Safe & Sanitation class has opened my eyes to why we really get sick, and where the germs really lie...not the food, not the handling of our dishware and lemons folks, but not washing our hands...at least in 8 out of 10 cases...

Read more...

Disclaimer: You who are offended by my TMI...well that is what the title tells you is that the information might be too much, right?

11 comments:

Gen said...

All I can say is 'Ewwwww'!!! LMAO

Rachel Cotterill said...

That's just disgusting. I always wipe the seat before I sit down - added bonus, you find out *before* the critical moment if the paper has run out!

P.S. Blogger has an 'export' link under settings, you can get all your text & comments in XML. I'm trying to do it monthly as a backup.

Anonymous said...

I don't know why people are always so suprised that toilets aren't that gross - at least they actually get cleaned on a semi-regular basis.

Alexis AKA MOM said...

I agree with Gen ... LOL. Heck the one in the store probably cleaner then the one at home with 3 boys using it. ha-ha

Debra said...

That is why I like the signs posted in our office that say, If you sprinkle when you tinkle. Be sweet and wipe the seat! Nothing grosses me out worse than seeing someone not washing their hands after using the bathroom. That is so gross!

HoodChick said...

I actually don't do the hover thing, unless it's a really skaggy looking place.

I did see a special about women's purses being germ magnets. They set them on the floor in the bathroom and then on the table/bar in the restaraunt. I thought, wth? I've never put mine on the floor in a bathroom, that's just nasty.

Chef E said...

I do not carry a purse, it is all in my pockets and I only buy clothes with pockets for that very reason. My friend Gen laughs at me, but it is the 'butch' in me I guess!

Anonymous said...

Now, check this out:

http://www.glutire.com/2009/03/dinner-la-latrine.html

Chef E said...

Guys I went to this site and OMG'd you have to go check out the Le Turine full of food, it is a new restaurant chain, and I knew if 5 Star would lead me there then it was worth checking out!!!

Unknown said...

Not quite sure I'd want to eat off a toliet seat no matter how sanitary someone considered it to be!

It pisses me off to no end when someone pisses all over the seat and then doesn't even bother to wipe it off. My girls are terrified of public restrooms...not because of me well maybe it was because i used to hold them up above the seat and scream at them not to touch anything...yea maybe it is my fault...lol!

I have an award for you over @ My Mommy Said!

Girl Rants said...

girls are gross