Putting the toilet-seat lid down may not prevent the spread of germs and viruses. A recent study dispels this supposition. A team of microbiologists from the USA conducted research on the aerial activity of particles after a toilet is flushed. The scientists said there was little difference in how germs spread, regardless of whether the lid was up or down. Dr Charles Gerba has studied pathogens for nearly five decades. He said: "All that air when you flush goes somewhere, and it carries the viruses that are in the toilet bowl out of it." He said a flush contaminates nearby areas.

Researchers tested the spread of a virus in two bathrooms. The virus was not able to harm humans. They flushed one bowl with the lid up, and another with the lid down. After a minute, they swabbed the surfaces in the toilet. They found no significant differences in the quantities of the virus in the two bathrooms. They said the results "demonstrate that closing the toilet lid prior to flushing does not mitigate the risk of contaminating bathroom surfaces, and that disinfection of all restroom surfaces may be necessary after flushing" to cut the spread of germs.