is it safe to sit on public toilet seats?

Question

what are the risks?what about those in hotel rooms?

Answer 1

not after i pee on it

Answer 2

its overall safe but there is a risk of getting "crabs" (pubic lice) from toilet seats. Its so low, its unreal. A kid did a science project on it, and tsted the cleanliness of the toilet water and the cleanlines to the ice dispenser, at a Mc Donalds or something, and the ice dispenser was dirtier than the toilet, lol. It was in the papers, because the methodology was nearly perfect, and and his colection technique was correct, and everything. Really neat.

One thing to consider, stil- if youre squeamish:
The stall in the middle of the row is generally the one that is used the most, so its probably (logically) the dirtiest. If you ever walk into a bathroom with 3 stalls on one side, or more, go check out the middle toilet and see how icky it is. Then go to the furthest one, in the back (I use the handicapped stalls, usually- theyre really clean) and see ow clean it is in comparison. I have actually spent a few weks, checking to see if this was true, just flipping stall doors open to see how clean they are. Some of them sparkle, and some of them are disgusting, but I will tell you this- its the middle stalls that are the nasty ones, so ry to avoid those, and youre fine.
You can also lay a strip of toilet paper on the seat, before sitting down, as a barrier.

Hotel rooms are probably pretty safe, also, cause they clean the toilets daily..

They wash the sinks and counters with a rag, and then use that rag to wipe down the toilet, (and a scrubbr to brush it) all done with disinfectant spray. The rag gets tossed into a laundry sack, afterwards.
Honestly, with hotel rooms, I would be more careful of the sinks and bathtubs than the toilets. They do was the bathtubs, and they generally do it all in the right order, sink, shower, then toilet, but its not hard to imagine a new housekeeper screwing up the sequence, lol.
So when you check in, ask for a few rags and some cleaner, and just do a once over.
This is just hotel rooms, but generally they are cleaned properly, and only used by one to 3 people a day, unlike a public restroom bathroom that can be used by a hundred people or more in a day. But hey if youre that squeamish,
I gues its up to you to clean the place up, haha...

Good Luck... Its not unsafe, remember- its okay.

Answer 3

In hotels they clean the toilets with disinfectant every day. So that makes it likely much safer than the toilet in your home. I know I don't clean mine every day. As for those in public restrooms, if the place doesn't look clean, hover or go somewhere else.

Overall though, toilet seats are pretty clean. Cleaner than the average phone anyway. I think a better question to ask is, if the toilet seat was dirty, how much of a health risk is it? I'd say practically none, but it never hurts to be safe. Being totally paranoid about germs though, is what tends to make people sick. You need to be exposed to things periodically to keep your immune system charged... if you live in a bubble, your immunity will go down, as the world around you evolves and you don't.

Answer 4

It is safe. There are no big risks, there just might be a bit of bacteria--like everywhere else.

The toilet seat in hotel rooms are fairly clean. I've worked in the hotel industry, and housekeeping always did a very nice job of cleaning the toilets after dirty dirty guests.

If you still are afraid of public toilets, grab some paper towel and soak it in hot water and wipe the seat down; and if that's not enough, put some toilet pape on top of the seat before you sit down.

Answer 5

Yes, it's safe. There is no medical evidence to support the general paranoia that you cna catch all manner of funky illnesses. Bacteria (and crabs, which I've commonly heard cited as somethig you cna get from a toilet seat) need a warm, moist place to live, and somthing to live on. Toilet seats, and bathrooms in general, are too cool to support bacteria if they are cleaned a fairly regular basis. any bacteria present on teh average public toilet seta wouldn't live very long at all.

As an above poster said, use your common sense. If the seat looks grungy, don't sit. But, in most cases, you'll be fine. I recommend that you check out an episode of Penn and Teller's Bullshit where they actually have swabs from toilet seats tested by a microbiologist. Very interesting episode. Funnily enough, nothing grew in the petrie dish.

Answer 6

Did you know a public toilet seat is cleaner than most office desktops?

Those little buggers don't like cold dry conditions. If the toilet seat is wet, cover it. But most of the time the seat itself is dry and cold...infections/bug/germs don't live in those conditions.

Yeah, their generally safe. But I try to only use certain places I know that are cleaned on a regular basis.
I used to be Limo Driver for a time, I got to know where the Best public toilets were in the city and burbs.

Answer 7

In public I squat usually, but only because I'm paranoid. They actually DO clean the seats, but you never know what kind of disease the person before you had. In hotel rooms I just sit on the seat because even though it's probably not any safer, at least you know it's just you for the time being.

Answer 8

I would say that it is not safe,for this reason public restrooms are not sanatized as well as they should be. Most employees you would be suprised don't even touch the outside of the toilet, they just use a brush on the inside. Hotels depending on if you prefer a classier hotel or a cheaper one there is really no diffrence unless you now what to look for you would not know if the restrooms were properly sanatized.

Answer 9

yes, I read an article about that and there is not a great risk of getting something by just sitting on the seat..Have you noticed lately that new places don't have the disposable toilet seat covers much anymore??? I have, or at least where I live, so that is a sign that it has been researched also..

Answer 10

Never. Always hover over it or line the seat with about 3 inches of toilet paper. Serious. Do you want your hiney to touch something that came out of some stranger? EWW. Hotel rooms I also bring some disinfectant wipes and wipe it down myself just to make sure. People do some nasty s*** so just be cautious.

Answer 11

I guess if you use public ones then put a disposable toilet seat cover. But at a hotel, wipe it down.