Posted on 04/21/2021 8:32:48 AM PDT by MtnClimber
Public restrooms are especially cause for concern for transmitting COVID-19 because they are relatively confined, experience heavy foot traffic and may not have adequate ventilation. (Photo by Alex Dolce)
Flushing a toilet can generate large quantities of microbe-containing aerosols depending on the design, water pressure or flushing power of the toilet. A variety of pathogens are usually found in stagnant water as well as in urine, feces and vomit. When dispersed widely through aerosolization, these pathogens can cause Ebola, norovirus that results in violent food poisoning, as well as COVID-19 caused by SARS-CoV-2.
Respiratory droplets are the most prominent source of transmission for COVID-19, however, alternative routes may exist given the discovery of small numbers of viable viruses in urine and stool samples. Public restrooms are especially cause for concern for transmitting COVID-19 because they are relatively confined, experience heavy foot traffic and may not have adequate ventilation.
A team of scientists from Florida Atlantic University’s College of Engineering and Computer Science once again put physics of fluids to the test to investigate droplets generated from flushing a toilet and a urinal in a public restroom under normal ventilation conditions. To measure the droplets, they used a particle counter placed at various heights of the toilet and urinal to capture the size and number of droplets generated upon flushing.
Results of the study, published in the journal Physics of Fluids , demonstrate how public restrooms could serve as hotbeds for airborne disease transmission, especially if they do not have adequate ventilation or if toilets do not have a lid or cover. Most public restrooms in the United States often are not equipped with toilet seat lids and urinals are not covered.
For the study, researchers obtained data from three different scenarios: toilet flushing; covered toilet flushing and urinal flushing. They examined the data to determine the increase in aerosol concentration, the behavior of droplets of different sizes, how high the droplets rose, and the impact of covering the toilet. Ambient aerosol levels were measured before and after conducting the experiments.
“After about three hours of tests involving more than 100 flushes, we found a substantial increase in the measured aerosol levels in the ambient environment with the total number of droplets generated in each flushing test ranging up to the tens of thousands,” said Siddhartha Verma, Ph.D., co-author and an assistant professor in FAU’s Department of Ocean and Mechanical Engineering. “Both the toilet and urinal generated large quantities of droplets smaller than 3 micrometers in size, posing a significant transmission risk if they contain infectious microorganisms. Due to their small size, these droplets can remain suspended for a long time.”
The droplets were detected at heights of up to 5 feet for 20 seconds or longer after initiating the flush. Researchers detected a smaller number of droplets in the air when the toilet was flushed with a closed lid, although not by much, suggesting that aerosolized droplets escaped through small gaps between the cover and the seat.
“The significant accumulation of flush-generated aerosolized droplets over time suggests that the ventilation system was not effective in removing them from the enclosed space even though there was no perceptible lack of airflow within the restroom,” said Masoud Jahandar Lashaki, Ph.D., co-author and an assistant professor in FAU’s Department of Civil, Environmental and Geomatics Engineering. “Over the long-term, these aerosols could rise up with updrafts created by the ventilation system or by people moving around in the restroom.”
There was a 69.5 percent increase in measured levels for particles sized 0.3 to 0.5 micrometers, a 209 percent increase for particles sized 0.5 to 1 micrometers, and a 50 percent increase for particles sized 1 to 3 micrometers. Apart from the smallest aerosols, comparatively larger aerosols also pose a risk in poorly ventilated areas even though they experience stronger gravitational settling. They often undergo rapid evaporation in the ambient environment and the resulting decreases in size and mass, or the eventual formation of droplet nuclei, can allow microbes to remain suspended for several hours.
Don’t let this get around or they’ll make us start wearing diapers too.
Luckily the large immigrant community around here does not believe in flushing public toilets after they have filled them with large quantities of feces. So all those Covid germs are given a nice habitat to swim around in.
Just crap or piss in your bvd’s. Problem solved.
Flies spread disease, so keep yours closed.
Now that’s a laugh out loud. We need some brevity these days!
Do not lean back against it.
Wash hands after defecation.
Whenever possible, after defecation, wash the perineal area in the shower (or in a bidet if you have one).
Please everyone—NEVER FLUSH A TOILET!
They need a Ferguson.
BA-WOOOSH! Now that’s a Man’s Flush!
Always go armed into a public restroom.
Lysol Spray.
Don’t let that Ebola jump out of the toilet and climb into your nose!
Spray everything!
Debby from Accounting? Give her a spray! Right in her virus holding spot!
We’re doomed.
Murder Hornets.....Jumping Worms.....toilet droplets filled with Ebola.....
Is there anyone who can save us?
THE ROTO ROOTER MAN!
CARL THE JANITOR!
LENNY, THE GUY WHO PEES IN THE PARKING LOT!
“Don’t Linger”
This is why a Courtesy Flush is really a kiss of death.
Myth Busters did a segment on this several years ago. Disgusting.
I guess I will just stay home an pee out of the windows and crap in my backyard.
I do think that toilets should be designed not to spew bacteria everywhere but I am tired of a society that obsesses about germs like Michael Jackson.
If one of those floating "Baby Ruth Bars" gets inhaled and stuck in your sinus cavity you can use the pliers to try to grab it by the end and pull it out.
“Don’t linger”.
********************
Fortunately, in 2021 you don’t have to. Just wear your mask to collect the aerosols and carry them around with you all day long. Ain’t life grand! /sarc
I rarely go #2 in a public restroom and when I go #1, I wash my hands and then flush with my foot and push off towards the door in one motion and open the door with a paper towel or bit of TP. I also breath slowly through my nose while in the bathroom.
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