Toilet plume

A toilet plume is the invisible to the naked eye, cloud-like dispersal of potentially infectious sewage particles as a result of flushing a toilet. Flush particles rapidly rise out of the bowl and several feet into the air after flushing. These particles go on to spread onto surfaces like floors and counters; or objects like hand towels, bathmats or toothbrushes. Day to day use of a toilet by healthy individuals is considered to be of a lower health risk. However, if an individual is sick with something and currently shedding out large quantities of an infectious virulent pathogen (virus or bacteria) in their urine, feces or vomitus, this dynamic completely changes. Aerosolization of the toilet bowl contents allows these particles to free-float haphazardly, to either be inhaled or land on surfaces. There is evidence that specific pathogens such as norovirus or SARS coronavirus can be spread by toilet aerosols. It has been hypothesized that dispersal of pathogens may be reduced by closing the toilet lid before flushing, and by using toilets with lower flush energy. A 2024 study showed evidence that even closing the lid may still lead to small viral particles of a single identified pathogen escaping through gaps under the lid, resulting in viral cross contamination of the air and surfaces in a washroom.

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