Toothbrush Terror! Can the Toilet Plume Make You Sick?

“What's on MY Tooth Brush” is a major concern these days. Do you know what’s lurking on your toothbrush? Your toothbrush is loaded with germs. Researchers found that one uncovered toothbrush can harbor more than 100 million bacteria, including E. coli bacteria, which can cause diarrhea, and staphylococci (“Staph”) bacteria that cause many infections.

Hold on to your bunny slippers, everyone – if you haven't heard of the toilet plume, you're in for a big shock. Your toothbrush is home to blood, plaque, and even fecal matter. Yes, you're probably cleaning poop particles all over your pearly whites. There are real concerns if you have it in the bathroom. Studies revealed that a toothbrush could be much worse than a toilet seat in terms of germs. It's much worse — more than 10 million bacteria call your toothbrush home. As you flush the toilet, you expose your toothbrush to germs from the fecal matter.

 

What is the Toilet Plume?

You can't see it with the naked eye, but a mushroom cloud of toilet water droplets and fecal material particles are discharged into the air once the toilet is flushed. These particles don't just drop back down to where they came from – on the contrary. They scatter throughout the bathroom and cover all surfaces within the vicinity – including your toothbrush and then your smile. 

To put it delicately, your toothbrush isn't as clean as you think it is. If you've been leaving your toothbrush out on your bathroom shelf for years, you know already that the toilet plume isn't going to do any actual harm. Your body's immune system works to bring down any germs that enter as a result. However, it can carry viruses (like E. coli), and if your body isn't equipped to combat said viruses, you could get infected.

What Can You Do to Keep Your Toothbrush Clean?

Now you have maybe got the answer: What's on MY Tooth Brush? It probably won't come as a surprise to you to hear that if you want to decrease the amount of floating fecal matter, you should regularly clean your toilet. In fact, you should give your entire bathroom a routine cleaning – particularly any surfaces that you put your toothbrush on. You can help minimize plumes by closing the toilet seat before you flush.

Consider finding a new place to keep your toothbrush when you're not using it. All you have to do is use a little more caution before flushing the toilet at the end of the day. So, if you want the freshest breath, consider finding a new place to keep your toothbrush when you're not using it or putting the toilet lid down when you flush. You can always buy a toothbrush cover, but if you do this, don't forget to wash it now and then.

There is a big benefit to closing the toilet lid when you flush. The few bacteria that could harm you are already there. The flushed material will be carried to the sewers system efficiently, leaving a limited chance for aerosolization, the only possible infection route. 

So, never forget to put down the lid. Why not do it anyway, just in case? " Toilets have lids for a reason."