Toilet hygiene is something ingrained in all of us as kids and as you’d expect, it’s not something we forget. That being said, everyone does it a little differently, and that’s fine. One habit you should add to your toilet routine however, could potentially be life saving.

It turns out that something as simple as forgetting to put down the lid of the toilet before you flush could actually be hazardous to your help. Yup. Chinese scientists have found that flushing with the lid up creates a sort of cloud of tiny water particles that can be breathed in and may spread infection, including coronavirus.

According to the researchers, as the water pours into the bowl when you flush the toilet, it splashes against the side, creating turbulence and droplets of water that can travel up to 3ft – or 91cm – from ground level. Who would’ve thought eh?

So how exactly can we avoid this? It’s simple. Close the lid before you flush. The study, by scientists from Yangzhou University is actually published in the journal Physics of Fluids and yes, I know what you’re thinking.. there’s a journal called the Physics of Fluids?

Of course there is, and this study could very well prevent you from contracting the coronavirus. As you may already know, the coronavirus is spread via airborne droplets from coughs, sneezes or objects contaminated by virus.

People who are infected with the virus can possibly have traces of it in their faeces. Imagine using the cubicle in a public toilet that was just used by someone who doesn’t yet know they have the virus. Scary. That being said though, it’s not yet clear if this might be another way to pass the disease on to others yet, but better safe than sorry right?

Even if the coronavirus can’t be transmitted in that way however, there are other viruses that can be transmitted in a faecal-oral manner and its better safe than sorry right, so do yourself and the person using the toilet after you a favour and just close the lid before you flush