# Can sitting in public toilets really hurt you? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [January 6, 2013, 12:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-sitting-in-public-toilets-really-hurt-you/646211 "2013-01-06T00:31:49Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2013, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-sitting-in-public-toilets-really-hurt-you/646211/21 "2013-01-08T16:19:18Z")
> [@sansan](#): > > As for the kitchen sponge, if you are still using them in your kitchen… STOP IT!!! I keep hearing this, but I’ve been using sponges for decades and have never had a problem. ---
**Author:** ![BMalion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e274bd/32.png) [@BMalion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BMalion)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2013, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-sitting-in-public-toilets-really-hurt-you/646211/22 "2013-01-08T16:43:04Z")
> [@tdn](#): > > I keep hearing this, but I’ve been using sponges for decades and have never had a problem. Me too, makes wonder how come we never died out as a species. ---
**Author:** ![teela\_brown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/d9b06d/32.png) [@teela\_brown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/teela_brown)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2013, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-sitting-in-public-toilets-really-hurt-you/646211/23 "2013-01-08T18:30:37Z")
> [@BMalion](#): > > Me too, makes wonder how come we never died out as a species. I put 'em in the dishwasher and let the bleach-y detergent and high heat disinfect them. ---
**Author:** ![Qwertol](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/e274bd/32.png) [@Qwertol](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qwertol)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2013, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-sitting-in-public-toilets-really-hurt-you/646211/24 "2013-01-08T19:39:13Z")
> [@BMalion](#): > > Me too, makes wonder how come we never died out as a species. Well our immune system usually do pretty good job… A bit of dirt is actually good for it - it stimulates it making it stronger. The point is in finding optimum in your cleanliness/dirtiness and actually it’s not that trivial of a matter… ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2013, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-sitting-in-public-toilets-really-hurt-you/646211/25 "2013-01-08T19:58:25Z")
> [@teela\_brown](#): > > I put 'em in the dishwasher and let the bleach-y detergent and high heat disinfect them. I don’t. ---
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2013, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-sitting-in-public-toilets-really-hurt-you/646211/26 "2013-01-08T20:04:26Z")
Given the current increase in norovirus cases, and considering that [a droplet of vomit or faeces can contain enough virus to infect more than 100,000 people](http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2257098/Larry-projectile-vomiting-robot-helping-British-team-learn-stop-spread-norovirus.html) (if the Daily Mail is to be believed) then you might be wise to clean up pretty thoroughly after touching it. You can’t absorb virus through your arse cheeks though. ---
**Author:** ![snailboy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/97f17d/32.png) [@snailboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snailboy)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2013, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-sitting-in-public-toilets-really-hurt-you/646211/27 "2013-01-08T20:30:51Z")
> **[Do 98% of women hover over public toilet seats?](https://www.straightdope.com/21344176/do-98-of-women-hover-over-public-toilet-seats)** This basically says that, assuming you have no open sores on your butt, it’s safe to sit on the toilet and actually better than hovering, although squatting toilets as commonly used in the eastern world are better. ---
**Author:** ![sansan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b4bc9f/32.png) [@sansan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sansan)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2013, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-sitting-in-public-toilets-really-hurt-you/646211/28 "2013-01-08T21:56:10Z")
> [@listedmia](#): > > The restaurant/bar where I work is a bit lax, apparently. Solutions are pretty much never tested. Towels dipped in either plain or bleach water for cleaning tables, bathroom is scrubbed once a day with dish soap and rinsed with bleach water, and touched up if it looks really gross. We’re not the cleanest place in town, but somehow we manage to pass the health inspection. Unfortunately, not all states health inspectors are as thorough as they should be, since the purpose of them coming is to ensure public safety. So my question is, How do you feel about providing this current level of cleanliness? As for me, lawsuits reguarding customers getting sick due to a lack in sanitary practices are really expensive and could put me out of a job. Not to mention the drop in business $$$'s due to press exposure and word of mouth. I still have never eaten at a jack-in-the-box after it was proven that they had a worker that tested positive for hepC which was spread to several customers. As for public bathrooms.. their cleanliness varies so widely that it is hard to come to a definitive answer for this OP. There are just too many variables. Is it theoretically possible to catch something from a toilet seat? yes. But if we factor in all the millions of times a day that people use public bathrooms and don’t get sick from them, it puts a bit of perspective on the odds of it happening. ---
**Author:** ![Anny\_Middon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/bc79bd/32.png) [@Anny\_Middon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anny_Middon)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2013, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-sitting-in-public-toilets-really-hurt-you/646211/29 "2013-01-09T16:57:30Z")
Old joke: Doctor: Miss Smith, the lab tests show that you have gonnorhea. Patient: Oh, gee, I must have gotten it from a toilet seat. Doctor: What’s a nice girl like you doing having sex on the toilet? ---
**Author:** ![Spiff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spiff/32/9852_2.png) [@Spiff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spiff)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2013, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-sitting-in-public-toilets-really-hurt-you/646211/30 "2013-01-09T18:35:56Z")
> [@Colophon](#): > > Given the current increase in norovirus cases, and considering that [a droplet of vomit or faeces can contain enough virus to infect more than 100,000 people](http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2257098/Larry-projectile-vomiting-robot-helping-British-team-learn-stop-spread-norovirus.html) ( **if the Daily Mail is to be believed** ) then you might be wise to clean up pretty thoroughly after touching it. > > You can’t absorb virus through your arse cheeks though. I think I’ve found the **weak link** in your argument. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-sitting-in-public-toilets-really-hurt-you/646211.md?page=1)