# Poll: Which way do you flush toilets? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [August 6, 2010, 12:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-which-way-do-you-flush-toilets/549389 "2010-08-06T12:28:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eyebrows_0f_doom/32/3119_2.png) [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eyebrows_0f_Doom)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2010, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-which-way-do-you-flush-toilets/549389/21 "2010-08-06T23:32:35Z")
> [@notfrommensa](#): > > Why do toilets have lids if you are not supposed to put it down when you flush. So stuff doesn’t fall in there when it’s not in use/so you can sit on it if you need to do other things. ---
**Author:** ![Serenata67](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/serenata67/32/10646_2.png) [@Serenata67](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Serenata67)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2010, 12:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-which-way-do-you-flush-toilets/549389/22 "2010-08-08T00:36:35Z")
I usually flush it lid down. My husband does not. I’ve gotten more relaxed about it, but I used to be a real stickler. ---
**Author:** ![Baron\_Skinley\_Von\_Clipper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@Baron\_Skinley\_Von\_Clipper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baron_Skinley_Von_Clipper)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2010, 12:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-which-way-do-you-flush-toilets/549389/23 "2010-08-08T00:44:59Z")
> [@VunderBob](#): > > By pulling the handle. Are you yanking my chain?🙂 ---
**Author:** ![The\_Flying\_Dutchman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/9fc348/32.png) [@The\_Flying\_Dutchman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Flying_Dutchman)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2010, 12:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-which-way-do-you-flush-toilets/549389/24 "2010-08-08T00:50:27Z")
Lid up, because I want to make sure the toilet has completed the flushing task. Seat up or down depends on whether I have performed No #1 or #2. By the way, I am healthy as a horse and if you are concerned by bacteria flinging about, keep your nose out of the crotch of your lover. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2010, 2:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-which-way-do-you-flush-toilets/549389/25 "2010-08-08T02:13:51Z")
Am I the only one who opened this thread thinking the poll choices would be some clever play on “Clockwise in the northern hemisphere/counterclockwise in the southern” or something like that? ---
**Author:** ![rinni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f6c823/32.png) [@rinni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rinni)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2010, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-which-way-do-you-flush-toilets/549389/26 "2010-08-08T20:43:59Z")
Lid down. It’s not even something I think about, I just automatically do it. ---
**Author:** ![Leaper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/4bbf92/32.png) [@Leaper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaper)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2010, 1:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-which-way-do-you-flush-toilets/549389/27 "2010-08-09T01:50:34Z")
Lid down, but originally not because of germs. When I was a kid, I read about rats coming up sewer pipes into toilets, and I thought putting the lid down would keep them in. By the time I knew better, it’d become habit. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2010, 1:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-which-way-do-you-flush-toilets/549389/28 "2010-08-09T13:03:31Z")
> [@kunilou](#): > > Am I the only one who opened this thread thinking the poll choices would be some clever play on “Clockwise in the northern hemisphere/counterclockwise in the southern” or something like that? I still feel like the answer ought to be “clockwise” or “counterclockwise” every time I see the thread title. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2010, 1:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-which-way-do-you-flush-toilets/549389/29 "2010-08-09T13:29:34Z")
I always leave the lid and seat up, for one reason: Many years ago I was in the hospital for 2 weeks, and nobody was notified. My poor cat ate some of my houseplants and drank from the toilet. If the lid had been down he would have suffered much dehydration and possible death. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2010, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-which-way-do-you-flush-toilets/549389/30 "2010-08-09T14:16:53Z")
I always flush public toilets with my foot. People put their hands on it after they use the toilet, but before they wash. This ability came in very useful recently when I had my arm in a cast. ---
**Author:** ![Chessic\_Sense](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7c8e57/32.png) [@Chessic\_Sense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chessic_Sense)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2010, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-which-way-do-you-flush-toilets/549389/31 "2010-08-09T14:35:20Z")
I’m shocked at the number of lid-uppers. YOU’RE the ones that keep leaving floaters in there for the next guy to enjoy. YOU’RE the women that leave a piece of toilet paper stuck in the drain for me to deal with. Of course I flush lid-up. So I can make sure that nothing comes back up. _Then_ I put the seat down. Why? Because the inside of the toilet looks nasty and I don’t want to see that when I’m fixing my hair or brushing my teeth. It’s the same reason I close the shower curtain. That’s why the lid is there, not to shield you from deadly (mythical) toilet spray. And while I’m on the subject, what’s with the whole “falling in” thing? What kind of person goes to sit on _anything_, be it a toilet, train seat, or bar stool, without looking first? How does that even happen? ---
**Author:** ![Skammer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skammer/32/143_2.png) [@Skammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skammer)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2010, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-which-way-do-you-flush-toilets/549389/32 "2010-08-09T14:41:07Z")
At home, lid down. I don’t like to think about sending droplets of toilet water around a room where I keep my toothbrush and face towel. Obviously most public toilets do not have lids. In those cases I’m flushing with my foot and walking away. ---
**Author:** ![Skammer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skammer/32/143_2.png) [@Skammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skammer)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2010, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-which-way-do-you-flush-toilets/549389/33 "2010-08-09T14:45:14Z")
Also, we have a cabinet above the toilet and things tend to fall out when we rummage around in there. It only takes one box of bandages or a package of soap to fall into the toilet before we learn to close the lid. ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2010, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-which-way-do-you-flush-toilets/549389/34 "2010-08-09T14:54:56Z")
> [@Chessic\_Sense](#): > > I’m shocked at the number of lid-uppers. YOU’RE the ones that keep leaving floaters in there for the next guy to enjoy. YOU’RE the women that leave a piece of toilet paper stuck in the drain for me to deal with. > > Of course I flush lid-up. So I can make sure that nothing comes back up. _Then_ I put the seat down. Why? Because the inside of the toilet looks nasty and I don’t want to see that when I’m fixing my hair or brushing my teeth. It’s the same reason I close the shower curtain. That’s why the lid is there, not to shield you from deadly (mythical) toilet spray. You’re shocked at the lid uppers but you are a lid upper? Do you mean you are shocked at the lid downers? ---
**Author:** ![Chessic\_Sense](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7c8e57/32.png) [@Chessic\_Sense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chessic_Sense)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2010, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-which-way-do-you-flush-toilets/549389/35 "2010-08-09T15:02:06Z")
> [@Freudian\_Slit](#): > > You’re shocked at the lid uppers but you are a lid upper? Do you mean you are shocked at the lid downers? Yes, that. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-which-way-do-you-flush-toilets/549389.md?page=1)