Claire Reid
Travel experts have shared the creepy reason why you should always flush the toilet in your hotel room before use.
Over the years, we’ve seen all sorts of travel tips and tricks such as why you should never wear shorts to fly and why you should avoid using complimentary shower gel and shampoo in hotels.
Travel firm eShores spoke to a bunch of hotel workers, including cleaners, receptionists and waiting staff to share some other top tips.
Speaking to Metro, the travel company stressed that hotel workers had informed them of the reason to always flush a hotel toilet before use - particularly in hot countries.
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The experts said you should flush upon arrival as well as when you return to your room after a day out - because, in warmer climates, the toilet bowl and under the seat offer the perfect hiding spot for insects and spiders. So flush before use to avoid any unwanted creepy crawlies to make an appearance.
And while we’re on the subject of toilets, when you’re done doing whatever you’re doing on the loo make sure you close the lid before you hit flush - and this doesn’t just count for when you’re in a hotel.
Last year, scientists used special lasers to see just how far droplets from a flushed toilet spread, and it's fair to say it was a pretty grim revelation.
It’s always been known that when a toilet is flushed, a cloud of small droplets - known as an aerosol - is formed, which could spread germs.
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However, researcher John Crimaldi, professor of engineering at the University of Colorado, told Business Insider that his ‘jaw dropped’ when they first saw footage from the experiment as he had ‘no idea and no reason to believe’ they would carry as high and as wide as they did. Lovely.
Writing in the study, the researchers noted: “Our results demonstrate the surprisingly energetic and rapid growth of aerosol plumes from a commercial toilet and highlight the chaotic nature of the fluid kinematics that transport the particles.”
Crimaldi said his footage could change people’s perceptions of traditional toilets, and says he’s already started looking at them ‘suspiciously now’.
He told the publication: "You go to the bathroom, you flush the handle, the stuff disappears, you're like: 'boom, works great!'
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"Then you look at the videos that we took and you're like: 'oh, maybe not so great!'"
To help minimise the spread, the best thing you can do is close the lid. Happy flushing!