how to have the most sterile toilet in the world
I saw an interesting article from an old, yellowing issue of Reader’s Digest (April 1995!) written by Mary Roach about Dr. Clean.
Dr. Clean’s real name is Chuck Gerba, a microbiologist, who studies bacteria in kitchens and bathrooms. He became famous because he discovered the phenomenon, aerosolization.
Aerosolization is a fine spray of droplets that gets propelled in the air everytime we flush our toilets. Pretty much like what happens when you sneeze without covering your mouth.
These droplets are so fine they are invisible to the naked eye. Gerba proved aerosolization by pouring food coloring into the toilet water. He held a piece of paper over the bowl, then flushed the toilet. True enough, there were fine dots of colored water on the paper.
But then, we don’t always put food coloring into the toilet water, so you can just imagine what the fine spray regularly consists of.
Uh-huh. Yes, that’s right.
If our toothbrush is anywhere near 6 feet from the toilet, Gerba said we’re practically brushing our teeth using toilet water.
Now our bathroom is a small room, not like other bathrooms that are so spacious it is practically a house. Ours is just your regular, ordinary bathroom. Which means, no matter where I put our toothbrushes, they will always get drenched with that dreadful spray.
Of course we can always install a medicine cabinet to protect our toothbrushes. But as the aerosol floats in the air, imagine the fate that awaits the next bathroom user.
The solution, Gerba said, would be to disinfect the bathroom at least once a week. More than once if a family member is sick.
Keyword: disinfect. Many cleaning products do just that, clean, but they don’t kill germs. Check the labels of our cleansers and make sure it is a disinfectant.
However, a disinfectant alone cannot kill all of the germs. But it’s possible, Gerba said. How?
You have to flambe the bowl.
That’s right, flambe. Set the bowl on fire. My Reader’s Digest is now turned to page 78 as proof.
The idea of having what would probably be the most sterile toilet in the world piqued my interest, so I immediately gathered the materials.
I would need lab alcohol, but since I don’t have one, I settled for Green Cross. A match. And a pail of water should things get out of control. A fire extinguisher is better, but I don’t have one.I took out the bathroom curtain, and all flammable materials.
I turned off the lights for a more dramatic effect. Because of course, I brought a camera.
With trembling hands, I doused the bowl with alcohol. I lit a match, and grazed it on the tip of the bowl.
In an instant, the bowl
was
on fire.
There you have it. I now have the cleanest toilet in the world, 100% germ-free, I can chop vegetables on it. Imagine that.
But I’m afraid I won’t be able to hold on to the record for very long. We only have one bathroom in the house. No worries though. The record will be mine again next week.
geri:
Ladycess, very interesting article! Now where are those matches…
LC: oh, so youre the next record holder, hehehe!
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17 August 2007, 9:09 amKongkong622:
Hi Cess!! My sister in the States mentioned this to me. I don’t know if it’s the same article but she was saying that our toothbrushes contained some of the highest amounts of fecal particles in the entire house.
Whoa!!! Galing niyan ah. Gagawin ko yan mamaya. Thanks for the tip
LC: go ahead, kongkong. it was very exciting :). there was no mention of “fecal particles”, but this aerosolization is chuck gerba’s, so probably different articles but same basis. eew!
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17 August 2007, 9:22 amsoloops:
How intriguing.
My sister used to bug me about the toothbrushes which are placed beside one of our sinks and not in our bathroom. Now I’ll tell her about your post and feel smug. hahaha.
First, exterminating and now setting the toilet bowl on fire?Wow.
LC: hehehe! yes, you have the license to be smug. based on this info our toothbrushes are apparently safer on a kitchen sink.
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17 August 2007, 1:24 pmRach:
Hi Cess. This is the first time I’ve heard of this cleaning method. I agree with Soloops, it is incredibly intriguing! How did the bowl look afterwards? Any stains that indicated burning?
The toothbrush thing is an eye opener. I better do something about it. Maybe I should at least make an effort to store my son’s toothbrush elsewhere.
Thanks for sharing this information.
LC: no burnt areas! i was actually afraid of that. matagal ko nang nabasa ito, but i was afraid of burning my toilet, thus it took me this long to do the experiment.
i guess the principle is similar to what bars do in some alcoholic drinks. plus, it’s mostly blue flame. sandaling-sandali lang yan, the fire will go kaput on its own (pero i was ready with a pail of water just in case). and the smell — wow, nag-amoy ospital ang banyo ko! amoy patay lahat ng germs
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17 August 2007, 2:23 pmChristianne:
UGH, just thinking about that spray makes me cringe. So the whole room is filled with eau de pee everytime we flush ?
Flambéing the toilet sounds strange but hey, it’s safer than disinfecting with Lysol (as long as you have a fire extinguisher handy, hehe)
LC: hahaa! eau de pee! cute! personally, it’s easier to deal with that in our own bathrooms. e how about the public restrooms, especially those where we have to fall in line to get to a stall? i’m gonna faint.
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17 August 2007, 3:50 pmKongkong622:
Sorry I’m commenting again….it’s Christianne’s comment kasi eh
Eau de pee? How about Vaporisateur de Poop
I’m still laughing
LC: galing! hahaha!
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17 August 2007, 4:07 pmAileen Apolo:
Gawd, now I have to run out and buy new toothbrushes!
LC: yes please
ako rin e
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17 August 2007, 4:15 pmjygva:
what about putting down the cover before flushing?
LC: thanks jygva. accdg to the article ” close the seat, and the first person who opens it gets it in his face because the aerosol will persist. “
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17 August 2007, 4:57 pmsoloops:
I too have to comment again.
Di ko maalis sa isip ko yung fecal particles in our toothbrushes, arrgh!. It brings to mind the horrors of public restrooms in courts. Someday, I’ll post photos of them and some of you are really gonna faint.
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17 August 2007, 5:17 pmRowena:
Hi Cess, parang I want to try that also pero am kinda’ scared baka umabot saken yung apoy. Good thing here at home, the bowl is away from the sink where the toothbrushes are hung.
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17 August 2007, 7:46 pmRowena:
That should be hooked or placed. What I do pa here, I clean the toilet bowl with Lysol after cleaning it with detergent powder. Then i-fllush ko twice or thrice after every use. Sa toothbrushes, i-soak ko naman sa hot water kasi minsan me ants. Yuk…Anyway, thanks for sharing this tip. Try ko mamya.
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17 August 2007, 8:01 pmjulie:
Nice, Cess, hmmm…interesting too. Thanks for sharing this trend. Gotta try it with hubby nearby holding a pail of water,
Btw, the theme designer Joni of your new look is also the one who designed what I’m using. You are using the theme she herself is using.
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17 August 2007, 8:51 pmiskoo:
i learned something here, now i am more concious on toilets.
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17 August 2007, 9:39 pmrHo:
ang galing naman nyan… subukan ko nga yan kaya lang nakakatakot! di kaya masunog yung banyo ko? nyahahaha!
thanks for sharing ate…
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17 August 2007, 9:50 pmraqgold:
am not gonna do that, scared ako. lakas ng loob mo ha. i’ve read that article too — placing toothbrushes at least 6 feet away from the toilet. that’s what Christine of Happyslip was talking about in the toilet ‘MEEEST’. my hubby is our toilet police — he disenfects them at least two times a week. and more if there are ’strangers’ who used out toilets. kahit na kamo nanay o tatay nya lang ang gumamit.
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18 August 2007, 1:54 amLynn:
This sharing is very interesting. Educational. Good that we put our toothbrushes in the kitchen area. And the toothpastes in one part of the refrigerator. But I’ll do that burning of the bowl ritual to be sure.
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18 August 2007, 5:14 pmsassy mom:
First off, I like the new look! It’s quite refreshing!
Your article is sooo interesting. Very educational. Yaan mo …. minsan gagawin ko yang experiment. Takot lang ako kasi baka the kids will see me and copy. Disaster!!!
Thanks for sharing! Happy long weekend! Stay pretty!
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18 August 2007, 9:26 pmrazberry:
i’v heard about this sa sister in law ko.. naiiwan kase ng kuya ko yung tootbrush nya sa bathroom sink…
yung toothbrush ko nilalagay ko sa ref…wahahahahaha, kase baka may kung anu-anong insectong gumapang..
LC: hahaha! ok yung sa ref
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19 August 2007, 12:01 amMari:
I heard about this through a friend, so now, I always put the lid of the bowl down whenever I flush it. If ever there would be some particles flying in my bathroom, it would not be that much…hopefully.
Bloghopped from Kneeko.
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19 August 2007, 2:18 ammousey:
oks ang disinfectant. di ba nangitim ang toilet bowl?
uy bagong ayos!
LC: nope. pero mukhang nangitim sa picture, shadow lang yan.
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19 August 2007, 3:33 amannamanila:
Oo nga pala you refurbished again. I like.
Hey, that sounds easy but risky? I just might try it … as soon as i get a fire extinguisher. But well, i go back again to this post … maybe other moms would try it and assure me tis safe.
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20 August 2007, 2:18 amauee:
Now that’s extreme toilet cleaning hehe
I formed a mental picture of your flaming toilet!
I think I read the same article years ago (baka 1995 hehe) & the “unseen” droplets stuck to my mind since then. However the most I did is to distance myself from the loo as soon as I hit the flush. And also making sure that our toiletries are nowhere near.
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21 August 2007, 12:10 amtoni:
That’s great advice ha!!! I don’t have the guts to flambe my toilet since I’m scared of fires. Hahaha! Baka himatayin ako kapag ginawa ko yan. I’ll keep this in mind though! Very helpful!
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25 August 2007, 10:28 pmWifely Steps » Blog Archive » How to clean a toilet:
[...] Or you can also set it on fire. [...]
10 December 2007, 12:01 pmoccupation: SAHM » Blog Archive » Good Reads:
[...] blog post on sterilizing toilets was chosen by Raqgold, Home and Garden Editor of Pinoy Moms Network, to be featured in the said [...]
11 August 2008, 7:49 pmannamanila:
Oh, yes, I remember this from your old post. Toilet bowl flambe eh? Sounds culinary. eeeekkkk! More seriously, I think this is a hot tip for all home managers.
annamanilas last blog post..Food Trippin’ ala- Gagalangin (Tondo), circa nevermind
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13 August 2008, 8:47 am