It’s no secret that public bathrooms can be scary places. Even if you’re not a germaphobe, it’s hard to deny the fact that many people before you used the same toilet you’re planning on using. What germs and bacteria lie in wait on and around the seat is anyone’s guess.
Well, actually, we know what’s on that public toilet seat just waiting to make you sick, and it isn’t pretty.
While our skin does an awesome job of protecting us from some pretty nasty stuff, it isn’t always enough to protect us from everything. Toilet seats harbor bacteria such as E-coli and staph, which easily enter the body through minute tears in the skin. Once inside your body, these germs cause serious skin and stomach problems.
There’s a lot of controversy as to whether toilet seat covers are beneficial or not in protecting people from these nasty germs, but the truth is, they are. Furthermore, automatic toilet seat covers take that protection even further by providing an easy, hands-free way to use toilet seat covers for the utmost in germ-fighting protection.
Rather than just taking your chances with a naked toilet seat, or avoiding the public bathroom altogether (we all know this isn’t always possible), protect yourself and the rest of your bathroom visitors with hands-free public bathroom toilet seat covers.
The Nasty on the Nasties
The minute you enter a public bathroom, you’re exposed to any number of germs and bacteria that could potentially make you sick. While no one has ever caught a sexually transmitted disease from a public toilet, the risk is still there all the same. Whether it’s possible or not is neither here nor there because if just the thought of catching something keeps you from using the bathroom when you need to, the fear is real. Take a look below at five germs you do come in contact with when you use a public restroom.
- Influenza and the common cold: The influenza virus can live on almost any surface, including toilet seats, for up to three days. Some strains, including the Bird Flu can live on non-porous surfaces even longer.
- Stapholococcus (staph): Remember when the staph strain called MRSA first came on the scene? People were scared beyond words, and for good reason. MRSA is a penicillin-resistant virus that’s killed many people to date, and it can live on a toilet seat for up to two months.
- Streptococcus: This little nasty is quite common. It’s found in your throat naturally, and if you’ve ever had bronchial pneumonia or strep throat, you know what we’re talking about. Besides causing throat and lung issues, streptococci are also responsible for some skin issues such as impetigo, and even scarier, necrotizing fasciitis (also known as the flesh-eating virus).
- Shigella bacteria: Anyone who forgets to wash their hands after using the bathroom, or doesn’t do it properly puts everyone else who enters that facility at risk for exposure to the Shigella bacteria. More commonly known for causing dysentery, this bacteria comes from feces, and it can live on the non-porous surface of a toilet seat or any other surface for quite some time.
- E-coli: E-coli is a fecal-borne nasty that’s right at home in public bathrooms. Water splashing up from inside the toilet when it’s flushed deposits this microscopic bacteria on the surface where you come in contact with it when you sit down. E-coli has been known to survive on toilet seats for as long as two weeks, even after the surfaces have been cleaned!
It’s pretty scary, isn’t it? The good news is, installing an automatic toilet seat cover system for each toilet can protect everyone from the transmission of these germs from the toilet seat to their body.
For more information on automatic toilet seat covers and how they protect visitors from dangerous germs lurking on toilet seats in public restrooms, give us a call at 1-800-330-6696. We can’t wait to tell you all about the Brill Seat, our newest and most innovative solution to making public toilets sanitary and safe in the easiest and most affordable way possible.