Paper toilet seat covers are found in many public restrooms, but just how effective are they in preventing the transmission of germs and viruses from one person to another? Everyone knows that paper toilet seat covers have their problems so why are they available in the first place? Do they really provide a degree of protection or are they there more to give peace of mind?
The advocates of these flimsy covers will use the transmission of disease as the main reason they should be used. The truth is; you will not catch a sexually transmitted disease if you do not use one and sit directly on the seat. STDs, including Herpes do not live long without a human host. Within a matter of minutes after leaving the host body they die, they will not last long on any surface, including a toilet seat.
Certainly there are germs on a toilet seat but the chances of picking up a virus are remote. The person who used the toilet previously would have had to wipe his hands on the seat and you, to pick up the germ, would have to do the same. After you had wiped your hands on the right part of the seat you would then have to use the same hand to touch your mouth or nose. This argument is stretching the imagination just a little too far; a sane person would never do this.
Even if you understand the virtual impossibility of germ transfer, there is still the issue with stray matter such as fecal material and drops of urine that may very well remain on the seat. Once again, are these paper toilet seat covers effective or not? Perhaps if you use one to clean the material off the seat and then another one you may provide some protection but very little if any. Out of necessity the covers must be extremely thin; otherwise they could block the toilet. If there is any liquid at all, it will simply soak right through the cover. Even those that have a thin film of wax are not spared, they too will allow liquid to penetrate.
The truth is, they are useless, they are too thin and urine, fecal matter and germs can bleed straight through. The only true toilet seat cover that will provide protection is one which is not porous and wraps completely around the seat and is changed after every visitor. These covers were created by Brill Hygienic Products and are found in many public restrooms where the management truly cares for their customers.