Basic social skills motivate most people to close the lid on the toilet when they are finished in the restroom, but not all comply. Recent reports might change those habits.Closing toilet lids is the best method to prevent spray, but not all facilities feature lids on the commodes. In this case, it’s best to clean toilet bowls regularly, so as to reduce the bacteria present when flushing. Bacteria can rise up to 10 inches into the air, but it doesn’t always come down as quickly as it sprays up. The particles might still be suspended up to an hour and a half later.

Those germs don’t float forever – they’ll eventually hit the floor, where people will walk over them and track them throughout the facility.

In standard toilets commonly found in homes or small offices, it’s common to use “drop-in” cleaners that constantly clean toilet bowls. These can cut back on the amount of germs that spew out during a flush, but they can also damage the rubber flaps and other mechanisms inside the tank. In these situations, cleaning with an in-bowl solution and then disinfecting the tank, seat and handle is a better bet.