Toilet plume

A toilet plume is the invisible cloud-like dispersal of potentially infectious microscopic sewage particles & water vapor as a result of flushing a toilet.^[1] Science has demonstrated that these particles rapidly rise out of the bowl and several feet into the air after flushing. Day to day use of a toilet by healthy individuals is considered to be of a lower health risk. However, if an individual is sick with something and currently shedding out large quantities of an infectious virulent pathogen (virus or bacteria) in their urine, feces or vomitus, this dynamic completely changes. Aerosolization of the toilet bowl contents allows these particles to free-float haphazardly, to either be inhaled or land on surfaces. There is evidence that specific pathogens such as norovirus or SARS coronavirus can be spread by toilet aerosols. It has been hypothesized that dispersal of pathogens may be reduced by closing the toilet lid before flushing, and by using toilets with lower flush energy. A 2024 study empirically disproved this theory, illustrating that the viruses that toilet plume contains still spread out the gaps in the seat onto the walls and concentrating on the surrounding floors. Resulting in viral cross contamination of the air and surfaces in a washroom.^[2]