When we read through health tips on how to stay healthy, major points that come up are: maintaining a healthy body weight, consuming a healthy diet, exercising regularly, drinking lots of water amongst others.
I will like to add one more to that list today as it is very important to maintain clean and hygienic toilets to prevent transmission of germs and infections. An unclean and unhygienic toilet can be a source of several infections and diseases.
The toilet is a facility where lots of waste products from our body are excreted in form of urine and faeces in a safe and convenient way.
Toilet hygiene does not only involve proper etiquette when using the toilet, but also the cleanliness and maintenance of the toilet.
Toilet etiquette includes:
- Avoid bringing phones, gadgets and books into the toilets. They can serve as surfaces for germs and bacteria to cling to and spread.
- Clean up the toilet after use by flushing properly and disposing toiletries.
When flushing, cover the toilet seat to avoid spread of germs and smell into the atmosphere. - Disinfect and Flush the toilet before sitting on it.
- Leave the toilet seat covered after use.
- Washing your hands with soap and water after using the toilet. Dry them before leaving the toilet.
Hand washing should be done with soap and water, not just water alone. This is important to kill germs and bacteria that your hands are contaminated with from the toilet environs.
It is also advisable to dry your hands either with a disposable paper towel or a hand dryer. This is because wet hands easily pick up germs and the rate at which these germs on a wet hands spread are higher than dry hands. Also certain parts of the toilets that we touch frequently such as sinks, faucet handles can serve as a nidus for infectious organisms that can be transmitted when someone else touches them.
Toilet cleanliness and maintenance
This is important as toilets have an unlimited lifespan, but requires proper care and maintenance.
- Cleaning the inside bowl of the toilet should be done carefully with the aid of a brush and toilet wash or cleaner. Attention should be given to the hidden part of the toilet bowl as they carry lots of bacteria.
- The toilet cleaner should not be abrasive to avoid wearing down the glossy finish of the toilet over time.
- Avoid keeping lots of objects in the toilet as they will serve good hideouts and breeding spaces for germs and bacteria.
- Adequate ventilation is essential for a healthy toilet. This would enable the toilet smell nice and prevent moisture build-up.
- Washing the toilet should be done at least once a week. Special attention should be given to toilet seats and curves around the toilet seats. Disinfection of the toilet seat, lid and handle surfaces is also important.
- Avoid flushing foreign objects into the toilets as it would clog and block the toilet drainage.
- Watch out for cracks, leakages and other defects in the toilet components. Repair them as they arise.
Image Credit
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Ezike Nonye is a Pharmacist who completed her Bachelor degree from University of Lagos (B.Pharm). She is currently exploring digital marketing analytics as a novel field in Pharmacy practice while also interning at the Federal Medical Center (FMC) Abeokuta, Ogun State, Nigeria. She is a graphic designer, a blogger and an entrepreneur. She is passionate about creating new things from nature and believes that there is no limitation to what you can achieve. She is a Christian and loves writing and open to new ideas and skills.
