Is it safe to sit on public toilet seats?

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wrf3k	They are safe, the chances of catching anything are miniscule. Use common sense, if it looks like someone missed, dont sit on it. If you are worried, most places have those toliet seat covers and or you can use toliet paper. It isnt a risk worth getting bent out of shape over. Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No

evilprincess	what about door knobs, shopping cart handles, atm machines, etc ?? the list goes on and on. Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No

Quartro Ninos	That's so gross. Would you drink out of any random stranger's glass? Same concept... Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No

ben_houston_v	nooooooooooo!!!!!!!!!!! 2 words *** gasket!!!! Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No

caleythia1	Yes, it's safe. There is no medical evidence to support the general paranoia that you cna catch all manner of funky illnesses. Bacteria (and crabs, which I've commonly heard cited as somethig you cna get from a toilet seat) need a warm, moist place to live, and somthing to live on. Toilet seats, and bathrooms in general, are too cool to support bacteria if they are cleaned a fairly regular basis. any bacteria present on teh average public toilet seta wouldn't live very long at all. As an above poster said, use your common sense. If the seat looks grungy, don't sit. But, in most cases, you'll be fine. I recommend that you check out an episode of Penn and Teller's Bullshit where they actually have swabs from toilet seats tested by a microbiologist. Very interesting episode. Funnily enough, nothing grew in the petrie dish. Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No

DEATH	Did you know a public toilet seat is cleaner than most office desktops? Those little buggers don't like cold dry conditions. If the toilet seat is wet, cover it. But most of the time the seat itself is dry and cold...infections/bug/germs don't live in those conditions. Yeah, their generally safe. But I try to only use certain places I know that are cleaned on a regular basis. I used to be Limo Driver for a time, I got to know where the Best public toilets were in the city and burbs. Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No

Penguin Gal	ewww---if you need to sit at least put down one of those paper guard things....yuck!!!! Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No

Opus	YES it's safe. Complete MYTH that they're a problem. http://abcnews.go.com/2020/Health/story?id=1213831&page=1 The biggest problem are with the idiots who "hover" and then spray all over the seat!. If you've gotta "hover", LIFT THE SEAT!! Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No

petwoip	Im not exactly sure, but I don't ever remember a time getting sick from sitting on public toilets. Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No

♫♥♠♥♠♫®Æ	G-d doesn't want you to know Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No

brenda4ever	I never sit lol I squat Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No

polly_peptide	In hotels they clean the toilets with disinfectant every day. So that makes it likely much safer than the toilet in your home. I know I don't clean mine every day. As for those in public restrooms, if the place doesn't look clean, hover or go somewhere else. Overall though, toilet seats are pretty clean. Cleaner than the average phone anyway. I think a better question to ask is, if the toilet seat was dirty, how much of a health risk is it? I'd say practically none, but it never hurts to be safe. Being totally paranoid about germs though, is what tends to make people sick. You need to be exposed to things periodically to keep your immune system charged... if you live in a bubble, your immunity will go down, as the world around you evolves and you don't. Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No

nrs131	no i never dont cause som ppl have diseases Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No

pokergirl101	In public I squat usually, but only because I'm paranoid. They actually DO clean the seats, but you never know what kind of disease the person before you had. In hotel rooms I just sit on the seat because even though it's probably not any safer, at least you know it's just you for the time being. Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No

krupa k	no i dont think so Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No

Cool it	hotel rooms have maids daily clean them. public airport toilets are cleaned daily....pther than that, no. Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No

dantestraw	No definitely not. In Europe, toilets flush with a complicated vacuum system that has been known to accidentally operate while the user is still sitting on the seat. It can cause you to become stuck or, in a worst case scenario, cause your lower intestines to be sucked out of your anus. Don't laugh. This happened to my cousin and he nearly died. Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No

PC	i DO NOT recommend doing this. you could get crabs or anything. public toilet seats are nasty!! Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No

jst_friends_4ever	yakkkkkkkkk how can u ask a question like this???????? but i m tellin u its damm unsafe. nvr sit ewwwww Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No

daydreamer06	NO...YOU SHOULD ALWAYS SQUAT!!! Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No

Alexandra S	I guess if you use public ones then put a disposable toilet seat cover. But at a hotel, wipe it down. Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No

Consulate	no never Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No

swtdelicaterose	It is safe. There are no big risks, there just might be a bit of bacteria--like everywhere else. The toilet seat in hotel rooms are fairly clean. I've worked in the hotel industry, and housekeeping always did a very nice job of cleaning the toilets after dirty dirty guests. If you still are afraid of public toilets, grab some paper towel and soak it in hot water and wipe the seat down; and if that's not enough, put some toilet pape on top of the seat before you sit down. Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No

benjamin439	No never but they are cleaner then public sinks Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No

Me	no its highly unsafe.. i've had lot of problems after tht.. doctor has advised never to sit on tht again... Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No

groovusy	Best to hover! Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No

Chris K	why should you know? Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No

saulg21	That's why I carry Lysol disinfectant wipes in the car. Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No

♥ Krista ♥	its overall safe but there is a risk of getting "crabs" (pubic lice) from toilet seats. Its so low, its unreal. A kid did a science project on it, and tsted the cleanliness of the toilet water and the cleanlines to the ice dispenser, at a Mc Donalds or something, and the ice dispenser was dirtier than the toilet, lol. It was in the papers, because the methodology was nearly perfect, and and his colection technique was correct, and everything. Really neat. One thing to consider, stil- if youre squeamish: The stall in the middle of the row is generally the one that is used the most, so its probably (logically) the dirtiest. If you ever walk into a bathroom with 3 stalls on one side, or more, go check out the middle toilet and see how icky it is. Then go to the furthest one, in the back (I use the handicapped stalls, usually- theyre really clean) and see ow clean it is in comparison. I have actually spent a few weks, checking to see if this was true, just flipping stall doors open to see how clean they are. Some of them sparkle, and some of them are disgusting, but I will tell you this- its the middle stalls that are the nasty ones, so ry to avoid those, and youre fine. You can also lay a strip of toilet paper on the seat, before sitting down, as a barrier. Hotel rooms are probably pretty safe, also, cause they clean the toilets daily.. They wash the sinks and counters with a rag, and then use that rag to wipe down the toilet, (and a scrubbr to brush it) all done with disinfectant spray. The rag gets tossed into a laundry sack, afterwards. Honestly, with hotel rooms, I would be more careful of the sinks and bathtubs than the toilets. They do was the bathtubs, and they generally do it all in the right order, sink, shower, then toilet, but its not hard to imagine a new housekeeper screwing up the sequence, lol. So when you check in, ask for a few rags and some cleaner, and just do a once over. This is just hotel rooms, but generally they are cleaned properly, and only used by one to 3 people a day, unlike a public restroom bathroom that can be used by a hundred people or more in a day. But hey if youre that squeamish, I gues its up to you to clean the place up, haha... Good Luck... Its not unsafe, remember- its okay. Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No

bmac	Never. Always hover over it or line the seat with about 3 inches of toilet paper. Serious. Do you want your hiney to touch something that came out of some stranger? EWW. Hotel rooms I also bring some disinfectant wipes and wipe it down myself just to make sure. People do some nasty s*** so just be cautious. Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No

billy8two	not after i pee on it Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No