You’re probably doing these si

You’re probably doing these six things in the bathroom… and you shouldn’t

Ick!

You’re probably doing these si

Bathroom habits can be quite odd. If you’ve ever moved into a digs or with a partner or with a friend, you’ll know that some folks do some damn strange things in there.

But a lot of us also do some ordinary things that actually aren’t a good idea. Here’s a few of them.

1. Not washing your hands for long enough

Washing your hands is pretty much one of the first things you’re taught to do when you start using the loo on your own. But you’re never taught how long you’re supposed to wash them for. The rule of thumb, according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is 20 seconds. Or, singing Happy Birthday twice.

2. Not washing your towel often enough

Bacteria accumulates on bath towels pretty quickly. It thrives in damp towels and if you don’t wash your towel at least once a week, all that bacteria will end up back on your body. If you’re sharing the towel with somebody else, well don’t.

3. Not washing your bathroom floor often enough

You might think the bathroom is pretty clean but one study found that bathroom floors can harbour as much as 2 million bacteria per square inch.

4. Flushing with the lid up

Flushing with the lid up is a terrible idea. What studies call “toilet plume” – which happens when you flush and aerosolized feces shoots up in the air (over 4.5m to be exact) can contaminate all sorts of things. In 2012 a study at Leeds University found that a germ called C. difficile can fly more than 20cm above the toilet seat. The germ can lead to nausea and vomiting.

5. Your toothbrush is kept too close to the toilet

Keeping with the theme of nasties being catapulted from the toilet, if your toothbrush is kept next to the loo or close to it, there’s a risk that those gross germs could land on your toothbrush and end up in your mouth. Harvard University recommends a safe 1.8m distance between toothbrush and toilet.

6. Using earbuds to clean your ears

We know, we know. They feel so damn good, but using earbuds to clean your ears is bad idea. You can end up pushing wax even deeper into your ear canal and, of course, you could hurt yourself. The recommendation is to use a wet wash cloth to clean up.