Not at all. The water from your toilet is the same water that’s in the pipes feeding your kitchen sink and ice maker. Albeit the water has touched fairly unsanitary surfaces, like the inside of the toilet tank and resting in the bowl itself, it wouldn’t kill you.

Symptoms of gastrointestinal illness from contaminated water can include diarrhea, abdominal cramps, nausea and vomiting. Those symptoms can take 24 to 48 hours to develop, says Forni, so you might not get sick for a day or two after drinking bad water.

Body waste is consistently released into toilet water and, even though the toilet is flushed after each use, residual bacteria can stay behind in the standing water in the bowl. The consumption of this bacteria can cause health problems such as E. coli, severe diarrhea, stomach cramps, and skin infections.

Depending on the concentration of cleaner in the toilet bowl, the water can cause chemical burns in the mouth and throat while going down, as well as other serious consequences.

On average, a toilet bowl contains 3.2 million bacteria per square inch*. It is in addition to the bacteria found on the other parts that you have come into contact with. The flush handle that’s covered in as much as 83 bacteria per sq. in and the toilet seat that’s surrounded with over 295 bacteria per sq.

No STD is harmless. Myth: You can catch an STD from a toilet seat, telephone or other object used by an infected person. Fact: STDs are transmitted by vaginal, anal, and oral sex. Some STDs may spread to a baby during pregnancy, childbirth, or breastfeeding.

Human faeces can carry a wide range of transmissible pathogens: Campylobacter, Enterococcus, Escherichia coli, Salmonella, Shigella, Staphylococcus, Streptococcus and Yersinia bacteria – as well as viruses such as norovirus, rotavirus and hepatitis A and E, just to name a few.

It is bacteria known as Serratia marcescens, according to Roxanne Johnson, North Dakota State University Extension Service water quality associate. You may find this bacterium in moist areas such as toilet bowls, sinks, tiles, shower stalls, bathtub enclosures and even your pet’s water dish.

1. It’s More Sanitary. If you need a reason besides common courtesy (which we’ll get to in a minute) to put the toilet seat back down, try this: we should actually all be putting both the toilet seat AND the toilet lid down, because flushing with the toilet lid up can cause germs from the toilet to spread into the air.

Most men don’t seem to think it’s rude. They either put the seat up or down, depending on what they’re planning to do next. I think it’s a bit inconsiderate to leave the seat up when others must use that same toilet, but I would rather just put the seat down myself than make a federal case out of it.

Make sure you do not wet the toilet seat. Females should always sit on the toilet seat while peeing. Male employees should always stand a little close to the toilet seat to avoid dripping. Never forget to use flush once you are done. Check the toilet seat for unwanted stains or substance.

As a general principle, it’s best to leave the seat in the position in which you yourself used it, with the responsibility being on the next user, whatever their gender, to put the seat into the appropriate position to suit their particular anatomy. …

If you’re standing up while using a toilet, lift the seat before you unleash the stream and put the seat back down when you’re finished. This technique serves dual purposes: It keeps you from accidentally spraying the seat, and it protects the next user from falling in. As with most rules, there are some exceptions.

The best direction of the toilet seat, according to Vastu, is in the south-east or north-west side. This should be in such a way that a person using it is not facing either the east or the west.

Vastu Shastra may not be essential for living, but it is helpful for a better and healthier life. It is the science of environment you live in. The energy generating in the environment you live will define the energy you build in you and your mind.

There are also rules about having toilets opening directly onto a living space or a kitchen rather than a hallway or a bedroom. Previously there was a “two door” rule enforced between any toilet and the kitchen but these rules have now been relaxed as long as the new bathroom includes a sink for hand washing.