As we have discussed before, there is a “toilet plume” effect when you flush. Shit and piss particles do get ejected from the toilet.
Despite all the evidence there are still many “toilet plume deniers” in the republican party. Though some of them admit that it exists but think its a natural effect, sent by God.
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link:https://www.self.com/story/toilet-plume-poop-spray
“…Toilet plume sounds like it should be the most popular DIY trend on Pinterest. Adorn that plain ol’ toilet with a collection of decorative feathers for an elevated pooping experience! Unfortunately, the actual definition of toilet plume is far less delightful.
Toilet plume is a term for what happens when the force of flushing sprays microscopic particles of pee, poop, and whatever else is in the bowl into the air. “‘[This plume] is easily transmitted in a wide range of air space when you flush the toilet,” Kelly Reynolds, Ph.D., an associate professor of environmental and occupational health at the University of Arizona who has studied toilet plume, tells SELF.
Unfortunately there’s not a wealth of research about exactly how far toilet plume can reach. One 2005 study in the Journal of Applied Microbiology found that microorganisms reached a vertical height of 2.7 feet after a toilet was flushed, but other information is scant. In general, Reynolds says the microbiology community’s consensus is that the spray can reach around six feet away from the toilet. That’s by no means a proven number, and a lot more research needs to be done to cement just how far toilet plume can go…
…So, what does science have to say about whether toilet plume can make you sick? A 2015 review published in the American Journal of Infection Control analyzed various small studies in which researchers purposefully put certain pathogens in a toilet, flushed, and then monitored how far they went and how long they lingered. The kinds of bacteria they included can often be found in the human intestines, then come out in poop or vomit and make you sick when ingested.
One study found that E. coli, which can cause diarrhea and vomiting, lingered in the air for up to four to six hours after flushing. Another determined that salmonella, which can cause similar symptoms, lingered in the toilet bowl for 50 days after it was put in there, got aerosolized every time people flushed, and contaminated surfaces like the toilet flusher and door handle. Still another found that Clostridium difficile, which can cause fever, diarrhea, stomach pain, or even a life-threatening infection, hung out in the air above the toilet for up to 90 minutes after flushing.
This all sounds disgusting and terrifying and….
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Well, ok, but I took his question as being what’s causing the smell. That poop smell isn’t caused by inhaling the airborne bacteria from the toilet plume, it’s caused by the lingering metabolic gases released by the bacteria that are found in the poop. The sense of smell happens on the molecular level, and there is no poop molecule. What you smell is the gases produced by bacteria that are in the poop.
