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Gross! WHAT Happens When You Flush?
 If this doesn't make you buy a new toothbrush, nothing will. If you flush the toilet without first closing the lid, germy droplets of bacteria from the toilet are released into the air and will likely land on your toothbrush--and just about everything else in the bathroom.
"The water aerosolizes 20 feet from the center of the flush," Dr. Philip M. Tierno, author of "The Secret Life of Germs" and a professor at New York University Medical Center told Albany, New York's Capital News 9 TV. He advises shutting the lid before you flush and rinsing your toothbrush with mouthwash or peroxide every single day. Or just store it in the medicine cabinet.
Another college professor who studies germs up close and personal is Dr. Charles Gerba, an environmental microbiologist from the University of Arizona. Lest you think Tierno is exaggerating, he's not. Gerba told the Arizona Alumnus magazine that if you look at close-up photos of the "germy ejecta" that are spewed in the air from a toilet flush, they "look like Baghdad at night during a U.S. air attack."
But your bathroom isn't the dirtiest room in the house. Your kitchen gets that award. Tierno insists your kitchen sponge or dishrag is filled with far more bacteria than the toilet bowl or garbage can. How can that be? "It's worse than the bathroom 'cause here's where you have all your road kill, you have chickens, steaks," he told Capital News 9.
A new study sponsored by Brillo puts it in perspective: Almost half the people questioned admitted they use the same sponge to wipe the cutting board, the counters, and the dishes. Tierno advises changing the sponge every week or two and disinfecting it every day in a solution of one ounce of bleach mixed with a quart of water. You can also clean it in the dishwasher or microwave it (make sure it's wet) for one minute on high.
What's in that sponge? Read on if you dare. Gerba says it's fecal coliform bacteria from raw meat. The warm, damp sponge is a perfect breeding ground. Just think what happens when you wipe down your countertops with that sponge! Of 15 household items that Gerba analyzed for bacteria, the kitchen sponge was No. 1, followed by the kitchen sink, the bathroom sink, and the kitchen faucet handle. The toilet was last on this list. He quipped to the Alumnus, "If an alien came from space and studied the bacterial counts, he probably would conclude he should wash his hands in your toilet and crap in your sink."
What can you do? Gerba advises cleaning kitchen and bathroom sinks and drains every day with a cleanser that contains chlorine bleach, which will kill 99.9 percent of fecal organisms. Do the same to countertops, appliances, and faucet handles two to three times a week, and hit the toilets, tubs, and showers weekly.
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