Hopefully you mastered toilet training a long time ago, but it turns out there's something you may have been doing wrong all this time - exposing yourself to millions of harmful bacteria.
Not putting the seat down when you flush to toilet sends germs flying all over your bathroom, experts warned.
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The Daily Telegraph report it's called "the aerosol affect", and leads to faecal matter landing on and around your toilet.
"You get a good spray out of the toilet area," says Charles P Gerba, a professor of microbiology at the University of Arizona.
"When droplets come out of the toilet, it looks like the 4th of July."
The average person reportedly flushes the toilet five to six times each day, adding up to nearly 2000 flushes per year.
The most common types of bacteria found in the bathroom are nasty bugs like E.coli, streptococcus and salmonella, which can trigger nasty bouts of food poisoning.
Back in 2012, researchers at Leeds University tested the air above toilets and discovered that a particular germ called C. difficile (which causes violent bacteria and vomiting) can be hurled up to 26cm above toilet seats every time they're flushed without closing the lid.
But, as well as shutting the loo seat, there are other ways you can reduce the risk of toilet germs hitting you - and your toiletries.
Professor Gerba suggests moving your toothbrush at least a couple of metres away from the toilet, to avoid spray, and perhaps installing a 'drop in' cleaner attached to the toilet rim.
Newshub.
