You should pay more attention to this when using the toilet. In Shanghai, a paid toilet seat was recharged with 1,000 yuan and used 138,000 times? Fake! actually

Recently, a piece of news "Shanghai's paid toilet seat can be recharged with 1,000 yuan and used 138,000 times" became a hot search topic. Some netizens thought that they had to pay to use public toilets. However, verification by the Shanghai Rumor Refuting Platform found that the news was inaccurate.

It’s not something new, nor is it “if you don’t pay, you can’t use it.”

On the one hand, "paid toilet seat" is not a new thing. Its essence is to automatically change the toilet seat.

As early as many years ago, some hotels, restaurants and other public places in Shanghai had related products. Using an infrared identifier, the toilet seat can automatically replace the disposable plastic film covering the toilet seat, achieving "one change per person" and "one change per use".

Relevant companies have introduced this kind of replacement toilet seats into shopping malls, office buildings and other places to achieve pay-per-use consumption. After consumers scan the code and pay, they can use the new disposable plastic film. However, if consumers do not pay, they can still use the toilet normally, but they cannot replace the plastic film on the toilet seat.

On the other hand, "1,000 yuan is used 138,000 times" is not accurate. The customer service staff of the company explained that the picture in the online message came from a test equipment at an exhibition. The relevant amount and number of times were set for internal testing, and orders cannot be placed. Moreover, according to the internal testing data at that time, there were options such as "recharge 20 yuan and use 2,300 times", and 1,000 yuan was only the highest option.

The so-called "someone recharged 1,000 yuan" is also misunderstood, "because we are also expanding corporate business, and the enterprise will recharge it uniformly for employees to use." Perhaps due to differences in introduction and understanding, and the relevant information publisher deliberately highlighted the "1,000 yuan package" ”, leading to the spread of misinformation online.

After verification by the Shanghai Rumor Refuting Platform, the normal sales packages of relevant companies are 20 yuan, 50 yuan, and 100 yuan.

In fact, toilets in public places in Shanghai are free to use, and facilities are constantly being upgraded and services improved. According to incomplete statistics, there are more than 2,000 public sanitation toilets in the city alone, and toilets in subways, shopping malls, and star-rated hotels are also open to the outside world. Toilets in many public places also provide free disposable toilet seat paper, toilet seat disinfectant, etc. to improve service levels. Paid toilet seats are not common, and currently involve more than 40 places.

Another reason why paid toilet seats attract attention is related to the public's concern about the hygiene of public toilets.

However, there are many misunderstandings on this topic.

First of all, some people think that using public toilets may cause them to contract infectious diseases, even STDs, AIDS, etc. The China Association for Science and Technology has refuted the rumors many times and said that this is a complete misunderstanding.

Three conditions must be met for the spread of diseases through the toilet: first, the previous person who used the toilet became ill and left a large amount of fresh body fluids; second, the latter user had a wound or had direct genital contact with the pathogen; third, the latter user The immunity is low enough, such as suffering from a serious illness or taking drugs that suppress the immune system for a long time. It can be said that the probability of meeting the above three conditions is very low.

Moreover, germs require certain conditions to survive. The smooth surface of the toilet seat is not suitable for the growth of germs. Viruses such as genital warts, syphilis, HPV, and HIV cannot survive for a long time after leaving the human body. Therefore, there is currently no reliable evidence that sexually transmitted diseases can be transmitted from person to person through public toilets.

Secondly, public toilets are not necessarily dirtier than household toilets.

Some media tested the germ situation in public toilets, home toilets, and in different situations such as squatting and sitting, and found that if the public toilet is disinfected regularly every day, the number of bacterial colonies remaining on the toilet is significantly less than that of a domestic toilet. Because people rarely use disinfectant to clean and disinfect toilets at home every day, flushing with water has a limited effect in removing germs.

Of course, we will also encounter public toilets that are not cleaned in time. At this time, it is recommended to use 75% alcohol, disinfectant provided by some toilets, etc. to wipe the toilet seat, or use disposable toilet pads. It should be noted that do not squat on the toilet seat. This action is very dangerous and can easily lead to injuries.

Finally, squatting is not necessarily cleaner than sitting.

Using a squat toilet can avoid skin contact with the squat toilet, and it feels more hygienic and cleaner than a toilet. But many people don't know that squatting uses direct flushing, and the height of the cyclone generated can even be as high as one person, which means "bacteria are splashed" and "diseases enter from the mouth." Therefore, if you use squatting, it is recommended to wear a mask when flushing.

Whether it is a public toilet or a household toilet, you must pay attention to these two points

To clarify the misunderstanding, it does not mean that there are no germs in the toilet.

For example, intestinal bacteria are released during defecation. Although skin contact is generally not contagious, if you touch these microorganisms and then touch your mouth, nose, eyes, etc., you may become ill, that is, "fecal-oral" transmission.

Washing hands under running water is the simplest and most effective way to prevent various infectious diseases, so be sure to remember to "wash hands after defecation."

Many people also overlook one detail: not closing the toilet seat when flushing the toilet. In fact, it's riskier than sitting on a public toilet.

When you open the lid and flush the toilet, the cyclone formed turns the germs in the toilet into aerosol particles that fill the surrounding air. Experiments have shown that these aerosol particles containing germs are ejected at an initial speed of 2 meters per second and reach a height of 1.5 meters above the toilet in 8 seconds. They can also remain suspended in the air for hours, contaminating other items in the toilet. Studies have shown that after flushing with the toilet lid open, the concentration of bacteria detected in the toilet environment can be 12 times higher than when flushing with the lid closed.

It can be seen that the most likely time to be exposed to bacteria and viruses when going to the toilet is not necessarily when sitting or squatting, but when flushing with the lid open. Therefore, whether in a public toilet or your own toilet, the toilet seat must be closed when flushing. This can not only prevent germs from being sprayed out of the toilet, but also avoid contact with aerosol cyclones containing germs.