Any household shared by men and women inevitably deals with a pressing question: what do you do with the toilet seat after it's used?
Conventionally, it's considered courteous for men to always lower the seat back down after they've urinated.
But is that necessarily the optimal solution? As it happens, a few different economists have considered this question — and found that, if your priority is minimizing the total amount of toilet-seat moving (and therefore touching) that goes on or making things fair, it's not necessarily the best strategy.
There’s a Solution to the Toilet Seat Up or Down Debate. Maybe? Sort Of?
It's a debate the happens in all households: should the seat be up or down? Turns out, there's a bunch of research that's tackled this extremely important issue.
I've never really understood the toilet seat up or down debate. The solution, as I see it, is simple: Guys, after lifting the seat to pee, should put the seat back down. It’s more sanitary and it makes everything a bit easier for the women in your life. It’s a sign of respect and placing the seat down is also an act of solidarity. All this aside, putting the toilet seat down also puts it in its proper resting position. Otherwise, the toilet looks like an always-open mouth and I don’t care for that at all.
Still, this bathroom debate rages on. People go wild over it. I know multiple adults — couples who love their spouses and have kids and jobs and second homes — who continuously cite this as one of the most irritating aspects of their entire relationship. Is it because it’s the small issue that builds and builds until a larger debate erupts? Probably. But it’s also because, most often, the scenario plays out like this: The wife wants it down, the husband says something along the lines of “Yeah, okay. Sometimes I forget. What does it matter?” and a fight starts. Or the accusation of leaving the toilet seat up is leveled by a wife at a time when it definitely shouldn’t be. Still, a larger, more serious argument ensues. It’s not really about the toilet set. But it’s not not about the toilet seat, you know?
Part of the reason the argument comes up is that the up-or-down debate fits in with the “Is a hot dog a sandwich?” and “Should the toilet paper roll be over or under?” brand of seemingly inconsequential, petty issues that become viral tweets or sitcom cliches that we mindlessly absorb. They lodge themselves in our heads and we think they’re things we should care about because someone told us to care about them. I’m not saying this issue is petty and shouldn’t be cared about. What I am saying is that certain couples care about it so much because they’ve been taught to care about it so much. That’s why a fight about the toilet seat evolves into an argument that ends with “Your mother has always hated me, Sandra!”
Wife's 'revenge' against husband who always leaves toilet seat up splits opinion
Men leaving the toilet seat up is a pet peeve for many people, but this wife has split opinion on Mumsnet after taking matters into her own hands. "Basically, my husband and I have an ongoing dispute over the downstairs toilet. I have asked him a million times to put the lid down after he uses it - which is about every half hour ..." she wrote.
"I have sent him links to articles about hygiene and also put a large note on top of the toilet asking him nicely to put the lid down in case he just forgets. I have pointed out that our baby is going to start crawling soon and, as the downstairs look is between the living room and kitchen, she is probably going to end up in there numerous times. "Every request is met with an eye roll and him saying that it's not a big deal or just ignored."
"So tonight I have decided that every time he leaves the lid up I will empty a beer down the sink and leave the bottle upside down. Am I being unreasonable?" she finished.
Man pens BRILLIANT response to a woman asking for the toilet seat to be left down
Should men always put down the toilet seat? One brave man decided to respond to the note
A woman, who’d had enough of men leaving the toilet seat up in a communal loo she used, decided to put up a reminder. The note read: “Guys, please put the seat down when you’re done.”
While many males do as they’re told to avoid any further confrontation, one ballsy man using the mixed sex facility felt like penning a response. Replying in green pen on the note, the man says: “Girls, please put the seat up when you’re done. We don’t want to touch it either.”
And this is where the argument begins - why do women insist they shouldn’t be the ones to put down the toilet seat, when they never leave it up for men?
Up or Down? The Never-Ending Toilet Seat Battle
To leave up? or down? The toilet seat battle
Unlike many in the world, I actually grew up in a household full of girls. My dad was around but my four younger sisters and I never had to share a bathroom with him. We shared with each other, and since we had no brothers we never had to experience that unpleasant feeling of falling through the toilet while trying to sit down where there was no toilet seat.
Maybe growing up like this spoiled me a bit, but now that I am married I have learned that leaving the toilet seat down is not something that all males will do for you on a regular basis and that some men actually find it annoying when we (ladies) leave the toilet seat down instead of up for them.
This is the never-ending toilet seat battle that our two genders face, and after some research and debate I have come up with some facts, tips, and ideas that may help you whether you are a male or a female in the great toilet seat debate. In This Article:
- The Man's Opinion
- The Woman's Opinion
- Some Bathroom Statistics
- Common Courtesy
- Health Issues
- Our Solution
Put The Toilet Seat Down – Couples Etiquette
A woman leaving the lid up & the seat down is just as inconsiderate & self-centered as a man leaving the seat up
Theoretically, what goes up, should come down. This is the backbone of the toilet seat issue. It is most courteous to always put the seat down after lifting it for use. Gentlemen, I’m speaking to you because women have no use for a toilet seat in the up position. I frequently hear men saying, “Why do I always have to remember to put the seat down? Why can’t she remember to put it up for me?”
The question at hand comes down to a safety issue. Take this story a male friend shared with me into consideration.
During his regular routine of getting ready for bed, he left the toilet seat up. In the middle of the night, his wife had a desperate urge to make a run to the bathroom. Getting there in the nick of time, she sat down on the rim of the toilet seat. Losing her balance, she fell into the bowl and hit her head on the tank. The tank lid fell to the floor shattering pieces of porcelain all over the bathroom. She broke her back and my friend had to get stitches in his feet after cutting them on the broken pieces of porcelain as he assisted her.
The lesson to be learned: To maintain a happy and healthy relationship, put the toilet seat down.
The Paradox of Putting the Toilet Seat Down
I recently saw a TikTok video where a woman explained that men shouldn’t have to put the seat down. She explained how it becomes normal for men to put the seat up and women to put the seat down, so why should the onerous be purely on men to put the seat down? As I thought about this proposition more, I started to consider some data and the frequency of bathroom use.
Let’s start with important bias information. I’m a man, and I’m married to a woman. I have habitually put the seat down, and we teach our kids to do the same. So I’ve been in the pro-SeatDown camp for some time now.
Putting the seat down or lifting it up takes a certain amount of time, and one could argue that that little bit of time could add up in certain scenarios. Does this time tax depend on the gender ratio in a house? Let’s use some theoretical data to have a better understanding.
You should always close the toilet lid when you flush
You really should put the toilet seat down
And while it may also put some household arguments to rest, the real reason to close the toilet lid is a phenomenon known as a "toilet plume."
When you flush a toilet, the swirling water that removes your waste from the bowl also mixes with small particles of that waste, shooting aerosolized feces into the air.
Low-flow toilets have decreased this risk — they don't gush or blast as much as other types of johns — but countless old toilets are still in use today and can really spew.
read more
Full Coverage:
The real reason behind putting the toilet lid DOWN and whatUP OR DOWN?AN ARGUMENT FOR OPTIMAL TOILET SEAT PLACEMENT
10 Restroom Etiquette Rules People Are Constantly Breaking
THE SOCIAL NORM OF LEAVING THE TOILET SEAT DOWN
The Scientific Reason Why the Toilet Seat Should Be Left Down
Man replies to woman about leaving the toilet seat up
Why is leaving the toilet seat up such a big deal?
Why is it the man's responsibility to put the toilet seat down
The case against always leaving the toilet seat down
There's a Solution to the Toilet Seat Up or Down Debate
7 Reasons Dudes Should Be The Ones To Put The Toilet Seat
Should you leave your toilet seat up or down?
The Paradox of Putting the Toilet Seat Down
Six Reasons to Put the Toilet Lid Down
This scientific study claims to have finally settled the 'toilet seat
A GAME THEORETIC APPROACH TO THE TOILET SEAT PROBLEM
Up or Down? The Never-Ending Toilet Seat Battle
UP OR DOWN? AN EFFICIENCY-BASED ARGUMENT
Put The Toilet Seat Down – Couples Etiquette
Why is it bad etiquette to leave the toilet seat up
I believe men shouldn't be expected to put the toilet seat down
Wife's 'revenge' against husband who always leaves toilet
Closing the lid before you flush may help lessen spreading of
Seat up or down? Writers for The Stranger debate proper toilet
Always Close the Toilet Lid When You Flush, Here's Why
Should I Use a Toilet Seat Cover?
Here's why you should always close the toilet lid when you flush
Should the toilet seat be left up, down, or closed and why
USING THE TOILET IN THE UK - A GUIDE FOR
Do YOU leave the toilet seat up when you flush? Be warned
