closed! would you leave the refrigerator door open? to me it's the same thing.

I had a boss that had a sign next to the toilet saying "Keep my mouth shut please!".

ELLU.UU - it's the same thing except one stores food and the other waste (albeit for a short time) Ha!

A week or two ago, I read about a study that claimed flushing with the seat up results in ten times the bacteria being spread around the immediate area, so lid down seems like the more sanitary option. Also, why else would there be a lid?

Down because I have a kitty who otherwise will drink out of it.

it's not really the same thing at all, since when you're leaving the refrigerator door open, air that you've paid to refrigerate is leaking out. ideally in terms of etiquette, i think the toilet seat should be closed - but honestly, by closing it you're just having to touch a surface that's been exposed more reliably and at a much closer distance to whatever it is that you are worried will come out into the air when the toilet's open. if the water's clean, what's gross about the bowl being open?

Closed! As someone who once dropped a full roll of toilet paper which bounced and rolled off the sink into the open toilet, I think the toilet lid should always be closed! At least it wasn't my phone though, that happened to a friend of mine. She kept hers closed after that event too!

Closed! I saw a story about how when you flush particles can fly as far as 20 feet. Toothbrushes are way too close for comfort in our bathroom. Ew. And as for having to touch the lid...that's why you are supposed to wash your hands after using the toilet!

Scroll through all the images of bathrooms that have been featured on this very site. The toilet lids are invariably down. Case (and toilet lid) closed.

Rothornhill is correct. My SIL is an RN and she says they are all trained to close the lid *before* flushing, because the flush sprays fine particulates through the air to land on nearby surfaces (toothbrush laying on the counter anyone?). The spray is greater and goes farther if the toilet is a commercial-type high pressure one, and since those rarely have lids, I always turn my head, then flush, then immediately exit the stall.

Lid down! Close before flushing please. Yes, you may have to touch the lid but then you wash you hands (hopefully) so that shouldn't be an issue. It grosses me out when people leave it open. Funny story...at a small office where I used to work I would always put the lid down in our office bathroom. I overheard this statement being my by another co-worker to our boss. "I always wonder why the lid is down on the toilet. Is is out of service or something?" ha ha! Lid closed = cleaner bathroom to me.

Closed. If it was meant to be kept open why would there be a lid in the first place?

I used to leave it open for convenience. I recall wandering in at night once as a kid, not turning the light on (it would wake me up too much and I wanted to go back to sleep), and starting to go before my tush hit the seat... which it never hit because the lid was down, causing an annoying mess for a young'un.

Similar to other commentors, I now (as of a few weeks ago) lower the seat to reduce the bacteria spray from an open lid. As the article recommended, I now wish I had a water closet that solely contained the toilet so I could go elsewhere to leave that bacteria behind!

As for the unsightlyness factor, I never cared. It is a useful item, I don't need it to be gorgeous.

Down. For me, there is no reason to leave a toilet open, and several to make sure it's closed.

Well normally I'd be with the majority in the 'lid down' camp but I have a cat who uses the toliet and sadly she doesn't have the motor skills needed to place the lid up and down. So we leave the lid up as a courtesy to her.

Here's some, um, food for thought for those concerned about the flush's spread of bacteria: one in five office coffee mugs contain fecal bacteria. How many cups have you had today?

Closed. When I worked for a property management company, we got a frantic phone call from a woman whose engagement ring was knocked into the toilet. I'm not sure the exact order of events but the toilet was flushed. She asked if there was anything we could do. Due to the design of the toilets, there were no traps, just pipes that lead to the sewers. All I could do is ask if it was insured.

Also, it's how my mother raised me.

ANA, you're cat uses the toilet? Dude, I'm so impressed! You've got to take a video and post it on youtube!

I think as a kid growing up I left it up - my family did too - but my boyfriend always put it down so now it's the habit for me to put it down too. I like how it looks better.

Closed!! Closed!! Closed!! When you're done with it, close that lid. And I'm from L.A.

Also, WHY do people take photos of their bathroom with the toilet lid up and then post them online?? Gross. This is a HUGE pet peeve with me.

Down before flushing. Started out because our cat is clumsy and would fall in when trying to drink from the toilet. Now it's habit and after watching Mythbusters on it, a must.

I am a native of California even lived in LA I am a leave the toilet closed. I have trained others from the East Coast to do this as well (roommates).

Okay, I had a rat swim up from the sewer into my toilet and if the lid had been up, the little bugger would have gotten out. Soooo close it.

Keep the lid closed and every user has to open it.. it's not fair to only have men do it. Plus who wants to look in a toilet? Come on.

PS: I'm super jealous of Ana and her potty trained cat! Good for you guys! My cats need a booda dome with steps and a lid and even then they bunny kick the lid off to throw litter on the floor.

For good feng shui, toilet lids are always closed when not in 'active use'. Water represents wealth, thus the toilet is not only a receptacle for waste, but also "wealth". A raised lid -- especially when flushing! -- is sending your money right down the drain.

Oh GOD yes it must be closed! Do you have any idea how much microscopic spray comes out of your toilet in a flush? I read you're not supposed to leave your toothbrush out in the open within 6 feet of the toilet. Close the damn thing before you even flush!

Down before flushing. THINK ABOUT IT!

I totally understand what you mean by "pressing issue"! I advice keeping it closed for several reasons, and it's got nothing to do with east/west coast. It's just science!

The toilet is designed to be flushed with the lid down. Fecal matter can fly up to 6 feet from the bowl during flushing! (keep toothbrush in the medicine cabinet) You can see from the walls. Those who flush with lids open (my brothers) has walls with brown drip marks.

Down. Then both my husband and I have to lift and close at least one lid every time someone uses the toilet. Also, the idea of germs being spread around by flushing the potty with the lid open totally grosses me out; my toothbrush is only 4' away!

DOWN.

Totally.

My personal reasons why (in addition to the perfectly valid ones already listed):

1. Bad feng shui. Leaving the toilet lid up is akin to flushing all your money away. And I really can't afford for that to happen.

2. If, as a child, your grandmother had had a snake swim up from wherever into her toilet bowl, you would leave the lid down for life, too.

Fine, I'll buck the trend: Open!

Yes, I saw the Mythbusters episode as well, but I've been brushing my toothbrushes next to open toilets for several decades now so I'm not going to stress over it.

Besides, my cats like drinking out of that and not a regular water bowl.

Closed. Close the lid then flush. It just seems so much cleaner and more tidy to keep the lid closed all the time. And it does prevent those accidental whoopsies of things falling in from the counter, etc.

Closed!

I say closed. In a duo gender houseshold, no one gets a wet bottom because the seat was left up.

Up for family.

Cleaned and down when there are visitors.

Folks, you do realize that feng shui offers some design guidance but the rest is superstition, right?

I used to be in the camp of leaving it closed but then I realized two things. Even though I clean it frequently it seems to become more "odorous" quicker when it's left shut all of the time with no circulation. Also, I'm a teeny bit of a germaphobe when it comes to the bathroom and don't like to have to touch the toilet to lift the lid anytime I want to go.

I figure if I don't even like touching my own toilet, which I know I keep clean, I would hate to have to touch the toilet at someone else's house (I guess men are SOL). So, I keep it open most of the time.

Also, I'm paranoid about bugs on my toothbrush ever since I saw roach poop on one :I So my toothbrush stays in the medicine cabinet. I do close it for photos and if I have company that is not staying long.

Also, I am interested to see what type of toilet was used to determine the spray of fecal matter. I can see it with the super fast flow toilets (that literally splash water on the seat) but with most of the residential low-flow toilets that simple drain down instead of being vacuum sucked down, I can't imagine it would be spraying poo all over creation.

Down.

Up is gross.

Plus, we have Starck 2 wall-hung toilets, and they look their sculptural best with the seat down.

If you're feeling lazy, you can get a "soft touch" toilet seat. Most lids you have to physically hold and set down unless you want a loud bang. With soft-touch seats you can just flick them down with a finger and they close on their own. Also seen them be called slow-close, easy-close, etc.

As an added bonus, they're supposed to be safer for kids too.

Open wide .I work at home, drink lots of water and use it frequently and just aren't germy phobe enough to care about this scary bacteria. Just keep the bathroom clean like the rest of the home. Not a big deal to me, and apparently neither to my friends who also leave theirs up.

Closed. Not only do you avoid stuff falling into the toilet, which is particularly likely in a small bathroom like mine, but it means there's the same amount of work for both genders. Who wants to have that annoying "you left the toilet seat up" conversation?

When I think about it, I keep it closed. I try to put it down whenever I notice it's up. I'm not the only one who lives in the apartment. *ahem* :)

Closed seems to be the safest option considering how many phones go swimming in toilets these days.

Always down, at least when flushing. Those microscopic water droplets are airborne during flushing folks, even on ancient toilets. Alll you doubters, google it. That said, I *try* to keep the lid up in the hall bath when no guests are expected as my cat uses it too. She also flushes... usually. If the lid is closed, whe will straddle the kitchen trash can & use it if the lid is up (which is invariably is when dh was the last one to use it). Now, if I could just get dh's cat to use the toilet, I could get rid of the litter box

DOWN, always.

I am going to be honest and say open. I know it is less sanitary, but that is how I was raised and I don't want to forget to open it in the middle of the night.

closed, please!

I'm lazy. open

I have a tiny vintage apartment with a tiny vintage bathroom. LID DOWN! The toothbrush holder is on toilet side of the sink. Right where particles would fly around if the loo were flushed with the lid up. Eww.

But, because my building was originally housing for nursing students in the 1950s... all our toilets are the industrial kind, with no tank... the flush handle is right there on the pipe (like in a public RR) so you have to put the lid down to flush. I win.

I live in North Carolina, and if I'm away for more than a few days in the summer, I leave the toilet lid up. I once left the toilet lid closed for about 2 weeks over the summer. Despite the fact that the AC was on, I returned and opened the lid to find brilliant blue hairy mold growing inside the toilet!

Open. I pay the rent. Trust me your kitchen sink is probably a lot worse germ-wise.

Open. My cat uses it as a drinking bowl, so I keep it scrupulously clean for her sake!

I'm all about keeping the lid closed however; if my cat would start using the toilet on his own too I'm sure I'd buckle.

I keep mine down. Looks nicer and prevents that mist from coming out when you flush. Plus I don't want my cat to fall or anything else to fall in.

We did a picture diary study about the places people use their mobile phones... you would not believe the number of pictures we got of bathrooms with the lids up.

Isn't that JUST ASKING to drop your phone in? I'm pretty sure that's not covered under warranty!

Water evaporates. I don't want to breathe in toilet water, at least no more than I have to. This idea was reinforced when I had a dehumidifier sucking up the water, which I then had to empty out. Lid closed.

closed...sickkkkkkkkkkkkkens me to see open lidded toilets in photo's..eeww../cleanliness with the flushing...def the avoiding the dropping in of things...and it looks so much nicer as it was made to look..with a lid. In the a.m it's a perfect 'cat seat' as she watches me do hair/makeup etc..

Open. I don't want to have to touch the lid every time I have to go. Also, I've had enough just-got-home-sprinting-to-the-bathroom-I'm-about-to-piss-myself-undoing-my-pants-on-my-way-through-the-door-JESUS-CHRIST-WHY-IS-THE-LID-DOWN-OH-GOD-THIS-IS-THE-WORST-HALF-SECOND-OF-MY-LIFE-WHY-WOULD-ANYONE-PUT-THE-LID-DOWN-I-HATE-YOU moments to just say screw it, it's easier this way. I also think that while a lot of people seem to think that it is somehow disgusting to leave it open, while they may feel that way, the odds of it making any actual difference in my life (except being slightly more convenient) is pretty much 0, so I don't feel bad about it at all.

That being said, I live with a female roommate. If I lived with a boyfriend or something, I'd probably switch to lid-down, just to avoid that whole issue for both of us.

OPEN!! I can't believe I've never met any of these people who close their toilet seats... never been to a single house with the toilet seat down before. It's just more convenient open, doesn't add any aesthetic value as far as I'm concerned, and I don't care about micro particles flying around; I clean regularly. But having to open it every single time would drive me batty.

OH HOLLER..hahahah...okay, okay..: )

Used to be up for the dog to drink out of it. Three toddlers in the house always meant doggie water on the floor. Now that they are bigger we can reinstate the dog dish and are planning to put a vinyl cling of an octopus on the toilet to entice them to close it!

Down, down, down. Even if we didn't have cats (and kept the lid down to keep the cats from falling in), open lids look yucky and open lids while flushing disperse the dreaded "fecal mist." I am not a germaphobe but once I heard that...'nuff said. And once I mentioned it to my husband, he has never left the lid up again.

Lid down.
Also lads...it is not a public urinal and your aim is never as good as you think it is, so sit down.

Put an either/or question on it.

Why is this a post?

Gay household - it's up unless company's coming and one of us remembers to put it back down. Convenience trumps germophobia.

The whole toilet flush and toothbrush myth was busted in an episode of Mythbusters. There is fecal matter in the air anywhere. So, that isn't an issue.

I didn't used to worry about keeping the lid down, but now I have two kittens and keep the lid down now to keep them out of the toilet.They will even jump up on the seat to investigate when you are in the process of closing the lid. Little buggers.

This is fascinating and all (I vote "down", btw), but I'm amazed nobody has addressed the real issue here: NO FLUFFY TOILET COVER TOUPEES. EVARRRR. Jeez- you think leaving the lid up is a germfest... them's just nasty.

Every year, toddler drown in toilets and buckets of water for cleaning. Keep it down if there are kids around. It's usually when they are babies and just starting to pull themselves to standing up and can't make it back down, and thus get stuck. It's rare, but it has been known to happen. Since I had a kid, I keep it down!

How is this even a question? From a hygiene standpoint isn't the answer obvious?

Down is gross, not to mention neurotic.

Down. My bath is small and I am clumsy.
I've fished things out too many times. Over it.

And a thumbs up on no fuzzy lid rugs.
A boss of mine used to say it was 60s housewife for no, no, we don't s**t here.

I dream of a day where I own my own home and can hang a sign over it that says "Equality means everyone puts the lid down."
Seems fair, right? Rather than just expecting guys to put the seat down, expect everyone to put the lid down! Problem solved! I've revolutionized the modern bathroom!

Should be down probably, but I don't really care and it was always open growing up. now that I'm married... still open, and my husband leaves the seat up as well.

Down. I lived with a girl for years (I'm a man) and we made that decision after both of us had little accidents in the middle of the night with lids we thought up (or down in her case), which weren't. I got the habit after that. We never cared about the germs - we smoked each a pack of cigarettes a day, so there was nothing we were afraid of.

Closed because of cats who fall in (not kidding). Open to keep it from growing mold. So it's a trade-off either way.

I used to leave it open (for convenience), or close it sometimes. My fiance is very insistent about putting the seat down before flushing to prevent the spread of bacteria, so now I close it every time. And we have a shelf above the toilet and I don't really want my comb or other items to go for a swim.

I always keep mine closed & so does my husband. Our powder room door is in a direct line of the kitchen so I always get annoyed when people come over & leave the lid up. (OCD much? Lol.) Oh, and if a guy comes over & leaves the lid AND seat up, forget it!

It has a lid. Lid has a function. Close it. Additionally, there are safety considerations for small children and pets. Finally, we don't want the pets drinking from the toilet.

Lid closed and get rid of the fur coat too!