Public bathrooms. Disgusting, infection-ridden, dirty, smelly and unsanitary, just to name a few things that come to mind. Some hold it until they return to the safety of their own bathroom at home, some hover anxiously over the public toilet, others forgo their health because they just cannot hold it any longer and others use that thin piece of paper available on the side of the stall to avoid all the infection ridden toilet seat. But a toilet seat may not really be as gross as one thinks and that little piece of paper might not be making a huge difference.

Health experts told CNN that when you skip out on that protective piece of paper “probably nothing” will happen.

“Seat covers do not stop germs,” CNN reported. “And you’re not likely to catch an infection from a toilet, anyway.”

Sorry to burst everyone’s bubble, but toilet seats really are not at gross as they appear. (I will admit though, public bathrooms are disgusting and should be avoided at all costs.)

“Toilet seat covers are absorbent,” CNN quoted from Kelly Reynolds, a public health researcher at the University of Arizona. “Bacteria and viruses are tiny, and are able to pass through the relatively large holes in the cover’s paper.”

In fact, toilets really are the least of your concerns. Many everyday items are statistically dirtier and full of more germs than an average bathroom. Reader’s Digest listed nine things that are dirtier than your toilet and they found that “your pet’s food bowl, your clean laundry, your smartphone or tablet, your carpet, your faucet handles, your computer keyboard, your handbag and your kitchen cloth or sponge” are all dirtier than a toilet seat.  

Although the school bathroom reeks and looks disgusting it, does not have as many underlying germs as first thought. Next time someone is worried about sacrificing their health because they can no longer hold it, tell them to pay attention to the amount of germs that are already sitting on their fingertips.