You're Using That Paper Toilet-Seat Cover Wrong - Lifehacker

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You're Using That Paper Toilet-Seat Cover Wrong Leigh Anderson Leigh Anderson Editorial Author Experience Leigh Anderson is a writer and editor in Brooklyn, New York. She is the author of \The Games Bible: The Rules, The Gear, The Strategies.\" """ Areas of Expertise Read Full Bio August 18, 2017 Add as a preferred source on Google Add as a preferred source on Google

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

Some people squat over a public toilet, because they have quads of steel. Some people just sit their bare tushies right down on the rubella-covered seat, because evidently they have no fear of germs as sensible people should. For the rest of us there are toilet-seat covers. Yeah, you can cover the seat with TP, but the careful tearing, angling, and placing of lengths of paper for perfect coverage can get a little tedious when you really need to go—what is this, macramé?

The Truth About Public Toilet Seats Read More

So that leaves us with the paper toilet cover offered in some public restrooms, which, while it does offer the same sensation as waiting in the doctor’s office for someone to do something unpleasant to your nether regions, really is your best option for a sanitary pee.

And yet, so many people don’t seem to know how to properly use the paper toilet seat cover!

Common mistakes

• Tearing off the middle flap of paper and discarding it. (Why would you do that? It’s not a sherbet cup top.)

• Putting it on backwards, with the flap hanging from the back of the toilet instead of the front.

• Not poking out the flap of paper so that it dangles in the water. Because the whole point of the middle flap is that it rests in the water while you do your business, and then, when you flush, drags the whole toilet-seat cover down the drain with it. So you don’t have to touch it. No rubella, see?

The Wrong Way

This video, confusingly titled “The Proper Way to Put on a Toilet Seat Cover,” is, in fact, wrong, because she makes mistake #3: not poking out the flap and letting it float in the water.

Now, you may say, “But the weight of the pee/other will drag down the paper of its own accord, so I don’t need to spend that four seconds poking it through and letting it dangle before I go.” To which I say, “What if the perforated seams on that particular toilet-seat cover are unusually strong? Like a factory defect on that one toilet-seat cover? What if—bear with me here—the weight of your pee/other doesn’t force the flap of paper down? Then you’ve just created a goddamn hammock for your pee/other right under your nether regions.”

What do you think so far?

Poke it through.

The Right Way

This guest on the Steve Harvey show, professional organizer and national hero Amanda LeBlanc, gets it right.

Got it? Happy (sanitary) trails, everyone.

The Daily Newsletter Ready to do everything better? Jordan Calhoun Editor in chief Get daily tips, tricks, and tech guides from our expert team. The Daily NewsletterReady to do everything better? Get daily tips, tricks, and tech guides from our expert team. Subscribe to Lifehacker's Newsletter Loading... Sign Up Success! You’re all signed up. Use this instead By clicking Sign Up, you confirm you are 16+ and agree to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. Leigh Anderson

Leigh Anderson is a writer and editor in Brooklyn, New York. She is the author of \The Games Bible: The Rules, The Gear, The Strategies.\" """

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