Re: Can a toothbrush get contaminated with e-coli?

The toilet! Now this is a fun subject. This experiment really has been done. 
Someone wanted to see what happened when you flushed the toilet. Just how high 
the resulting mist would rise do to the suddenly flurly of activety that results 
when you flush the toilet. The mist from the toilet rises six feet into the air. 
So flush and run if you are really worried about it.

I do not know the extent of lateral movement of this mist. This would depend 
upon many factors. There are air currents moving through a room all the time. 
These air currents depend on the pressure fluxations in the building caused by 
vents, opening of doors and windows, etc. So if the air is moving in such a way 
that it would bring the mist from the toilet to your counter, then yes it is 
possible for the E. coli you flush to get to your toothbrush.

By the way there are thousands of strains of E. coli, very few of which cause 
disease. EVERYONE has E. coli in the intestines, and thus in their stool. E. 
coli is an enteric organism, which means it lives in the intestines of almost 
all land animals.

But I wouldn't worry about the toilet. You stomach is very effective at 
eliminating contaminants. The likelihood would be very low. Besides the area of 
highest fecal contamination in the house is not the bathroom.

David Beck
MadSci Admin