How to find the cleanest public toilet

There’s no comfort like the comfort of using your own toilet. Public toilets, particularly styles of toilets we aren’t used to overseas, can be pretty icky.

We naturally want to pick the one that’s the least dirty, but perhaps that very instinct has been preventing us from choosing the cleanest toilet.

Celebrity doctor Doctor Oz has revealed that people tend to skip the first stall in the toilet because they think by using one further away they will have more privacy. It’s also possible it’s used less because being the closest, people may think it’s used the most.

Read more: How to avoid getting sick on a cruise

The first stall is therefore usually used the least often and contains less germs than the other toilets.

Doctor Oz also revealed the most germ-covered areas in the toilet, giving them a numerical value with the higher the number, the more germs.

He found the most germ-covered surface was the sink bench top in a public toilet with a ranking of 1228, followed closely by the toilet lock at 1192.

The floor in the toilet was the next most germ-covered surface, ranking at 704, with the flush button coming in at 275.

We often think the toilet seat is the most germ-covered surface, but it only had a score of 47.

Read more: What toilets around the world are really like

So, next time you have to use the public bathrooms, be sure to use the first stall, don’t put your handbag on the floor and don’t touch the sink bench top!

Do you have any hygiene tips for travellers? Let us know in the comments below.