You’ve Been Using Those Toilet Paper Seat Covers All Wrong

Public toilet seats are nasty, but you’ll be even more grossed out learning that these things contain more germs than a toilet seat. Typically, your options are to either get in your leg workout for the day and squat over the toilet, or you can give in and just sit on the toilet seat because your thighs are burning and you need a break. But, sometimes you luck out and the public restroom provides you with a paper toilet seat cover. There are two issues here though—they don’t protect you from germs that well and you are most likely using them wrong.

In order to get the most germ protection that a flimsy piece of paper can provide, you need to use it correctly. There are three key things to remember when placing the paper cover on the toilet seat:

1. Don’t rip out the inside piece of paper, it has a very important purpose.
2. Poke out the piece of paper on one end. There is normally a side that has small tears already started. The reason that flap exists is so that it hits the water and is pulled down when you flush the toilet.
3. Pay attention, this is the one that most people get wrong. The flap should hang down from the front of the toilet, not the back.

Without being able to actually see the toilet paper seat cover this can be a little hard to follow. Here, professional organize Amanda LeBlanc, shows you how.