Are YOU hanging your toilet paper the CORRECT way? Etiquette expert finally settles debate about whether the flap is meant to go over or under
- Fierce debate surrounds whether to hang toilet paper in under or over position
- Now etiquette expert Jackie Vernon-Thompson has settled the debate forever
- Over is the best way as it maintains 'proper hygiene, which is proper etiquette'
- READ MORE: How backed up are YOU? Gut health expert reveals test to determine if you are fully emptying your BOWELS every day
It's a topic that sparks fierce debate despite its trivial nature: how to hang your toilet paper correctly.
Discussion about whether or not toilet paper should be hung with the loose end touching the wall or away from it has plagued households for decades.
This week, Jaci Stephen reignited the debate when she revealed that one of her friends committed the ultimate domestic crime by switching around the placement of her toilet paper - which she insists must always be placed with the 'flap' hanging down at the back.
It's a heated conversation that etiquette expert Jackie Vernon-Thompson is all too familiar with herself. And now she's settled the debate once and for all.
'Research after research reveals that the proper and most hygienic way to hang your toilet paper is over and not under,' she told DailyMail.com.
Do you hang your toilet paper in the over or under position in the bathroom? (stock image)
The alternative is hanging toilet paper in the under position, where the loose end is touching the wall (stock image)
'Might I add, that goes for paper towels too, if hanging from the wall. Not only is it hygienic, it lends to maintaining proper hygiene, which is proper etiquette.'
One of these pieces of research that Jackie, who is founder of From The Inside-Out School of Etiquette, cites is the 1981 patent for the toilet paper roll where inventor Seth Wheeler reveals the correct way to hang toilet paper on the holder is over.
In a diagram in the patent, the toilet roll is clearly shown on the holder in the over position.
The inventor of perforated toilet paper sheets writes: 'Be it known that I, SETH WHEELER have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Toilet-Paper Rolls.
'I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification.'
Jackie adds that hanging toilet paper in the over position is not just a matter of aesthetics, but also of hygiene.
'If the paper is over, when you reach for the paper, your fingers will touch only the piece that you plan to use and flush. However, when it is under, more than likely you are forced to feel for it and touch other parts of the roll and even the wall, which is likely to spread bacteria and germs,' she said.
'Any given person may have a specimen on their finger and may place it on the wall where they were feeling for the paper that is rolled under.'
In 2017, a terrifying study revealed most bathrooms were not as clean as we think, with 3.2 million bacteria per square inch lurking on your toilet bowel - and at least 200,000 more on your toothbrush.
'Consider going into a restroom in a public place... if the roll is hung under, [the person before you] would have had to search for the beginning of the paper just like you will. They would have spread their germs and bacteria while searching for the end,' Jackie said.
Etiquette expert Jackie Vernon-Thompson revealed how she settled the debate at home
'So, in essence, when you go behind them, because the paper is under, you will be in contact with their bacteria and germs.'
As for how to settle the debate within your home, Jackie recalls how she and her husband had this same disagreement earlier in their marriage.
'He was accustomed to the loose end going under against the wall due to how he was taught to do it in the military, and I was accustomed to it rolling over, away from the wall,' she said.
'I became annoyed and every time I noticed he placed it rolling under, I would switch it because it is one of my pet peeves. He noticed I would switch it and became annoyed as well.
'It was obvious that neither one of us was open to change on this matter. So, we agreed that his way would be done in the downstairs bathroom and my way upstairs in the master bathroom. Problem solved.'
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