The toilet isn’t a high-traffic room, yet dust appears on the tank, faucet base, floor corners, even the seat hinges. I once found a full dust bunny behind the bowl. Why?

Where the dust comes from

• Toilet paper sheds fibers every time you pull or crumple it.
• Clothes shed lint when you drop your pants; stuck-on dust shakes loose too.

I crumpled a tissue and watched lint float up—that’s happening daily. Same with rubbing clothes. Yahoo Answers even has a thread on “what are dust bunnies made of?”

Why it settles everywhere

Little airflow and few steps mean lint has nowhere to go, so it lands on every surface.

Vacuum in the toilet? People disagree

Forum summary (Yomiuri Komachi):

• Question: Poster hates vacuuming the toilet—worried about splashy dirt transferring back to the living room. Friend vacuums straight through because their barrier-free flooring continues into the toilet.
• Replies:
  • Vacuum camp (most): dust piles up; change the vacuum head; some mop first; often the husband does it.
  • No-vac camp (few): grossed out by potential splatter; prefer disinfectant wipes or sheets.

Floor type changes attitudes

Flooring toilets — Google Images

Tile toilets — Google Images

Newer apartments and houses often have continuous flooring or cushioned sheet into the toilet—if it looks like the living room, you’re tempted to vacuum. Older/tiled toilets (often non-barrier-free) feel like a separate “outdoor-ish” zone; people avoid bringing the vacuum in and stick to rags or wipes. My parents’ 40-year-old tiled squat toilet absolutely felt like “no vacuum territory.”

I used to stand to pee; after getting married I switched to sitting to keep the shared bathroom cleaner.

My quick routine

• Regular vacuum pass; weekly edge detail with a different head; monthly wet-wipe mop with cleaner.
• Products: many people like “Mame Pika” (Lion) for exterior disinfecting; we’ve long used Kao’s Toilet Magiclean and it already says “disinfecting,” so we stick with it.
• Close the lid before flushing to cut splashback (important in norovirus season). I noticed droplets on my legs once—enough to convince me.
• Toilet mats probably catch lots of splash; washing them lags because you don’t want them in with clothes. Eww.

If you hate the idea of a vacuum in there, an alcohol spray + rag works fine. Either way, lint keeps falling, so light, frequent cleaning beats waiting for full dust bunnies.