'The hands-down winner' – cleaning experts settle the timeless debate: toilet roll facing in or out? Spoiler: one way is more hygienic

If every time you pop into the bathroom you find yourself turning the toilet roll around so it's facing 'the right way', you're not alone.

An extensive survey on this debate was conducted by relationship expert Gilda Carle, and she discovered that approximately 70% of couples disagree on which way their toilet paper should be, resulting in it switching direction multiple times per day.

We spoke with cleaning professionals to finally settle the toilet roll in vs. toilet roll out debate once and for all to discover which way around this essential cleaning tool should be. Half of you are going to feel disappointed as having it facing out is more hygienic.

Toilet roll facing in: Pros and cons

Team 'tucked in' can find toilet paper left hanging over the edge of the holder incredibly frustrating, but after learning the cons of this orientation, I'm honestly considering converting.

Alessandro Gazzo of Emily's Maids of Dallas breaks down the pros of having your toilet paper tucked in against the wall and Karina Toner, professional cleaner and operations manager at Spekless, delves into the cons.

Pros:

• It's neater visually: 'Having your toilet paper faced to the wall instead of flopping over its holder looks more aesthetically pleasing when organizing a bathroom,' especially when you're organizing a bathroom with too much stuff as it helps reduce visual clutter.'
• It's better in a household with kids: 'A pro point of having toilet roll facing in is that it's a bit more hidden, which can be incredibly helpful if you have kids that want to run every square off of your toilet rolls.'
• It's pet-proof: 'Cats especially love to play with toilet paper rolls, so keeping the end tucked in makes it harder for them to descend chaos upon your bathroom ideas.'

Cons:

• It's harder to find the end of the paper: 'It's simply harder to find the end of the toilet paper if it isn't facing over as depicted in the actual installation instructions from the original toilet paper patent (yes, that exists). If your cat is going on a TP rampage, that’s a cat thing, not a reason to flip the national standard upside down.'
• It's less hygienic: 'When a toilet paper roll is facing out, the roll is less likely to be pressed up against the wall/surface that could be harboring moisture, germs, or residue, reducing the chance of creating a healthy 'home microbiome'. It stays drier, cleaner, and more accessible.'
• You have to touch more of the roll to get your squares: 'To grab the paper, you often have to fumble beneath or against the roll. Your knuckles hit the wall, sometimes the underside of the roll, contributing to creating a hotspot for germs. Not ideal, especially in public restrooms or shared spaces where the wall behind the toilet might not exactly be sparkling.'

Toilet roll facing out: Pros and cons

I seem to spend half my life preventing my partner from keeping the toilet paper awkwardly flopping over the edge of its holder as it irks me, disrupting the orderly nature of our small bathroom storage ideas.

It's actually what inspired me to dig into this topic in the first place!

Professional cleaner, Kathy Turley of Home Clean Heroes, shares the pro points behind toilet roll facing out and Sara San Angelo, professional cleaner and owner of Confessions Of A Cleaning Lady, delves into the cons.

Pros:

• It makes functional sense: 'Grabbing the paper is just smoother and quicker, as well as more hygienic as you only touch the squares you need.'
• Some find it more aesthetically pleasing: 'To me placing the toilet roll over looks tidy, intentional, and dare I say…luxurious? There’s a reason hotels do it this way to inject an additional sense of quiet luxury.'
• You can create a signature touch for guests: 'At Home Clean Heroes, our cleaning teams always leave the end of a roll folded into a crisp triangle — a charming finishing touch or one of many simple guest bathroom ideas that’s only possible with the roll facing over.'

Cons:

• Pets and kids may grab it: 'Pets and children may see toilet paper facing out as an invitation to play with the roll,' as echoed by Alessandro.
• It might not make sense in a small bathroom: 'I like the roll facing out. But personally, in my guest bathroom, the roll holder is so close to the toilet on the vanity you need to be a contortionist to get a square off either way, so I just leave it on the counter when organizing my bathroom vanity with the end tucked in.'
• If your toilet roll falls off the holder, it's more likely to unravel: If your toilet paper is flopping over the holder and falls to the ground, it's more than likely to roll forward and continue unravelling across the floor. Whereas if it's facing the wall, it's less likely to unravel as it isn't already partly unravelled on the holder.

What do experts deem as the winner?

Having the toilet roll facing out won by a landslide with all four of our experts, with a fifth pro saying it's the only way toilet roll should be facing for a clean, functional bathroom.

Carolina Kazimierski, president and co-owner of Sophia's Cleaning Service, adds, 'Whenever I encounter an “under” roll at a client’s home, I have to resist the urge to implement good cleaning tips by flipping it around!

'It just feels wrong to me. But personal feelings aside I'm just all in all convinced that “over” is the way to go for convenience and hygiene. The “under” method does have a couple of things going for it but even with those points, I find the “under” position more awkward in daily use.

'You often end up fumbling around for the end of the roll, sometimes brushing the wall, which isn’t ideal from a cleanliness perspective. No question, it’s the hands-down winner in my book.'

Which side are you on? Are you considering switching sides like me after hearing what our experts have to say? Let us know in the comments below.

Bathroom essentials

Meet the experts

Alessandro Gazzo

Alessandro Gazzo is a cleaning expert working with Emily’s Maids of Dallas, specializing in creating a healthier, greener, and more efficient approach to home care. He enjoys testing both commercial and DIY cleaning products, researching sustainable cleaning trends, and collaborating with journalists to help people clean smarter and not harder.

Karina Toner

Karina has been a professional cleaner and operations manager at Spekless Cleaning, one of the top-rated cleaning companies in D.C, for over six years. With a strong commitment to quality, Spekless proudly serves over 10,000 customers each year across Washington, D.C., Virginia and parts of Maryland, setting the standard for excellence in the cleaning industry.

Kathy Turley

Kathy is passionate about all things cleaning and marketing the best cleaning information to people around the world, whether that's through her job or contributing to articles in various publications. Prior to becoming the director of marketing at Home Clean Heroes, Kathy spent over 20 years in the hospitality industry.

Sara San Angelo

Sara has been a professional house cleaner for 20 years, working with all kinds of clients from the young, the elderly, and hoarders. Through her experience and research, Sara has devised easy methods to keep your house clean, holding the motto of, “clean smarter, not harder.”

Carolina Kazimierski

Carolina Kazimierski is the president and co-owner of Sophia’s Cleaning Service, a second-generation family cleaning company located in La Grange, IL, serving the Chicagoland area since 1984. With years of hands-on experience in the cleaning industry, Carolina’s team coordinates thousands of cleaning appointments each year for families and businesses across the western suburbs of Chicago. She’s passionate about helping people maintain beautiful, healthy homes and loves sharing practical cleaning tips from real-life experience.

Now you know which way toilet roll should be facing, it might be beneficial to learn about what other small switches could benefit your home and its hygiene. Here, we learned about the cleaning habits cleaners urge you to break now, as well as why.