So many will be horrified to hear that our desks are three times dirtier than toilet seats. A study found the average keyboard harbours as many germs as a kitchen bin while a computer mouse is filthier than a typical door mat.
Dishcloths and sponges are dirtier than any other item in the average home, harboring the largest amount of E. coli and other fecal bacteria—mostly because they aren't replaced as often as they should be. Each square inch of these items contains 456 times more bacteria than a toilet seat.
Cellphone. Your cell phone can carry 10 times more bacteria than most toilet seats. 1 Ew. If you take your phone into the bathroom with you, it could register fecal bacteria because flushing toilets spew plenty of germs.
They found that keyboards can have high levels of bacteria on them and that shared keyboards tend to have more bacteria than those used by only one person. Even more disturbing, research by University of Arizona researchers also found that the average desktop has 400 times more bacteria than the average toilet seat.
The average desk contains 400 times more germs than a toilet seat, new research has revealed.
A home's kitchen sink carries more bacteria than both the toilet and the garbage can, Gerba's research found. "There's more fecal bacteria in a sink than there is in a flushed toilet," Gerba told "Today." "That's why dogs drink out of the toilet. They know better than to drink out of the kitchen sink," he joked.
A new study that described reusable water bottles as "portable Petri dishes" revealed they can harbor 40,000 times more bacteria than the average toilet seat.
How often do you clean your phone? Researchers at the University of Arizona found that cellphones carry ten times more bacteria than a toilet seat. While many bacteria are harmless, some studies have found serious pathogens on cellphones like E-Coli, MRSA, and Strep.
This is where the shiffter comes in. Essentially it's a jet wash for the toilet, which means it is cleaner to use than a regular or even a hygienic toilet brush, because it doesn't come into contact with the bowl. The shiffter is the hygienic toilet brush alternative!
Handles, Switches, and Buttons
The faucet handles, doorknobs, light switches, and elevator buttons in public spaces could also be harbouring more germs than your toilet seats.
Urine is mostly sterile but feces contain over 100 varieties of bacteria and viruses. Even though some of the bacteria are harmless, others can cause diseases like dysentery, cholera, typhoid, and Hepatitis A.
- A new report from the mattress company, Amerisleep, found that not washing your pillow case for just one week can lead to about three million bacteria. That three million is 17 times more bacteria than an average toilet seat. "It is important to know that you should be taking care of the bacteria on your bed.
The study found bacteria P. aeruginosa, which is commonly found in cockroach faeces, on 50 per cent of smartphone screens. Whereas 100 per cent screens contained E. coli and faecal streptococci, which is found in human and animal excreta.
A recent study by the University of Manchester showed that toothbrushes can accumulate more than 10 million bacteria, which is more than the bacteria found in a toilet seat (50 per square inch) or in a public lavatory floor (2 million per square inch).
Your carpet
Soft, cozy, and ... filled with germs? Your carpet has a whopping 4,000 times more bacteria content than your toilet seat. This is just another reason why you should vacuum this surface along with your rugs once every week.
Pillowcases can harbor up to 17 thousand times the bacteria that the average toilet seat carries — even if they've been washed as recently as a week ago, according a new report by Amerisleep that analyzed the growth of bacteria colonies on unwashed, slept-in bedding over a period of four weeks.
Avoid any skin-to-skin contact with stool. Simply reach behind your back and between your legs, using plenty of crumpled or folded toilet tissue. Wipe backward from the perineum , the space between the genitals and anus, moving toward and past the anus.
How Often To Clean the Shower. The shower is usually where mold and mildew grows, so depending on how often you use it, you'll want to clean it at least once a week.
And if you're constantly straining to pee, you could increase your chances of incontinence over time. So, yes, you can sit on that toilet seat with little fear, just make sure you wash your hands when you're done. And, of course, if you're not feeling that adventurous, there's always the paper cover thingies.
While it was also found to make the droplets larger and more concentrated with bacteria, the broad consensus among scientists is that it's more hygienic to flush with the lid down.
Pathogens are not transmitted via skin contact
Even if many public restrooms do not look inviting - sitting on toilet seats cannot transfer germs if the skin is intact. Admittedly, sanitary conditions are not inviting in many public restrooms.
It turns out that reusable water bottles are hiding an average of 20.8 million CFUs (colony-forming units) of bacteria. To put that in perspective, when they performed the same tests on toilet seats, researchers found just 515 CFUs. However, not all water bottles are created the same when it comes to bacteria.
1. Kitchen Sponge/Dish Rag. The item most frequently used to clean dishes and countertops was actually the germiest place found in most homes. Sponges and dish rags can pick up bacteria during the cleaning process, and, if not properly sanitized between uses, can be a prime spot for germ growth.
The kitchen holds the title for “germiest place in the house”, where bacterial contamination is far more common than in the bathroom, for example: Kitchen rags, towels and sponges are notorious for bacterial contamination.