This episode of DNews is brought to you by Harry's.
Bathroom bacteria are gross, but they're not even the worst in the house.
Are we going to gross you out today?
YES WE ARE, INTERNET.
Yes.
We.
Are.
Howdy friends, Trace here for DNews.
Bacteria are on everything, your skin, the floor, they even live in the damn air!
According to the journal Indoor Air[a], one person adds 37 million bacteria to a room
every hour.
We stir it up when we walk through the room, it falls off our skin and it's just…
well… everywhere!
There's no escape.
90 percent of the cells on your body are germ cells, and that's completely normal.
When you think bacteria and a house most people would head right for the toilet.
It has to be gross and bacteria-infected, right?
Wrong.
In fact, toilets are often one of the cleanest places around, simply because we THINK they're
so gross and therefore we clean them so much.
In reality, according to research from the Hygiene Council, funded by Lysol… yeah…
Found the kitchen drain, the garbage can, the kitchen table and a home phone all contain
more bacteria than a toilet seat.
A study in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences found that your showerhead
incubates enough bacteria to create biofilm -- literally a film of bacterial goo.
It's not enough to infect you with anything, but it's definitely gross.
Another study from Texas A&M found 26 percent of bathtubs contain staphylococcus -- or MRSA,
and ALL the whirlpool tubs they tested contained fecal bacteria.
Maybe they should call them whirlpoop tubs!...
Right?
And although you might like it hot, that hot water is not burning the bacteria; you're
just spreading them around.
You'd have to make the water hotter than your skin can handle to actually kill bacteria.
Hot water on your dishes and hands doesn't clean anything, but when paired with detergent,
it does help loosen dirt and oil.
The hot water also dries faster, which is good.
Because water on things is what encourages bacterial growth.
Basically, anywhere that gets wet and isn't properly dried and cleaned will grow our microscopic
friends, and that includes things like the bathroom -- and kitchen -- sink.
Seriously, that Hygiene Council study found the Kitchen sink had almost 70 times the bacteria
growth of a child's training toilet!
In separate studies, TV remotes, computer keyboards, and salt and pepper shakers were
all studied and found to be covered in bacteria.
A study from 1975 coined the AMAZING term "toilet plume" for the bacteria and fecal
material spewed out of a unlidded commode when it's flushed.
But a follow-up study last year in the American Journal for Infection Control found no evidence
of toilet plume infection, but let's keep toothbrushes in cabinets and drawers just
to be safe, mmmkay?
Researchers exploring the spread of infectious diseases indoors caution that any implement
that comes in contact with your body will ALSO contain bacteria.
We ARE covered in it, remember.
So that means makeup, loofas, bags (like purses), cell phones -- which are DISGUSTING -- and
so on.
If it comes in contact with blood, like a razor, cuticle cutter, nail clipper, toothbrush
-- sometimes your gums bleed -- then you have to be EXTRA careful, because then we're talking
about putting bacteria and viruses RIGHT INTO YOUR BLOODSTREAM.
Basically, bacteria like places that are damp, and when razors and toothbrushes are used
again and again, and left damp after every use they become breeding grounds for bacteria!
With the razor, you can just change it.
Bacteria on a razor can cause folliculitis -- or an infection of the hair follicles by
that bacteria.
It can get pretty serious.
So how can you avoid this bacteria?
Soak all surfaces in bleach and bathe toothbrushes and razors in UV light?
Sure… but more practically, you can't avoid it.
Bacteria are a normal part of life!
You're the cause of a lot of the bacteria yourself, your mouth, your face, your body
and your hands are always covered in it.
Just keep calm, and know that most will cause no issues with you whatsoever, and clean,
dry, and replace things regularly keeping in mind bacteria is growing on everything.
Everything.
How often do you replace your toothbrush?
Your razor?
Your loofa?
Shower curtain?
Tell us in the comments and if you want new razors for less try Harry's.
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