- The winner of the grossest
and dirtiest everyday item in your life is...
(heart beating)
If you've watched the news lately,
you have probably seen a lot of scary headlines
like new coronavirus,
the number of flu cases at an all time high,
bacteria, germs, flu, cold, grosses everywhere,
and more importantly, everywhere that you touch.
"But where does it all come from?
Where is all of this all out grossness being harbored
and spread?" you may ask.
You might be very surprised
to learn about the top dirtiest everyday items
in your daily life and just how incredibly gross they are.
Hey, everyone, I'm Dr. Wagner.
I'm a board certified emergency medicine physician
and on my show I answer your urgent medical questions
and clear up myths about certain ailments
and deadly diseases.
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All right, brace yourself.
Here are the top dirtiest everyday items
in your life right now.
Number eight, the smartphone.
Harboring 10 times more bacteria
than your average toilet seat,
your latest and greatest Apple iPhone
or Samsung Galaxy is a bonafide technological Petri dish.
And once you've learned what I'm about to tell you,
you will feel anything but smart
the next time you reach to answer a call.
Easily one of the dirtiest things in your life.
According to the
National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases,
approximately 31% of healthcare workers' cell phones
tested positive for gram-negative strains of bacteria.
And certain types of these gram-negative strains
are becoming increasingly resistant to antibiotics.
So how do you clean your phone?
Get an antibacterial coating
or keep antibacterial wipes around
to clean your phone at least once a day.
Number seven, earbuds.
Unless you sanitize these often,
earbuds can often be a reason for ear infections.
When your favorite pair of earbuds gets dirty enough,
major grime and grossness builds up
and can be the cause of an ear infection.
Also, the risk of developing middle ear infections,
fungus and swimmer's ear does increase
when you share your earbuds as well.
So how do you get rid of bacteria?
Use an old clean toothbrush
to get the dust off and surface dirt,
then wipe down with a wash cloth dipped
in soap and warm water.
Number six, computer keyboard and mouse.
If you happen to be watching my Doctor ER video
on your laptop, say,
you might've just noticed how dirty your keyboard is.
If you haven't noticed,
let me just remind you how dirty it is.
Your keyboard and mouse can carry five times more bacteria
than a toilet seat.
And a study in 2018 tested various keyboards
and found that the majority
of them were infected with strains of Bacillus,
all the way to Staphylococcus aureus,
or in other words, Staph of the Staph infection family
and can have potential to cause disease.
How can you get rid of your keys of uncleanliness?
Try compressed air and antibacterial wipes.
You can also use a damp cloth with soap and water
to wipe down certain standard keyboards as well.
There are some reports that do say
that you can put your keyboard in a dishwasher,
although, I've never tried it.
Meanwhile, since you were now probably gonna wipe down
your keyboard after watching this video,
why don't you just go ahead
and dust off your whole desk space while you're at it?
Number five, the yoga mat.
Yoga mats are a hotbed of contamination,
both literally and figuratively.
And if you share them at a public place,
say, a yoga studio,
the odds are ever not in your favor.
Oftentimes more dirtier than an airplane seat
or your smartphone,
yoga mats are the perfect incubator for skin infections.
Just think of all the skin mites, dead skin,
bacteria, grease and grime.
How do you clean your mat properly
and get the bacteria to namaste stay away?
Add a few drops of tea tree oil,
a natural antibacterial and antifungal agent
to water in a spray bottle and wipe down after every use.
Also some mats can withstand a cycle in the washing machine.
Number four, your car steering wheel.
Listen, most people clean the outside of their car
but often overlook one
of the most important used places in a car,
the steering wheel.
Easily the dirtiest place in your car,
the steering wheel and gear shifter is twice as dirty
as the buttons in an elevator,
four times more gross than a toilet seat,
and many times nastier than a cell phone screen.
According to a recent study,
31% of drivers only clean the inside of their car
once a year.
So depending on how many people get in your car
in a year's time, the amount of germs
and bacteria can easily add up.
So how do you drive away germs on your steering wheel?
Easy.
Just grab the Clorox disinfecting wipes
and start cleaning.
Number three, your toothbrush.
Even though it looks innocent just sitting
on your bathroom sink, at any given moment,
there are 100 to 200 species
of oral bacteria living in your mouth.
So that translates to the average toothbrush
containing 10 million bacteria or more,
including E. coli and Staph.
Also, do you use a plastic cover?
Sometimes they can be an incubator for growth of mold,
so be careful.
All right, how do you take a bite
out of grime growing on your toothbrush?
Easy, throw it in the dishwasher once a week
for a quick disinfecting,
or let it sit in mouthwash for about 30 seconds.
And get yourself a new toothbrush every few months.
Number two, reusable shopping bags.
Great for the environment
but not great for steering clear bacteria.
Did you know that one recent health study showed
that these reusable bags might just be carrying
more fecal matter than your underwear?
Why? I have no idea.
But I don't question it.
Next time you think about it,
try throwing your reusable shopping bags
in a quick load of laundry.
Number one, the winner of the grossest
and dirtiest everyday item in your life is
the kitchen sponge and dish cloths.
Used to clean your dishes and hands,
these are some of the filthiest items you will encounter.
According to countless studies,
kitchen sponges are the worst
with as many as 10 million bacteria per square inch.
That's 20,000 times dirtier
than the average neighborhood toilet seat.
Researchers have found
that sponges contained 362 different bacterial species
that reached 54 million per square centimeter
of sponge tissue, meaning it is similar
to the microbial density of stool samples.
So how do you clean a sponge?
Honestly, I say just throw it out.
But if you're a keen on saving and reusing,
soak your sponge overnight in a mix of 1 cup of hot water,
1/2 cup of white vinegar with 3 tablespoons of salt.
Then the next day,
rinse and squeeze the sponge several times
to get rid of all the cleaning liquid.
Or you can just put the sponge in a microwave
and heat on high for two minutes.
But make sure it's wet though,
so you don't catch anything on fire.
All right, that's been your five minutes
on the dirtiest everyday items in your daily life
with me, Dr. Wagner.
I hope I didn't freak you out too much
and I inspired you to do some spring cleaning.
Make sure you leave me comment below
if you have any other medical questions or topics
that you'd like me to cover in future videos.
Or if you want me to do a follow-up dirty video,
let me know that too.
Thank you so much for watching,
and stay healthy, my friends.