Here are some of the dirtiest items you had no clue about!
10 - Electronics Whether it’s your cell phone, a remote control,
or a video game controller, electronic devices tend to get swept under the carpet when it
comes time for cleaning.
Not many people realize that anything that you touch can carry a lot of germs and bacteria
on it.
If you think about it, how many places do you put your phone down throughout the day?
Come on, how many people are bringing their phones into the bathroom and watching Netflix
while sitting on the toilet?!
Research suggests that on average, a phone has 25,000 germs per square inch.
A public toilet, the soles of your shoes, and your pet’s eating bowl are all cleaner
than your phone.
Your cell phone is theoretically 10 times dirtier than the average toilet seat.
A study in 2011 found that 1 in 6 cell phones contained fecal matter.
I’d only imagine that figures gone up since then because a lot more people have smartphones
now, ugh!
As far as keyboards go, some computer keyboards have more harmful bacteria than a toilet seat,
as research has suggested.
In the research, one keyboard had 150 times the recommended limit for bacteria - five
times as filthy as a lavatory seat tested at the same time.
Well…...at least people don’t bring laptops to the toilet!
9 - Washing machine Well, you DO use your washing machine to wash
stuff.
Right?
BUT did you know that the inside of your washing machine actually needs to be cleaned?!
Actually, your dirty laundry may be even dirtier after you wash it.
That's because experts say washing machines are teeming with bacteria that find their
way onto your clothes -- and then onto you.
Our smallest items, think our underwear here, are the biggest culprits because of the presence
of fecal matter and the different types of bacteria it can carry.
If you’re relying on your detergent to get rid of all the dirt and germs, but if you're
not using bleach or very hot water, you're not killing the bacteria.
They're getting on your body and staying in the washing machine.
If you want to get to those little germs, you’ll need water that's between 140 and
150 degrees, and plenty of people do their laundry with cold or lukewarm water only!
If you want to wash your washing machine, all you’ll need to do is just add bleach
and then run the machine without clothes.
The next best thing you can do for your clothes is just let it dry outside in the sun.
Ultraviolet light kills germs!
8 - Loofah If you use a loofah to get clean, it may be
time to rethink your shower routine.
That spongy, handheld scrubber meant to exfoliate and lather suds around your naked body is
actually the perfect home for bacteria.
Let’s think about it, it stays wet, it’s in a wet environment, and no one’s blow
drying it!
Your loofah scrubs dead skin cells off of your body, which then stay behind on the loofah.
Annnnnd this is the perfect moment for bacteria to cultivate, since the shower environment
is a nice, humid environment.
There isn’t a lot of air circulation, so it’s a great place for bacteria to hang
out.
Every time the loofah gets wet and doesn’t dry properly, bacteria continues to proliferate.
Basically, by using a loofah, you’re spreading yesterday’s dirt back on your body.
Wellps!
7 - Coffee makers There's more than just coffee lurking inside
those mugs of home-brewed coffee, and it's not milk or sugar: It's the residue from your
coffee maker, and all the bacteria that comes along with it.
Actually, this is probably true with any coffee machine anyway.
How often are employees cleaning that coffee machine anyways?!
To encourage mold and bacteria to grow, you provide them with three things: organic matter,
which are the ground up coffee beans, warmth, and a little water.
Not surprisingly, the inside of a coffee maker is an ideal environment for growing mold,
bacteria, and yeast.
One study published by the National Science Foundation actually found that coffee maker
reservoirs can contain high levels of potentially harmful coliform bacteria.
If there’s obvious slimy stuff in the coffee maker, this is the telltale sign there’s
something growing.
At least the hot water is killing the bacteria I guess; just another reason to have your
coffee piping hot!
6 - Water bottle Thousands of moisture-loving bacteria are
probably crawling around on your favorite refillable drinking container.
Based on a study that tested dozens water bottles, it was found that reusable drinking
containers have an alarming number of viable bacteria cells.
More than 300,000 colony-forming units per square centimeter!
To put it bluntly, drinking from the average refillable bottle can be many times worse
than licking your dog's toy.
Some people favor slide-top bottles for the ease factor – just slide the lid shut and
don't worry about spills.
However, when it comes to germ content, these containers make the biggest splash.
The spot your lips touch is absolutely crammed with bacteria.
Over 900,000 colony-forming units on average!
From the study, squeeze-top bottles are crawling with nearly 162,000 CFUs, while the screw-top
containers have just under 160,000 CFU/sq cm.
While they aren't as bad as the slide-top lids, drinking from these bottles can still
be worse than eating a meal from your pet's dish.
5 - Your bed When you settle in for the night, the last
thing you probably think about is what’s actually between the sheets.
Beds are ripe for microscopic life!
There’s plenty of fungi spores, bacteria, animal dander, and all sorts of excrements
from the body including sweat, and whatever other excretions you can think of.
Then there’s all the cosmetics that people use, such as the oils and creams.
All that is in that mix as well!
In a 2015 study that assessed the level of fungal contamination in bedding, researchers
found that feather and synthetic pillows that can contain between 4 and 17 different species
of fungus.
Over time, the amount of fungi, bacteria, and many other debris that accumulate is dramatic.
Should I even bother mentioning the dust mites?
Even less pleasant than the thought of dust mites, is the thought of the dust mite poo
that makes the average mattress double in weight after 10 years.
Ayyyyyyyeeeee!!!!
4 - Elevator buttons If you've used an elevator recently in a hospital,
you’ll essentially wanna wash your hands.
In fact, if you’re in a hospital, you’ll probably want to wash your hands constantly!
A new study published in the journal Open Medicine shows that elevator buttons in hospitals
have more bacteria than surfaces in public bathrooms in hospitals.
The researchers took swabs from 120 different elevator buttons and 96 toilet surfaces in
three different hospitals and found that 61 percent of elevator buttons tested were colonized
with bacteria, compared to 43 percent of the toilet surfaces tested.
I’m still trying to figure out why toilet seats are so clean!
The first floor button in any elevator is by far the worst because almost everyone that’s
gone up has to touch it to go down.
While the study was limited to hospitals, the results supposedly hold true no matter
where you are.
A professor of microbiology and environmental sciences at the University of Arizona's College
of Public Health, found as much as 100 times more bacteria on an elevator button than a
toilet seat.
I’m still trying to figure out how this happens!
One interesting tidbit is that almost half of all women wipe a public toilet seat or
put paper down before using it.
I guess that helps?
3 - Restaurants The biggest germ traps found in restaurants
have nothing to do with undercooked meat or day-old seafood.
So where are the dirtiest spots?!
It's actually the menu and the seats customers sit on!
Because all customers sit on them, and most restaurants don't sanitize seats, it’s actually
one of the dirtiest things in a restaurant.
The next thing you’ll want to pay attention to are the menus!
A menu is gonna go through many different hands throughout the day, and c’mon, how
many people are vigorously washing their hands?
Lemon wedges used for drinks are another germ trap.
Half of the lemon wedges tested in a study commissioned by ABC news were found to be
contaminated with fecal matter.
ABC Cameras also caught restaurant workers using their bare hands to reach for lemon
wedges, without gloves or tongs.
This is a major cause of germs spreading quickly, especially if employees haven't washed their
hands well after using the bathroom.
Yeah, I’m skipping out on water with a lemon my next time out.
2 - Toothbrush You put it in your mouth twice daily, I hope,
but do you know know what’s on your toothbrush?
Your toothbrush is home to plaque, blood and even fecal matter.
Yes, you're probably scrubbing those fecal particles all over your pearly whites.
Most people rinse their toothbrush after they use it, and leave it damp.
I mean, of course we leave it damp!
Who’s blow-drying their toothbrushes out there?!
Because no one blow-drys their toothbrush, it creates a playground for bacteria to grow
on.
And it’s not just your mouth you have to worry about.
Germs and bacteria from your toilet get sprayed up into the air every time the toilet is flushed.
Here’s a gross fact for you: Germs can stay airborne in the bathroom for at least two
hours after each flush before landing on surfaces!
Ahhh science, gotta love it!
A 2012 study by Manchester University in England says that more than 10 million bacteria call
your toothbrush home.
MythBusters found toothbrushes sitting outside a bathroom can be speckled with fecal matter,
too.
In fact, toothbrushes right out of the box can harbor bacteria because they aren't sold
in sterile packaging.
Before you toss your toothbrush in horror, know that most germs won't hurt you as long
as you’re using toothpaste.
And let’s not forget, NOT brushing does a lot more damage to your health.
Still though.
Ugh.
1 - Public hot tub Public hot tubs are probably the last thing
you’d want to get into with a bunch of strangers.
Going in the hot tub is like taking a bath with a stranger.
That’s true for whenever you’re in water with everyone else.
Essentially you’re in a giant bath with everyone in the pool, the water park, hot
tub, and anywhere else you can think of.
Germs in contaminated water can enter your body if you accidentally swallow the water,
and can cause infections in your eyes, nose, ears, as well as in any cuts and scrapes.
In a study by a microbiologist at Texas A&M University, it was found that nearly all hot
tubs house some type of microbial growth.
In 95 percent of the tested tubs, bacteria derived from feces were present.
81 percent had fungi, and 34 percent contained potentially deadly staph bacteria!
Yeah, hot tubs are gonna be a no for me too dawg.
Chlorine does a good job of killing most germs, but it DOESN’T sterilize the water.
A few germs can survive normal pool, hot tub, and spa levels of chlorine for several hours
to days.
Unlike a pool, the warmer temperature of a hot tub makes it more difficult to maintain
the proper disinfectant levels that certain germs can’t survive in.
Here’s what’s next!