The desperate fight against the unseen to secure our world's future
Studies around the world have recently been able to identify some objects that people interact with on a daily basis that are actually covered in more germs than you might think. Curious? Click through this gallery to see what are the everyday things that you really should be cleaning more often.
While your toothbrush is designed to kill germs when coupled with some toothpaste, there are some resilient germs that stick to the bristles and drop onto the holder below.
Scientists have often tried to remind people that a dog’s mouth is not cleaner than a human’s. In fact, a dog’s toy rolls around the most unseemly places, and when your beloved pet gets hold of it, their saliva can create a sticky surface that attracts even more dirt.
You may not know this, but your computer keyboard is also one of the dirtiest places that you can interact with. If you have a cat, it’s even worse, since they feel the need to crawl all over your workspace, and you’re bound to spread some germs whenever you press a button.
Blowing out candles is admittedly a fun experience, but it’s one of the dirtiest things that someone can actively do, considering they’re spraying their germs all over the cake. In fact, one study showed that blowing out candles can increase the amount of bacteria on the cake by 1,400%!
Leftover food residue, however microscopic, can cause microbes to grow at a commensurate rate. That’s why kitchen sinks are among the filthiest places in any house.
Everyone in the family has touched the remote, and when no one has it in their hands, it’s either lying on the sofa (even in the sofa) or falling to the floor.
Just like dog toys, pet bowls are also havens where germs can live their best lives. In fact, pet bowls are often worse, considering they hold food on top of your dog’s saliva and are rarely cleaned after a meal.
It passes from hand to hand all day long, sitting inside dark registers and ATMs and gathering an ungodly amount of germs with each passing second. It’s no wonder that money is one of the dirtiest objects that any person can touch.
The bottom of your shoes are some of the dirtiest places on the planet. In fact, studies have found that Clostridium difficile (a bacterium that causes diarrhea) was more often found on the bottoms of shoes than on toilet seats.
A lot of people interact with shopping carts on a daily basis, and they usually don’t get properly sanitized because there are so many of them.
There’s a reason why nonprofit organizations that receive clothing donations always insist that people refrain from donating underwear. Anyone who wears undies previously used by someone else is simply begging for a UTI!
The handrail on an escalator is among the worst places that a person can touch. They tend to mostly be located in shopping malls, which means that you’re not only dealing with germs from the general public, but also grease from people who finished a fast-food meal and didn’t wash their hands.
Although it seems counterintuitive, soap dispensers are also incredibly filthy. The soap inside can actually get contaminated if the dispenser is refilled before it’s completely empty.
Let’s be honest: how often does anyone actually wash their shower curtain? This part of the bathroom is often overlooked in the cleaning process, even though it encounters a lot of dirt and water that make it a great place for bacteria to live.
Your cell phone travels with you almost wherever you go (even to the toilet), and while you may wash your hands after doing your business, studies have shown that people don’t tend to wipe down their phones. That means your beloved device can be up to 10 times dirtier than a toilet seat!
When the air outside of a car (which typically carries mold spores and bacteria) gets sucked through the vents, it’s often deposited on the dashboard. And since it’s the place that receives the most sunlight and stays warm, it’s the perfect environment for bacteria to grow.
Let’s face it: handbags are pretty filthy, since they contain a plethora of items that people interact with on a daily basis. Keys, purses, and packs of chewing gum–everything you touch during the day is assembled into one convenient place where all the germs can play.
This may not be something that people interact with every day, but it certainly is one of the dirtiest places you can frequent. Water parks are notorious for their bustling summertime activity, but as each person jumps into the pools, they leave behind a steady amount of dead skin, bacteria, and disease.
Although many homeowners wipe down the handles of their taps quite often, the part where the water actually comes out is usually overlooked. The faucet of a tap encounters water far more frequently than any other part of the kitchen, which means it’s a great home for mold.
Think about how many people in your office touch the coffee pot, or the fridge handle, or even the buttons on the printer. Every person brings their own germs into the office from home, and all of them gather on the local office equipment.
As you brew your daily cup of coffee, mold and yeast can gather amidst the oily residue left behind in the reservoir and pot of your coffee maker. Studies show that many owners of such machines rarely clean them.
It’s all in the bag! Vacuum cleaners (including their brushes and bags) are essentially meals-on-wheels for bacteria and germs. And what makes it worse is that many of these harmful organisms are simply sent back into the air anytime you use your vacuum cleaner.
Although this sounds like a contradiction, your seemingly clean wet laundry is actually a perfect haven for certain microbes to thrive. Some microbes have been known to thrive in temperatures up to 140°F (60°C), so anything lower than this will probably not kill them.
It’s no small thing to say that a dish sponge is a veritable Noah’s ark for the amount of microorganisms contained inside. After all, the average sponge is a great supporter of mold and yeast, and they should be replaced every week.
Dish towels are probably equally as gross as dish sponges, if not more so since they do not encounter soap as often. Studies have indicated that as many as 7% of kitchen towels in the US are contaminated with life-threatening bacteria.
Airplane bathrooms are comparable to porta-potties in how dirty they are, especially since they are designed to service a lot of people. Additionally, airlines have been known to streamline their cleaning process between flights, which means that the toilets are often overlooked.
Not only do ATMs usually sit outside, exposed to the various elements and germs, but they are also touched by possibly hundreds of people every day. And no one is really going out of their way to clean them.
Bacteria is everywhere in the world and cannot be stopped, no matter how much effort is put in. The human mouth is one of the places where it thrives, especially since it is the gateway for both your food and your oxygen. That’s why brushing your teeth is so important!
Sources: (WebMD) (Around Lab News) (The Weather Channel) (Prevention) (The Washington Post)
See also: Everyday things you didn’t realize are harming your mental health
Everyday places that are incredibly dirty, according to science
You should probably clean these places more thoroughly!
HEALTH Hygiene
The human body is designed to resist and fight against diseases, but it isn’t always successful. Sometimes, germs and bacteria can enter and render us incapable of functioning for days on end, and it can be very difficult to identify exactly what made you sick in the first place.
Studies around the world have recently been able to identify some objects that people interact with on a daily basis that are actually covered in more germs than you might think. Curious? Click through this gallery to see what are the everyday things that you really should be cleaning more often.