Seeing how I just returned from the grocery store and was surrounded by coughing & sneezing people thought you might like to know where are the top 10 germiest places. Most of these you may already know but a few may surprise you.
1. Your kitchen sink
“Kitchen sinks are dirtier than most bathrooms,” says Kelly Reynolds, PhD, an environmental microbiologist at the University of Arizona. There are typically more than 500,000 bacteria per square inch in the drain. In fact, in a recent study, half of the top 10 germiest spots in the home were (gulp!) in the kitchen. That sponge you use to clean the counter? Crawling with bacteria, as are the sink’s basin and faucet handles.
2. Airplane bathrooms (yuck! I never go in these things!)
It’s not exactly a shock that there are a huge number of germs in most public bathrooms, but experts agree that those cramped and overused airplane loos (with only about one toilet for every 50 people) are the worst. “There are often traces of E. coli or fecal bacteria on the faucets and door handles, because it’s hard to wash your hands in those tiny sinks,” Gerba says. But here’s the worst news: The volcanic flush of the commode tends to spew particles into the air, coating the floor and walls with, well, whatever had been swirling around in there.
3. A load of wet laundry (another gross one! soiled undergarment, isn’t that why we have toilet paper?)
“Clean clothes” is a whopper of an oxymoron. “Anytime you transfer underwear from the washer to the dryer, you’re going to get E. coli on your hands,” Gerba says. Just one soiled undergarment can spread bacteria to the whole load and the machine.
4. Public drinking fountains (with people carrying bottled water everywhere they go do they still use drinking fountains?)
Drinking fountains are bound to be germy, but school fountains are the biggest offenders, with anywhere from 62,000 to 2.7 million bacteria per square inch on the spigot, says Robert Donofrio, PhD, director of microbiology for NSF International. Other school hot spots: cafeteria trays, sink handles, desk-tops, and computer keyboards.
5. Shopping cart handles ( I hate these things! my grocery store provides sanitizing wipes at the cart aisle)
Saliva. Bacteria. Fecal matter. Those are just a few of the choice substances Gerba found on shopping cart handles. Carts rank high on the yuck scale because they’re handled by dozens of people every day and you’re “putting your broccoli where some kid’s butt was,” says the professor of environmental microbiology. And, of course, raw food carries nasty pathogens.
6. ATM buttons
If you’re not careful, you might pick up more than quick cash from your local ATM. Those buttons have more gunk on them than most public-bathroom doorknobs. (The same goes for vending-machine buttons, bus armrests, and escalator handrails.) After testing 38 ATMs in downtown Taipei, Chinese researchers recently found that each key contained, on average 1,200 germs. “ATMs aren’t frequently cleaned, and they are regularly touched—a perfect combination for a lot of germs,” environmental microbologist Kelly Reynolds, PhD, says.
7. Your Marc Jacobs?
Dirty? Yep. Think petri dish. When University of Arizona professor of environmental microbiology Charles Gerba, PhD, and his team tested women’s purses not long ago, they found that most had tens of thousands of bacteria on the bottom and a few were overrun with millions. Another study found bugs like pseudomonas (which can cause eye infections), and skin-infection-causing staphylococcus bacteria, as well as salmonella and E. coli. Your makeup case is every bit as bad, as are your guy’s wallet and personal digital assistant.
8. Playgrounds
There’s just no way to put this delicately: Children tend to ooze bodily fluids and then spread them around. “When we sampled playgrounds, we were pretty aghast at what we found—blood, mucus, saliva, urine,” Kelly Reynolds, PhD, says. Pair those findings with the fact that children put their fingers in their mouths and noses more than the rest of us, and it’s easy to understand why Junior (and maybe his mom or dad) has the sniffles.
9. Mats and machines at health clubs
“I see a yoga mat, and I worry,” says Elizabeth Scott, PhD, who has found antibiotic-resistant staphylococcus on yoga mats and cardio and resistance machines. “At high schools, antibiotic-resistant-staph infections have been transmitted through wrestling mats. The same thing could happen at health clubs.”
10. Your bathtub
Shocking, but true: The place you go to get clean is quite dirty. In a recent study, Elizabeth Scott, PhD, found staphylococcus bacteria, a common cause of serious skin infections, in 26 percent of the tubs she tested, as compared with just 6 percent of garbage cans. Tubs typically had more than 100,000 bacteria per square inch! “It makes sense when you think about it,” she says. “You’re washing germs and viruses off your body. The tub is a fairly moist environment, so bacteria can grow.”
Technorati Tags: germs – bacteria
This is pretty discouraging. I guess I am going to have to be like Howard Hughes and retreat into the germ free bunker!
We could take the Howard Hughes approach, but from a “practical standpoint,” what is one expected to do?? Walt
Wash hands, wash hands, wash hands and when public do not touch your eyes, nose and mouth. You can’t become a germ-a-phobe like Howard Hughes but you do have to become very aware of what your hands are touching.
Oh yeah… I HATE germs! I carry antibacterial wipes to wipe off carts and high chairs and tables when we go places. At first I didn’t, but when your baby gets sicknesses that no one else in the family has had, and she does not go anywhere that you don’t go, you tend to figure she must have picked it up from the shopping cart. So far, so good. Every since I’ve started using the wipes, she hasn’t had any sicknesses like that. Those things are a miracle LOL… Along with these listed, my LEAST favorite germy place is Pay Phones! I’m so glad we have cell phones now… There is nothing worse than sticking your face to something and smelling someone elses nasty breath. Its like you can feel germs just crawling onto you… YUCK.. My question, tho……. is there any way to get that laundry clean????????? ACK… That’s got me freaking out……
Thanks for sharing! (Now I can be a little more paranoid…..) **quoting Leonardo DiCaprio in the Aviator** “the way of the future — the way of the future…… etc. etc….”
lol… I just noticed that everyone had already mentioned Howard Hughes LOL…
Well Elaine, all these things are true however….When I shop it never ceases to amaze me how much of the fruits and veggies are handled by shoppers, including me. I wonder just how many nasty things are lurking there. All this information is enough to make us all crazy.
We can only be aware and prudent, after that it is just a turkey shoot. love ya, aj
On the other hand, I just got an e-mail, fully referenced, that exposure to bacterial endotoxins (say from older sibs, preschools, or cow manure–the author cited a reference that studied dairy farmers) spiffs up your immune system against cancers. Those manure movers had a significantly decreased risk of lung cancer, even if they were smokers, provided they remained active in the dairy business.
So I’m happy that I never wipe off grocery cart handles, sit all day in small exam rooms with people who cough, and drink from the fountain at the gym. Well, sort of happy. Well, not really happy right now at all.
You are right! Some of them did surprise me!
I didn’t give much thought before about a week ago to the “shopping cart” handle issue … until I noticed our supermarket had sanitizing wipes nearby. I’ll be a regular for using the wipes from now on!
Hi Elaine,
Yikes! I’m never leaving my house again. I hope all is well with you and your family. I’m going to scrub my hands now. -Mike.
Guess I’ll be washing my dirty chonas by hand…
Yeah, germs on shopping carts are serious stuff. I ended designing my own shopping cart seat covers with a patent-pending bacteria resistant padding. http://www.justpeachybaby.com .. it was difficult to find a cover that was stylish and also compact. And made in USA.
Julie – glad the baby is staying healthy! Check out comment # 11 from Bonnie.
aj – aware and prudent is good advice
Denver Doc – I know we can’t do anything about people coughing and sneezing on us and we probably pick up most of our colds that way. But the grocery car thing is another matter. If I can minimize my chances of getting sick, then I will. Glad you’re staying healthy. Interesting story about the manure movers.
Nooner - if it keeps you from getting a cold, then why not? That’s what they’re for.
Mike – LOL All is good here, hope everyone is staying healthy over at your house.
Jason – LOL gotta love your sense of humor.
Bonnie – I’m so glad you stopped in posted your link. I have seen those covers (though not many) when grocery shopping and thought what a great idea! And made in the USA, an even added bonus!
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Urrgghh the one about plane bathrooms….
I say this list recently on the Today Show. Some of the places I expected to see like the plane toilet, ATM buttons, cart handles, etc.
Some of them though I was a little surprised by my wet laundry? Come on, I just washed it! I used to skip the dryer and air dry a lot of my clothes, but after hearing this I do the dryer since they say the heat there helps kill the germs.