- Kitchen sink
Kitchen sinks are dirtier than most bathrooms. There are typically more than 500,000 bacteria per square inch in the drain alone and don’t forget those found on the sponge, basin and faucet handles.
- Airplane bathrooms
There are often traces of E. coli or fecal bacteria on the faucets and door handles because it’s hard to wash hands in the tiny sinks. However the volcanic flush of the commode tends to spew particles into the air, coating the floor and walls with whatever had been swirling around in it.
- Wet laundry
There’s about a gram of feces in every pair of dirty underwear and any time you transfer underwear from the washer to the dryer, you’re getting E. coli on your hands. Just one soiled undergarment can spread bacteria to the whole load and machine. Transfer wet laundry to the dryer quickly so germs don’t multiply, wash underwear separately and dry for at least 45 minutes. Wash your hands after laundering.
- Public drinking fountains
Public drinking fountains are filled with germs, but school fountains are the worst, with anywhere from 62,000 to 2.7 million bacteria per square inch on the spigot.
- Shopping cart handles
Cart handles are handled by dozens of people on a daily basis and as a result, you will be holding on to saliva, bacteria and fecal matters.
- ATM buttons
These buttons have more gunk on them than most public-bathroom doorknobs! ATMs aren’t frequently cleaned even though they are regularly touched.
- Handbags
Recent studies found that most women’s purses 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), skin-infection-causing staphylococcus bacteria, salmonella and E. coli.
- Playgrounds
Researchers sampled playgrounds and found blood, mucus, saliva and urine.
- Mats and machines at health clubs
Antibiotic-resistant staphylococcus has been found on exercise mats and cardio and resistance machines. At high schools, antibiotic-resistant-staph infections have been transmitted through wrestling mats.
- Bathtub
Bathtubs contain more than 100,000 bacteria per square inch, some of which were washed off from your own body.
- Office phone
Phones are coated with germs from our mouth and hands. They often have more than 25,000 germs per square inch.
- Hotel-room remote control
Again, this device has been used by hundreds of other people, and very likely it wouldn’t be thoroughly disinfected in between.
Source: Health Magazine
Chapter: Health :: 17 January 2008
