The 12 Dirtiest Items in Your Home:

Your kitchen floor likely isn’t the dirtiest thing in the house, nor is the toilet seat according to the NY Times article by Aaron Carroll, a Doctor and Professor of Pediatrics at India University School of Medicine. The biggest offenders aren’t what you might suspect.

Your own home is still the most common place for germs to spread, says Charles Gerba aka “Dr. Germ” and his colleagues. Professor Gerba is microbiology and environmental sciences professor at University of Arizona, and writes extensively on the subject.

More than just dirt and dust, there are around 200,000 species of bugs, bacteria and fungus that can be found in the home. Also noteworthy – The human body looses 2-3 oz of human skin per month, if you live with multiple humans that’s about a pound of skin to get rid of.

Cell phones can carry lethal MRSA, which has caused more than 100,000 deaths in one year alone! (see below)

This naturally shedding skin has to go somewhere, and that’s usually where are the most – at home. If you’re not vacuuming and dusting frequently, then its going to float around in the air, seep into the carpets, down the vents to come pluming up when the vents come on… and wherever else.

There are 10,000 reasons to clean, the above and below are just a few to consider and help get the motivation going.

The top items in a household for bacteria and viruses are:

Kitchen – items researchers found more contaminated than the kitchen floor:

Refrigerator handles

The counter

The faucet

Coffee Pot Handle (esp at work)

Sink sponges (at work about 50% of the coffee cups had E.coli)

Light Switches

The refrigerator handles were one of the biggest harbingers of various germs and viruses – so much so Professor Gerba recommends wiping them daily! In fact, Cholorx hired him to test its wipes, and his finings were that they actually worked well.

The Bathroom more contaminated than the toilet seat:

Flush Handle on the Toilet

Hand Towels / Bath Towels

Shower Head (inside as Per Rob Dunn PHD Ecology & Evolution)

Toothbrush

Faucet

Sink

Light Switches

Bathroom Faucet – because dirty hands touch it first, and it doesn’t get wiped after, thus residue of whatever was on the hands is now on the faucet for the next person to experience.

Bath towels germ counts were surprising – on day 1 of testing the bacteria count was 260 Thousand, but by Day 7 it was a whopping 650 Million!  Up to 8 different types, including staph aureus and E.Coli.

Tooth Brushes were another gaping statistic – not just loaded with bacteria – including E.Coli but also even fungi. Closing the lid when you flush the toilet, as well as not keeping your toothbrush close to the toilet and buying a new toothbrush frequently.

Anything in the bathroom not encased and subject to toilet plumes and splash-ups from faucets and sinks as well as a myriad of other factors – goes to show one can’t clean the bathroom often enough.

The Living Room:

Remote Controls

Light Switches

Home Cleaning Frequency:

Not cleaning a home frequently enough could lead to a range of negative consequences, including:

Dust accumulation: If surfaces aren’t dusted and cleaned regularly, dust and other allergens can accumulate in the home, leading to respiratory problems, allergies, and other health issues.

Pest infestations: Dirty homes are often attractive to pests like rodents, cockroaches, and ants. If left unchecked, these pests can quickly infest the home and cause inconvenience and damage.

Bad odours: Those odours are coming from somewhere – things just don’t smell for no reason. Without regular cleaning, bad odours can develop in the home from rotting food, pet waste, and other sources of bacteria or mold. Refrain from “just covering up the smell”, plug-ins and sprays have been known to be harmful to humans and pets over the short and long term, plus the origin of the smell could be something very harmful to human health! Real cleaning is best.

Mold growth: Moisture and humidity can build up in a home that isn’t cleaned, leading to mold growth. Mold can cause respiratory issues, allergies, and other health problems. If it’s coming from an air conditioner if it smells funky that can be mold, and you don’t want that blowing through your home.

Increased risk of illness: When a home isn’t cleaned, bacteria and viruses can build up on surfaces, increasing the risk of illness for all those who live there. Bath towels for example 1 day of not cleaning found 260K of bacteria – that same towel not laundered after 7 days was a whopping 650MILLION bacterial count.

Clutter and disorganization: A cluttered and disorganized home can lead to stress, anxiety, and a feeling of being overwhelmed. It’s amazing how what’s around us can affect us in ways we didn’t realize.

For your physical and mental health, as well as the overall well-being of your home, more frequent cleaning is key.

Bonus -> Other random germ and virus prone items:

Cell phone

Paper Money / Coins (likely debit card as well)

Wallet / Purse – as it handles aforementioned money / debit cards

Bacteria Virus and other Pathogens on Cell Phones, Money and Top Rack of Shopping Carts:

Another staggering statistic from the study was cell phones of health care workers. The majority of healthcare workers cell phones were contaminated with MRSA! 95 percent were also contaminated with nosocomial bacteria / staph aureus, according to the study done by Professor Gerba.

For paper money, often the food service worker who handles the money and the one who prepares it are different people, but the purchaser of the food often handles cash and eats the food without washing between, especially through the drive through.

Top rack of the shopping cart – not just the handle – mainly from baby bottoms and raw meat products being stashed there, as per Charles Gerba.

Airplane Trays were one of the worst offenders. When the microbiology professor says “Those trays in front of you are pretty bad”, listen up! “We found influenza virus, norovirus, and cold viruses on those trays”, he says. Professor Gerba highly recommends to have disinfectant wipes in your carry-on.

Purses are a big one for germs because they are often placed on the bathroom floor, in a public bathroom, then taken home and placed on the kitchen or dining room counter!

Contact with germy and bacterially items outside of the home:

Most contaminated items found outside the home that are used regularity by most people:

Gas pump handles

ATM Machine buttons

Top rack of the shopping cart – not just the handle – mainly from baby bottoms and raw meat products being stashed there.

Airplane Trays / Airplane Bathroom

Escalator Handrails

Ice machines – mold is commonly found

(Also for consideration is menu’s that  end up placed on top of the prongs of the cutlery)

Bulk (pink) Soap dispensers – the bulk pink soap inside the dispenser in public bathrooms – sealed soap refillable dispensers are better according to the video produced on Purell’s channel.

To quote an article interview with Professor Gerba by Arizona’s Family News outlet, “Gerba said that while kids get about three to four times more colds a year than adults, even they can cut that number in half just by washing their hands more often and by using hand sanitizer.”

Office Germs:

There can be 400x’s more bacteria on an office desk than an office toilet seat, as the desk is rarely cleaned. Coffee cups are another due to that they are cleaned in communal areas with communal sponges and tea towels. Think of the office kitchen as an “unregulated restaurant”. The cleaning clothes often just spread bacteria around. Microwaves and Refrigerator handles, many people rarely wash their hands before touching these items.

About Us a Markham Home Cleaning Service:

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