There’s a certain stigma associated with the toilet seat—in fact, it has, somehow, become the ultimate barometer of how dirty an item is. But in scientific studies that crop up periodically, the humble porcelain bowl often turns out to be much cleaner than the sundry objects we unthinkingly touch daily: our smartphones, kitchen appliances, and even that innocent-looking desktop or laptop on your office desk.
According to a microbiologist at the University of Arizona, Chuck Gerba, one square inch of toilet seat usually has about 50 bacteria. But other household items can have many more. He explains that the worst offender is probably the chopping board, which harbors about 200 times as much fecal bacteria per square inch as a toilet seat. Other household culprits include public building light switches, faucet handles, and elevator buttons.
If you’re not washing your sponges regularly, a good scrub with antibacterial soap and water should do the trick. But if you are, you might want to consider getting rid of your old ones—a study found that a single used kitchen sponge has 45 billion bacteria per square centimeter.
Gerba says we should also clean other items that are touched often but don’t get a thorough wipe down, such as remote controls for the TV and air-conditioner, which can have up to 1,500 bacteria per square inch. Even our keyboards can be a breeding ground for germs, mainly if more than one person uses them daily.
And, in case you don’t already know, your bed can be a real germ magnet too. Pillowcases that haven’t been washed in a week can contain 17 thousand times as many bacteria as a toilet seat, a study by US mattress-maker Amerisleep found.
And, of course, don’t forget the most important object of all—your hands! Washing them regularly with a gentle cleanser and using hand sanitizers where necessary will help you avoid picking up nasty bacteria and viruses. Remember to keep those antibacterial wet wipes handy when you can’t get to a sink immediately. It could save your life, especially in this challenging time of the year. These things will go a long way in keeping you healthy and happy this winter.