The 10 Germiest Spots in Your Home, According to Scientists

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The world is a grimy place , with bacterium and computer virus lurking everywhere you turn . Of particular care are spots that get a lot of human touch modality traffic . “ These surface always have the potential difference to roll up germs which live on our skin or which get transferred from our gastrointestinal tract to our hide , ” saysStephen Thomas , M.D. , prof and chair of microbiology and immunology at Upstate Medical University in Syracuse , New York . With so many germs teeming on so many surface , how can you protect yourself ? Practicing cleanliness is the only agency .

Maybe you ’ve already adopted a few clean habits to minimize your contact with bacterium : Maybe you avoid touch public restroom doorway handle , or you sanitize your hands after you get immediate payment out at the ATM , or you hit lift button with your elbow . But public spaces are only half the battle . Plenty of challenge bug lurk on high - traffic surfaces in your own home . What are some of these gross spots in your house , and more important , how do you clean them ? Some of these may surprise you .

Person cleaning kitchen sink with sponge and spray bottle.

Photo: istockphoto.com

1. Kitchen Sponge

If you ’re on after - dinner party sweetheart tariff , you might want to recall twice before reach for your trusty kitchen sponge . Astudy published in 2017found roughly 362 different coinage of bacteria in 28 samples postulate from 14 used saucer sponges . Yuck ! To clean up your washup function , clean your spongeevery twenty-four hours . you may pour down bacterium by microwaving a damp sponge on high for 1 minute , or by soaking it in a solution of pee and a little amount of bleach .

To effectively combat seed , however , you should replace your parazoan every hebdomad or so . If a plurality of fresh sponges is out of your budget , switch from a parazoan to a dishcloth , and wash the dish antenna rag frequently .

2. Video Game Controller

As it turn out , video games put more than Princess Peach ’s exemption at risk — they can put your wellness at risk too . One study lead by on-line gaming companyBetwaytested several eccentric of gaming controllers and found surprising measure of bacterium on them . The PlayStation controller they tested had the most colony - organise bacteria unit ( roughly 72.5 ) per swab carry , which is 2.4 times more than would be expected to be found on a toilet seat .

If you expend your gaming system regularly , you should cleanse the controller every hebdomad or so to keep germs in check mark . First , remove thebatteriesfrom the controller , and then scratch the crevices with a dry soup-strainer . Wet a cloth with a miscellany of water andrubbing intoxicant , and itch softly over the aerofoil of the controller to sanitize . Let it dry altogether before using it .

3. Coffee Maker Reservoir

That morning cupful of joe could be putting you in contact with a major amount of bacteria , accord toresearchers at NSF , an independent public health organization . Their scientists set up yeast and mold in half of the reservoirs of household coffee makers they tested .

There ’s no need to swear off caffein , though . Resolve toclean the coffee berry makerreservoir every month or so , depending on how frequently you utilize the machine . Start by occupy the reservoir with equal parts vinegar and body of water , and then set the coffee maker to brew . When the cycle is done , run a cycle with just water to clear out the acetum perceptiveness . If you ca n’t commit to frequent cleaning , debate switching to a dishwasher - safe French public press , for a cleaner — and tastier — caffein fix .

4. Toothbrush Holder

Brushing your teeth is an crucial part of your hygienics routine , but the very cleaning shaft you use to brush could be spreading more germ than they eliminate .

One - third of the household soup-strainer holdersstudied by NSF had coliform bacteria present , an indication that fecal topic may be contaminating the Earth’s surface .

“ When multitude do their stage business , it is potential not all of the business is even down the toilet but can also be unloosen into the air and then float around and land on surface , let in toothbrushes , ” Thomas explicate . Because toothbrush and soup-strainer holders are generally moist from utilisation , they bring home the bacon a just metier for bacteria to acquire . Thomas says that your “ best bet is to ensure the privy are routinely cleaned , and do your best to scavenge your soup-strainer before and after habit and to interchange it at regular intervals . ”

Yellow and green kitchen scrub sponge in a stainless sink.

Photo: istockphoto.com deepblue4you

To clean your toothbrush holder , allow it sit in a loving cup ofvinegarfor about an hour , and then thoroughly rinse and dry out it before return the toothbrush to their right place .

If you ’ve been trying to minimize contamination byclosing the lav lid before you level , observe that arecent studyin theAmerican Journal of Infection Controlfound that this has no outcome on cross contamination . Instead , prevent recontamination by keep the bathroom white and disinfected , stash away your toothbrushes at a safe aloofness from the commode , and practice effective handwashing . “ Washing your hand regularly is a great room to trim down down on what you get on your skin , mouth , eyes , and anywhere else you adjoin , ” Thomas says .

5. Cutting Board

Though there ’s some dissonance about which type of cut board is more sanitary , wood or charge plate , they all bear a lot of bacteria . consort toCharles Gerba , Ph.D. , a microbiologist at the University of Arizona , there is 200 times more fecal bacteria on the average cutting dining table than on a lav seat , mostly of which come from the new gist you ’ve been slicing and dicing . While you seek to get that disturbing statistic out of your head , you’re able to commit to giving your cutting board a thoroughgoing scrub with honest previous - fashioned hot water and soap after every use . ( If you have a plastic cutting board , just pop it in the dishwasher . ) To trim the endangerment of crown of thorns contamination , FoodSafety.gov urge hold on one circuit board for fresh produce that wo n’t be cooked and another for trim down bare-ass meat , poultry , and fish .

6. Cell Phone

Given all the hour you expend scroll , texting , and twirp , yourcell phoneis probably one of the most germ - mount thing you own . In a recentstudyof electric cell phones in a Peruvian town , more than 92 percent of the 127 cell phones sampled showed bacterial growth , and 17 percentage of the civilization evidence resistance to some tested antibiotic drug . Do n’t get your phone make you — or anyone else — sickish . To keep it fresh , just mix up water and 70 percent isopropyl alcohol in a spray bottle , lightly spray a microfiber textile , and swipe it across your screen and telephone case about once a hebdomad .

7. Stove Knobs

When you cook dinner party , you probably become on the cooking stove without debate the nasty germs that may be lallygag on it . But did you know that your stove ’s ostensibly unobjectionable knobs are among the dirtiest spots in your kitchen ? It ’s true : The 2011 NSF subject area found that almost one - third of stove knob harbored yeast or mold . To cast out the microbe , take your stove knobs and soak them in a root of white-hot acetum and water to disinfect them . If the stove thickening can not be removed , just spray them with a natural cleanser and wipe them down after 30 seconds to restore them to pristine condition .

8. Handbag Handles

Your handbag move everywhere with you — the memory , the part , and perchance even the public public convenience — so it ’s not surprising that it picks up a lot of bacteria on its travelling . In astudy published in 2015 , investigator tested 145 purses and regain that 138 of them showed bacterial contamination . Their finish ? Purses are potential vectors for disease transmission . To get those germy hitchhikers off your handbag , depend on the textile it ’s made of , either strip it within and out with a antimicrobic wipe , or a bit of grievous bodily harm and water on a microfiber cloth .

9. Kitchen Sink

The kitchen sink sees it all : stark naked chicken , used umber grounds , and food fight . Because it ’s the hub of so much preparation activity , the sink can get pretty gross . Astudy release in 2022tested 10 Houston households for bacteria on the cesspit waste pipe , refrigerator handle , kitchen counter , and dish sponge . Of these locations , the cesspool waste pipe had the greatest diversity of bacteria , including foodborne pathogen likePseudomonasandEscherichia . To cut down on bacteria in the cesspit , splash it with bake soda pop and pass over down with a vinegar - soaked newspaper towel , or draw out out the large guns by using a commercialdisinfectant atomiser .

10. Pet Bowl

Sure , Fido wo n’t hesitate to eat talk intellectual nourishment right off the floor , but that does n’t mean he ’s immune to the bacterium lurking in your house . In fact , according to that 2011 NSF written report , the barm and mold that live in yourpet’sbowl make it one of the dirtiest spot in the home , and have the potentiality to make you or your pet grisly . As Thomas adds , “ the big and most well - get laid source of bacterium in animals is their mouth . hot dog , and especially cats , have mouths that are meet with all sorting of bacteria , some of which can cause ugly infection in humans if the animal scrub or bites you . ”

Do your firedog ( and yourself ) a favor by running your pets ’ nutrient and piddle saucer through the dishwashing machine on a regular basis , and “ take a secondment to think where your dearie ’s sassing has been before you go in for a smack , ” Thomas say .

Everything You Need for a Lush and Healthy Lawn

Close up of two young people’s hands holding video game controllers.