Nearly all of us spend plenty of time cleaning our bathrooms and disinfecting our toilets – but the germiest items in your home are almost certainly sneaking somewhere you would never think to clean. From your kitchen to the bedside table, here are eight everyday unexpected household items that could be making you ill. Your kitchen sponge The single germiest item in your home is in fact not your toilet. It is the sponge sitting in the kitchen next to your sink. Research from Furtwangen
University in Germany found that kitchen sponges can harbour up to 362 different types of bacteria, more than a toilet seat. A study published in the journal Scientific Reports found up to 50 billion bacterial cells per cubic centimetre living inside a used sponge, including Salmonella, E. coli and Staphylococcus. Microbiologist Markus Egert, who led the research, advised people to replace their sponges every two weeks and to never use it to wipe up after raw meat. Your mobile phone The phone we use every
day for multiple hours also harbours many germs. A UK study by Initial Washroom Hygiene, which swabbed over 2,000 smartphones . They use the same method hospitals use to test surface cleanliness. It found that 1 in 6 phones tested in a British study was contaminated with faecal matter. It found that 59% of people admit to using their phones in the bathroom, the risk of cross-contamination is constant. Wipe your screen with an antibacterial cloth regularly and keep it out of the bathroom. Your
chopping board Research from NSF International found that the kitchen chopping board contains around 200 times more faecal bacteria than a toilet seat. E. coli and Salmonella can survive for hours on a dry board surface. Always use separate boards for raw meat and vegetables, wash thoroughly with hot soapy water after every use and replace boards that have developed deep grooves. Your toothbrush A toothbrush stored in the average bathroom is exposed to more bacteria than most people realise. Flushing a nearby toilet releases
a plume of microscopic droplets that can travel up to six feet which can land directly on a toothbrush left out in the open. You should store yours upright behind a closed cabinet door and replace it every three months. Shared vapes Approximately 430,000 adults vape in Ireland, and 5.5 million adults now vape in the UK. One habit is going largely unnoticed: sharing vapes. Health Secretary Wes Streeting told Parliament this month that meningitis bacteria can spread through the sharing of vapes and drinks.
Dr Simon Clarke, associate professor of cellular microbiology at the University of Reading, explained that meningitis B spreads through contact with saliva and respiratory secretions. This means sharing a vape directly exchanges the kind of mouth secretions the bacterium travels in. To keep your vape clean, Ecigone recommends wiping the mouthpiece with an antibacterial wipe after every use, deep clean the full device every two weeks and never share your vape with anyone. Your kitchen hand towel Researchers collected 82 kitchen hand towels from households
across the US and Canada and found coliform bacteria, the family that includes E. coli and Salmonella in 89% of them. A damp towel left hanging all week is a perfect warm environment for bacteria to multiply rapidly. Wash yours daily, or at the very minimum every other day, on a hot wash. Your coffee machine reservoir The warm, dark, damp interior of a coffee machine reservoir ranked in the top five germiest household items in a landmark study by NSF International, which swabbed 30
everyday household items across 22 homes. The reservoir was found to contain mould and mildew. NSF recommends running undiluted white vinegar through the unit monthly to kill bacteria and mould buildup, followed by two or three cycles of fresh water. Your pet’s bowl If you have a dog or cat , their bowl is almost certainly one of the dirtiest surfaces in your home. NSF International found yeast and mould on 45% of pet bowls tested, Staphylococcus aureus in 14% and coliform bacteria in 18%.
E. coli is rarely found elsewhere in the home. However it was detected in pet bowls in two of the households studied. Pet bowls should be washed daily in hot soapy water and placed in a sanitising dishwasher cycle at least once a week. Want to see more of the stories you love from the Irish Mirror? Making us your preferred source on Google means you’ll get more of our exclusives, top stories and must-read content straight away. To add Irish Mirror as a preferred
source, simply click here .
kitchen sponge germs, mobile phone bacteria, chopping board bacteria, toothbrush droplets, shared vapes meningitis B, kitchen hand towel bacteria, coffee machine reservoir mould, pet bowl yeast mould