When you think of germs, your mind probably goes straight to the toilet…literally. It's easy to assume that the toilet, and the bathroom in general, are the dirtiest places you frequent on a daily basis. However, that surprisingly just isn't true.
Now, we're not saying that you should go ahead and eat a sandwich off of your toilet seat, but there are far filthier things that you'd never suspect. In fact, there are things you touch, carry and use every day that transport and transfer way more icky germs and bacteria than you could even imagine.
We've found thirteen every day items and locations that carry way more cooties than your toilet seat.
Um, gross.
Please SHARE to spread this list and stop the spread of germs…and then grab the bleach and get to cleaning!
The not-so-disgusting truth about toilets:
Due to the fact that we automatically assume the toilet is a dirty, disgusting place, we tend to clean it regularly. There are tons of products specifically designed to keep your commode clean so it ends up being much less germy than you'd suspect. However, there are lots of dirty things in your house that you'd never guess have the cooties…
1. Your Cell Phone
The next time you're about to put your cell phone to your ear, think about the last place you laid it or the last place you took it. Yes, we know you're answering Facebook messages or catching up on Candy Crush in the bathroom at work. Believe it or not, your cell phone may have 500 times more bacteria than your toilet. Now you may want to think twice before pressing that thing up against your cheek.
2. Your Purse
Just like a cell phone, women take their purses everywhere and put them down in just as many places. We don't think twice before tossing them carelessly under the table at a restaurant, on the bathroom floor, atop a sticky bar or under our seats at the movie theater. Besides your wallet, makeup and cell phone, there's a pretty good chance you're also carrying things like staphylococcus bacteria and fecal matter. Um, ick.
3. Restaurant Menus
Just as you toss your purse on the floor and reach for the bread basket while glancing at the menu at your favorite restaurant, you may want to think about how many hands have touched that menu and how often it's cleaned. Chances are many, and not often. Would you touch the toilet and then eat a tortilla chip? We think not. Pass the hand sanitizer please.
4. Ice
Ordering a drink at your favorite restaurant or bar? You may want to ask for it without the ice. Due to dirty ice makers and unsanitary storage conditions, studies have shown that ice served in restaurants often have more bacteria than toilet water. Drink up!?
5. Shopping Carts
Much like restaurant menus, grocery carts fall prey to being touched by lots of hands and receiving little cleaning. Throw in the germs that may come off raw food and the likelihood that a snotty kid was chewing on that handle and you're not likely to visit the grocery store again without some latex gloves.
6. Door Knobs
It's probably safe to assume that you don't walk around washing the door knobs in your house on a regular basis. Combine the ones inside your house with all the door handles you touch outside your house, and you're picking up all types of germs. The next time someone holds the door for you, thank them for saving you from all types of bacteria.
7. ATM Buttons
Next time you hit up the ATM, you may be getting a lot more than just cash from the machine. Each button has an average of 1,200 germs, so pop in your pin number and you've already collected nearly 5,000 germs. That's not even counting the cooties in the cash itself…
8. Money
Speaking of money…It's not so rare to buy a snack and then eat it without washing your hands, not giving a thought to the grime living on that cold hard cash. On average, a dollar bill is transferred between 55 different hands and may carry up to 200,000 living bacteria. That brings a whole new meaning to the phrase "dirty money."
9. Your Keyboard
I bet you sneezed at work today and kept typing without washing your hands, or maybe you share a keyboard with your entire family, including a teenager with God-knows-what under his fingernails. Well, that God-knows-what is now smeared all over your keyboard, spreading germs and bacteria with each and every keystroke. In fact, I'm cringing while I type this because keyboards typically have 400 times more bacteria than your toilet seat.
10. Your Steering Wheel
Although you may not think of it, your car is actually a breeding ground for all types of cooties. Think about how often you touch something public before driving – a grocery cart, an ATM keypad, a gas pump – and you get the picture. Toss in some occasional fast good in your car, a cough…and you've got an even grosser situation. In fact, an average steering wheel may have up to 700 bacteria per square inch.
11. Your Chopping Board
Even though you probably clean your cutting board with soap and hot water, it's still a breeding ground for grossness. In fact, research shows that chopping boards have 200 times more fecal bacteria (yes, poop) than a toilet seat due to the raw meat cut there. Puke.
12. Your Kitchen Sink
While you may think your kitchen sink is clean due to all of the sanitizing that happens there, it's quite possibly the most unsanitary place in your house. Most kitchen sinks are full of germs such as Salmonella and E. Coli, while the drain may carry 500,000 bacteria per square inch. Gross.
13. Your Kitchen Sponges
Just like your kitchen sink, your kitchen sponges are one of the most unsuspecting germ-filled things in your house. Due to the fact that they're porous and moist (ew!), germs and bacteria live and breed on the very sponges that you use to clean counters, dishes and utensils. In fact, sponges typically have 10 million bacteria per square inch, making them the germiest thing in your house. The kicker? Your sponge is 200,000 times dirtier than your toilet seat!
