Some of the really nasty things in your house.
- Your Smartphone Is Probably Dirtier Than A Public Toilet (Especially If You Work In A Hospital)
The problem with smartphones is that they're portable and super handy, and we have a tendency to whip them out anywhere and everywhere, from restaurants to restrooms. But how dirty could our smartphones things be? According to researchers from the University of Arizona, about ten times dirtier than the average toilet seat. Which is troubling for an item intended to be pressed closely to your face.
- Your Reusable Grocery Bags Are Full Of Disgusting Bacteria, And Possibly Poop
If you're reducing your carbon footprint via reusable grocery bags, congratulations for helping the environment! And the opposite of congratulations for possibly contaminating your food and personal space with bacteria. And, oh yeah, poop.
According to researchers at the University of Arizona and Loma Linda University, only 3 percent of shoppers who have reusable bags ever wash them. As a result, half of the bags tested carried coliform bacteria, while 8 percent contained E. coli. To top it all off, you're probably making the problem even worse by storing the bags in the trunk of your car. While that might seem like the most convenient place to keep them, bacteria love the warm, dark environment, and will seize the opportunity to reproduce.
- Your Shower Head Blasts You With Concentrated Germs, And The Curtain Is Even Worse
Researchers at the University of Colorado Boulder found that shower heads have a way of concentrating nasty bacteria.
Oh, and you know that soapy crud that builds up on your shower curtain? That's a biofilm containing more than a billion bacteria per cubic inch. Between the shower head and the curtain, you're basically surrounding yourself with bacteria, and when you add splattering water and steam to the mix, you're effectively "enmeshed in a bio-aerosol" of germs.
- Any Surface In Your Home That Gets Dusty Is Full Of Toxic Chemicals
A study conducted by the Natural Resources Defense Council found that household dust contains chemicals and microparticle residue from cleaners, electronics, cosmetic products, construction materials, and various other substances in your home. The team found 45 different toxic chemicals that were common in dust, with some of the most popular being flame retardants, phenols, and phthalates. Those sound like words we made up, but they're chemicals associated with cancer, infertility, development problems in children, and other fun stuff like that.
- The Single Dirtiest Thing In Your Home Is Your Kitchen Sponge
Turns out sponges are even better at holding bacteria than they are at holding water. Multiple studies have shown that kitchen sponges are absolute breeding grounds for bacteria, and while you might not be surprised to hear that they're dirty, you should be shocked at exactly how much and what kind of bacteria are lurking in that thing you rub all over your eating utensils. A British study estimates that the average sponge harbors a whopping 19.6 billion bacteria.
- Your Washing Machine Is Filthy And Coats Your Clothes In Bacteria And Diseases
Regular washing doesn't kill germs in laundry, so your machine collects bacteria from all the clothing and linens from all the people and pets in your household. The accumulated germs sit there and chill until they have the chance to party on your clothes or your hands when you touch wet laundry. Now, if you have your own washing machine and live alone, you're pretty much just recycling your own germs. But if you share a machine with other people? Then you're wearing their funk on your body every time you put on your clothes. Like that weird guy from the Laundromat.