What has 400 times more germs than a toilet seat?
Did you know that the average desk harbors about 400 times more bacteria than the average toilet seat? Dr. Charles Gerba, known as the University of Arizona "germ guru," says you might not be the only one working late in your office. Apparently, you have plenty of bacteria - as many as 10 million - keeping you company.
LendEDU pointed to research from Mastercard and the University of Oxford, which found the average bank note is home to 26,000 types of bacteria including E. Coli. “And the average coin has more germs than on a toilet seat!”
Scientists at the University of Arizona have found that cell phones carry 10 times more bacteria than most toilet seats.
It's not just the bathroom doorknob that's dirtier than a toilet, it's all the doorknobs, handles, light switches, and electronic keypads around your home that are probably teeming with bacteria or virus-laden.
The dirtiest thing in the bathroom is the bath mat, pro cleaner Bailey Carson told Insider. Dirty shower water and flushing toilets can make mold, mildew, and bacteria grow over time. If you're only cleaning your mat a few times a year, it may be time to get scrubbing.
Dishcloths and sponges are dirtier than any other item in the average home, harboring the largest amount of E. coli and other fecal bacteria—mostly because they aren't replaced as often as they should be.
The money was tested for eight types of disease-causing organisms and all were confirmed present on the notes and coins. A cellphone. Phones were tested and confirmed to be tainted with 12 pathogens, with Staphylococcus species being the most prevalent.
Take our keyboards: The team found the average office keyboard has 3,543,000 colony-forming units (CFU) of bacteria per square inch—20,589 times more bacteria than you'll find on your average toilet seat., which only has 172 CFU per square inch.
Germophobes Take Note: Your Pillowcase Is As Dirty As Your Toilet | Smart News| Smithsonian Magazine.
Think the toilet is the dirtiest spot in the house? You'd be wrong. "There's more fecal bacteria in your kitchen sink than there is in a toilet after you flush it," said microbiologist Charles Gerba, known as "Dr. Germ."
Is an Iphone dirtier than a toilet seat?
Scientists at the University of Arizona found that your phone is ten times dirtier than most toilet seats. Gross! Here are other items that are dirtier than a toilet seat. Another study also found that a typical high schooler's smartphone can have as many as 17,000 bacterial gene copies on it.
According to Seattle Times journalist Bobby Caina Calvan, your phone is covered in germs: 25,127 bacteria per square inch, to be precise. This makes cell phones one of the dirtiest objects we come in contact with every day.
Miryam Wahrman, author of The Hand Book: Surviving in a Germ-Filled World, said a toothbrush “could be much worse than a toilet seat” in terms of germs. A 2012 study by Manchester University in England says it's much worse — more than 10 million bacteria call your toothbrush home.
Coins were the cleanest of all physical payment forms, with an average germ score of 136, which nonetheless is 10 times higher than the score of a clean surface off of which one could theoretically eat. Dimes were the dirtiest coin, and quarters were the cleanest.
The kitchen is the dirtiest room in a house, but germs also collect in the bathrooms, particularly in toothbrushes. Home offices are bacteria-ridden thanks to heavily-touched objects like keyboards and phones. Also on the list is living room carpet, washing machines, and food and water bowls for pets.
His studies have found that on the average toilet seat there are 50 bacteria per square inch. "It's one of the cleanest things you'll run across in terms of micro-organisms," he says. "It's our gold standard - there are not many things cleaner than a toilet seat when it comes to germs."
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The Cleanest Toilets in the World.
| TOP 10 PUBLIC TOILETS THROUGHOUT THE WORLD | Rank | 1 |
|---|---|---|
| Country | Singapore | |
| City | Singapore | |
| Avg. Cleanliness Rating | 4.04 |
If you wear shoes, most likely there will be more on the palms of our hands. And even if you don't wear shoes, it is more likely your hands will have more germs, bacteria on them.
They just threw their dishes into the kitchen sink and didn't spread bacteria by wiping surfaces. Another of Gerba's findings was that your post-flush toilet bowl is indeed cleaner than your kitchen sink.
“There are 20 billion bacteria in your mouth and they reproduce every five hours. If you go 24 hours without brushing, those 20 billion become 100 billion!”
How many germs are in a square inch?
Although it sounds like a lot, there are likely hundreds of thousands per square inch in a sink, and millions on your shoes. Generally, the human hand has about 1,000 bacteria per square inch, somewhat more than a toilet seat.
A home's kitchen sink carries more bacteria than both the toilet and the garbage can, Gerba's research found. "There's more fecal bacteria in a sink than there is in a flushed toilet," Gerba told "Today." "That's why dogs drink out of the toilet. They know better than to drink out of the kitchen sink," he joked.
Many bacteria are found on hands. That's why they need to be washed frequently. In fact, hands are another thing harboring more bacteria than toilet seats.
Take the keys and place them in a bowl of cold soapy water. If the keys are very dirty, you can use a toothbrush to scrub them.
But other experts, such as Dr. Coil, recommend against trying to create your own toilet liner or wiping down the toilet seat before using it, noting that these methods might involve touching the toilet seat with your hands.
While it is safe to use disinfectant wipes on many devices, keep in mind that those containing alcohol, bleach or vinegar may wear down the protective coating on a smartphone's screen.
Protect your screen
Do not use rubbing alcohol, paper towels, compressed air, dish soap or vinegar. All of these can damage your phone: Paper towels can scratch your screen, and vinegar could damage its coating. Do not use hand sanitizer on your phone screen, but do sanitize your hands before touching your phone.
While the bacterial microbiota of the oropharynx was richer than that of the nostril, the oropharyngeal microbiota varied less among participants than did nostril microbiota.
Fact 4: Toilet seats have less germs than mouths! It is estimated that toilet seats have 3,200 bacteria per square inch, where as saliva has an estimated 100 million microbes of bacteria per mililitre with anywhere between 400 and 600 different species.
Watch out bearded men, your facial hair might be dirtier than you think. Microbiologists in Albuquerque, N.M. recently found that men's facial hair can contain as much bacteria as your average toilet seat, according to Action 7 News.
Is the toilet seat one of the cleanest places?
Public bathrooms may be teeming with bacteria, but the toilet seat is probably safe for sitting. But the toilet seat is actually the cleanest part of the bathroom, one expert says.
"It's our gold standard - there are not many things cleaner than a toilet seat when it comes to germs." We should be more worried about other household items, it seems. "Usually there are about 200 times more faecal bacteria on the average cutting board than on a toilet seat," he says.
Going by the findings of a study, women find men with facial hair more attractive than clean-shaven ones, and think they make better partners in the long run.
In general they found women rated beards higher for attractiveness compared with clean-shaven faces, particularly when judging potential for long-term rather than short-term relationships. In general, the results showed a mixed link between attractiveness and beardiness.
Men grow beards because the hair follicles on their jaw are stimulated by the hormone dihydrotestosterone (DHT), which is produced from testosterone. Women have the same number of follicle cells on their faces as men, but these are less sensitive to DHT, and females also have lower testosterone levels to begin with.
Most Italian public toilets don't have a toilet seat.
This has to do with maintenance. Since public toilets are often less than spotless, people often climb with their shoes on top of them, not to sit on a potentially dirty seat.