The average toilet seat harbours millions of bacteria — most of which won’t cause serious health problems. However, some more harmful pathogens can thrive on a toilet seat if the necessary cleaning precautions aren’t taken. The likes of staphylococcus, E.coli, norovirus and even cholera have been found on domestic toilets seats, all of which can cause serious life-threatening symptoms.
Believe it or not, however, the chances are your own toilet seat isn’t close to being the dirtiest surface in your home. These eight areas in particular could be harbouring way more harmful bacteria than your toilet.
1. Your desk
If you have a desk in your home, it could be several times dirtier than your toilet seat. Why? Well, think about what you do at your desk. You might eat and drink there, and you’re constantly touching things — maybe after touching contaminated surfaces in your home. Unlike your toilet, your desk may never get sanitised during the course of an average week, so bacteria levels just build and build. Keep some antibacterial wipes on your desk, and regularly wipe the desktop and anything you touch regularly with your hands.
2. Cutting boards
Chopping boards are used to prepare both cooked and uncooked food, so the risks of cross-contamination are high. There could be up to 200 times more bacteria on your cutting boards than on your toilet seat, so make sure you soak yours in sanitiser after every use.
3. Your carpet
Your carpet may look spotless, but even twice-daily vacuuming won’t rid it of microscopic bacteria. When was the last time your sanitised your carpets? If you’re like the vast majority of householders, you’ve probably never taken measures to kill bacteria that live deep within carpet fibres. Steam cleaning your carpet twice a year should improve the situation considerably.
4. Money
Money could be the dirtiest thing in your home right now — and it doesn’t take laboratory equipment to know why. The average coin or note passes through hundreds, if not thousands, of hands throughout the course of its life. Many of these hands will could have been carrying life-threatening bacteria at the time. This is why you should always sanitise your hands as quickly as possible after handling cash.
5. Gadgets
Keyboards and remote controls are two items in particular that can be teeming with potentially dangerous bacteria. Pathogens such as E.coli, staphylococcus and salmonella are regularly found on hotel TV remove controls, for instance. Make sure all the gadgets you handle regularly are cleaned with an antibacterial wipe at least once a week.
6. Ice containers
Whether you have an in-built ice maker in your fridge or you make it yourself using trays, you should regularly sanitise any areas that are used to make or store ice. A recent investigation into ice served at High Street coffee shops and fast food outlets highlighted the scale of the problem in the retail environment. Six out of 10 of the locations investigated were serving ice contaminated with everything from faecal matter to E.coli. This is the result of poor personal hygiene practices and poor control methods.
7. Your handbag
The average purse or handbag is handled throughout the day. It is used to store everything from general rubbish to money, which means it is can quickly become a breeding ground for bacteria. Antibacterial wipes or alcohol-based cleaning sprays can be used to reduce bacteria to safe levels. According to Initial Washroom Hygiene, around on fifth of all handbags could be harbouring up to 10 times the bacteria found on the average toilet seat.
8. Your child’s high chair
The average child’s high chair is bombarded with food and dirty hands on a regular basis, which means bacteria is a constant issue. But the solution is simple: wipe the chair down with child-friendly antibacterial solutions or wipes after every use.
Bacteria is present in EVERY home. But by maintaining strict hygiene routines, you can ensure the most dangerous household pathogens never get out of control.
