You may never guess the dirtiest things you touch every day, but there are many. Microorganisms are very tiny organisms that cannot be seen without the aid of a microscope. These include algae, protozoa, fungi, archaea, and bacteria. We come into contact with them daily without any knowledge whatsoever by simply touching normal things.
Interestingly, most of the things we touch daily are super dirty and highly contaminated. The irony at the end of the day is that many of the things we even consider to be very clean may end up completely super-dirty.
Dirtiest things you touch every day
1. THE DOOR KNOBS
Over the years, door knobs have helped a great deal in passing contaminants from one person to another because we always touch them. Why the doorknob has to make it among the dirtiest things you touch every day is because that is the first thing that people touch when they are coming from outside, and when the kids are done playing outside, that is where they deposit some of the germs they take before going to wash their hands.
2. VENDING MACHINE BUTTONS
As surely as vending machines offer us a pick of our favorite snacks and drinks, they also have a large offering of microorganisms. As you touch them, beware of swallowing more than you chew.
3. THE FRIDGE HANDLE
As we stock up the fridge with eggs, fresh milk and what have you, we most likely also stock up the handle with microorganisms especially as we touch it all the time.
4. THE REMOTE CONTROL
Several studies have found filth ranging from dust to semen on public remote controls. In the same vein, our personal remote controls can be just as filthy.
5. PUBLIC TOILETS
Every quarter inch of a public toilet is a likely fomite. Even if you avoid touching anything, as you wash your hands with that antimicrobial wash and even dry it, the doorknob seems to mock you as it knows you will most likely touch it on your way out.
6. LIGHT SWITCHES
They light up your world with light and as much microorganism as you can imagine because they just never get cleaned!
7. MONEY
Surely money is the root of evil because with it even the cleanest hands succumb to even more dirt since one bill can travel around a nation from a homeless man to the president.
8. PHONE AND GADGETS KEYBOARDS
Every day, we operate our phones, computers and other gadgets because yeah, it’s a computer world. What we never bother to do is wipe them down.
9. STAIRS
Remember the times you walked up the stairs so tired that you had to hold on for support? Now, imagine all the other tired dirt filled hands that have hung on too, for support. Well, just don’t do that again, no matter how tired you are. It’s really that simple.
10. SHOPPING CART
Everyone loves shopping and shopping comes with moving a cart or basket along for your items. Except it’s your personal cart, then you have all in the world to be skeptical about before touching that cart.
11. TOWELS
Most bacteria love to grow in wet conditions which the towel amply supplies. It is advised to wash towels after two days of use to prevent bacteria incubation.
12. TOOTHBRUSH HOLDER
NSF International reported in 2011 that about 27% toothbrush holders served as home to coliforms such as Escherichia coli and Salmonella species which are common sickness-causing organisms.
13. KITCHEN SPONGES AND RAGS
NSF International attests to the fact that about 75% of home kitchen rags and sponges contain coliforms. Kitchen sponges have been said to contain as much as 10million bacteria per square inch yet we just dive in and wipe our hands and dishes with them.
14. CUTTING BOARDS
Cutting boards require way more than a rinse and a dry, they deserve a good scrubbing down with a hard sponge and some dish wash as they present as one of the worst microbe storing offenders in the kitchen.
15. PURSES
Purses ought to be cleaned from their handles to every square inch on and in them. Weird, right? Well, it is a very necessary routine that should be observed for better health.
16. BUCKET HANDLES
I can hear you gearing up to argue that buckets are washed regularly but think about it, when last did you wash the handle of your buckets?
17. BEARDS
A typical beard can serve as host to microscopic organisms from spittle, foods and drink residues, feces etc. Yet, we innocently play with them and then pick up food straight into our mouths.
18. MAKEUP PURSE AND ITEMS
Ladies get in here! This should be self-explanatory if you belong to the group of persons who just use their brushes, foams, blenders, powder puffs and what have you till they run out or get ‘borrowed’ by your girlfriend. Well, you are simply incubating the germs and slurring them on your face daily.
How to protect yourself
At the end of the day, why most of the things on this list are among the dirtiest things you every ever day is because you and others continue to touch them. What this means is that our hands are extremely dirty. Hence, the first and most important way of protecting yourself is to always have your hands clean.
More so, since you cannot be careful enough, ensuring that you wash your hands before you eat anything is likewise important.
