Gross! These are the objects bacteria love most in your home

You can scrub and polish as much as you like, but bacteria are always lying in wait to strike. Of course, your home doesn’t always have to be completely sterile and neat – that’s simply impossible. But there are some things you can do to prevent diseases from spreading around. This list of nine household items contain the most bacteria, from least to most.

We had no idea these things could be so dirty.

9. Tea towels

Research by the American Food Protection shows that 89% of the tested tea towels contained the Coliform bacteria. These bacteria are usually present in the digestive systems of most animals as well as humans. What’s more, 25.6% of the tea towels even contain the dangerous E.coli bacteria, which is also called the poop bacteria. E.coli can cause diarrhea and in more serious cases people can even get very ill. So, don’t use the same tea towel for too long and wash it on at least 60 degrees Celsius.

8. Sponges

Sponges can get extremely dirty! When you clean something with a sponge, bacteria nestle themselves on the wet surface and multiply like crazy. If you then use the same sponge to clean something else, you’ll only spread them. These dirty sponges can cause food poisoning, especially when they’ve come into contact with something that’s had raw meat on it.

7. Your shoes

A lot of people have a house rule that says you have to take off your shoes as soon as you get inside, and there’s a reason for that rule! You shoe soles contain 421,000 bacteria. Among these (there it is again) is the E.coli bacteria. This can be caused by you walking through animal feces outside, but it can also be caused by public toilets. Gross.

6. Nail scissors

There are tons of bacteria under your fingernails, which is why we regularly wash our hands. Some bacteria are usually left behind, though, which are then transferred to your nail scissors when you clip your nails. So, wash your hands after every time you’ve clipped them and also disinfect your nail scissors.

5. Contact lenses

It’s important to keep your contact lenses very clean, because dirt can cause a lot of damage to your eyes. Because contacts are always slightly wet, bacteria love living there. So, be careful and thorough when you’re cleaning your contact lenses!

4. Your pyjamas

A questionnaire has shown that people wear their pyjamas way too long before washing it. British research shows that men wear their pyjamas for 13 nights in a row on average and women wear them for 17 night! Be hygienic and wash your PJs after two or three nights.

Want to know what the three dirtiest objects in your home are? Go to the next page to find out!

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