Main Menu
The filthiest surfaces you touch every day
Gas pumps are filthy. Super filthy. In fact they are the filthiest surface of the hundreds of common surfaces tested by researchers at Kimberly-Clark Professional, a unit of personal hygiene giant Kimberly-Clark Corp.
The poor hygienists at Kimberly-Clark were tasked with swabbing surfaces all over common areas in our communities to find the filthiest, germ-ridden surfaces Americans face from home to work on an average day. So what surfaces are the worst for breeding bacteria and germs?
The aforementioned gas pump was the grossest. Next up were handles on public mailboxes, escalator rails and ATM machines. After that, parking meters and kiosks, crosswalk buttons and buttons for crosswalk lights and buttons on vending machines bring up the next really filthy group.
“It comes down to the fact that nobody cleans the things that you’re going to touch on a daily basis,” said Dr. Kelly Arehart, program leader of Kimberly-Clark’s Healthy Workplace Project. And to think I use to laugh at those people who use bleach wipes at grocery stores and Laundromats.
The swabs they used detected the nasty stuff: presence of animal, vegetable, bacteria, yeast or mold cells. The high levels the researchers found suggest that these surfaces are fully capable of breeding disease and passing it on. The cities they visited were Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, Los Angeles, Miami and Philadelphia.
And how about this – germs can stay on the hands up to seven touches before finally transferring. So if you think a quick wipe off on the leg of your pants is going to help you are wrong. Wash with soap. ASAP.
Source: Reuters
This information is solely for informational and educational purposes only. The publication of this information does not constitute the practice of medicine, family planning, child psychology, marriage counseling and this information does not replace the advice of your physician or other health care or mental health care provider. Neither the owners or employees of NaturalFamilyOnline.com or the author(s) of site content take responsibility for any possible consequences from any treatment, procedure, exercise, dietary modification, application of medication or any other action involving the care of yourself or any family members which results from reading this site. It is always best to speak with your primary health care provider before engaging in any form of self treatment. Additional information contained in our Legal Statement
Poll
What does your weekly dinner look like?
The whole family dines together at home
63%
The whole family dines together at a restaurant
1%
Parents and children eat separately
4%
Whoever is around eats together
21%
Every family member for themselves!
11%
Total votes: 5755