Where is the most bacteria found in a house?

While many people assume that the bathroom doorknob would be the dirtiest, the NSF found other spots that ranked higher with bacteria, including:
  • bathroom light switches.
  • refrigerator handles.
  • stove knobs.
  • microwave handles.
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Where is bacteria found in the house?

Out of 32 places in the home, the top spots for bacteria are the toiletbowl, kitchen drain, kitchen sponge or counter-wiping cloth, bathtub, andkitchen sink., according to a new study. But only 3% of Americans think they're more likely to pick up germs fromtheir bathtub than from their garbage bins, a new survey shows.
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What is the dirtiest place in a house?

Kitchen sponge

According to the 2011 NSF International Household Germ Study, the kitchen is the dirtiest area in the entire home. A family of bacteria that includes salmonella and E. coli was found in more than 75% of dish sponges and rags.
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What is the #1 place for bacteria to grow in a kitchen?

As a run on effect from sponges, dish cloths and sinks, kitchen countertops tend to be dirtiest near the sink area.
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What is the dirtiest place in your kitchen?

These are the 7 dirtiest places in your kitchen
  • Refrigerator. Your refrigerator harbors bacteria in some surprising places. ...
  • Countertop appliances. Countertop appliances need more intensive cleaning than you might think. ...
  • Countertops. ...
  • The sink. ...
  • Cooking utensils. ...
  • Reusable containers. ...
  • Knife block.
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Where Are The Most Bacteria-Filled Places In Your Life?



Are there more germs in the kitchen or bathroom?

A study being released Wednesday found that kitchen sinks have more germs than bathroom sinks. The study also found that three-quarters of American kitchen cloths and sponges are heavily contaminated with harmful bacteria, meaning proper clean-up can be difficult.
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What areas have the most bacteria?

While many people assume that the bathroom doorknob would be the dirtiest, the NSF found other spots that ranked higher with bacteria, including:
  • bathroom light switches.
  • refrigerator handles.
  • stove knobs.
  • microwave handles.
Takedown request   |   View complete answer on healthline.com


Which 3 areas in the kitchen have the most bacteria?

The Top Places Germs Are Lurking in Your Kitchen
  • Cloth towel. Like sponges, cloth towels were the most frequently contaminated article in the kitchen. ...
  • Smartphone or tablet. ...
  • Sink faucet, refrigerator, oven handle, trash container. ...
  • Cooking utensils. ...
  • Hands. ...
  • Fruit and vegetables.
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What is the dirtiest surface?

What Are America's Dirtiest Surfaces?
  • 71 percent of Gas Pump Handles.
  • 68 percent of Mailbox Handles.
  • 43 percent of Escalator Rails.
  • 41 percent of ATM Buttons.
  • 40 percent of Parking Meters/Kiosks.
  • 35 percent of Crosswalk Buttons.
  • 35 percent of Vending Machine Buttons.
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What is a common bacteria found at home?

What Type of Bacteria Are the Most Common in A Home? There are four types of bacteria that are extremely common within a household. Staphylococcus, Micrococcus, Pseudomonas, and Bacillus are the most common types. Micrococcus is spherical, and can be found in meat products, in water, and in your soil.
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What is the dirtiest place in the bathroom?

Studies have shown that of all the surface areas in the bathroom, the floor is by far the dirtiest. That's because when we flush the toilet germs spread everywhere, and land on—you guessed it—the floor.
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What items have the most bacteria?

Here's a look at everyday bacteria-infested items that you probably never gave a second thought:
  1. Kitchen sponges. Although it's associated with cleanliness, the sponge by your kitchen sink is one of the dirtiest objects in your entire home. ...
  2. Office coffee mugs. ...
  3. Mobile phones. ...
  4. Bathroom towels. ...
  5. Money.
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What has the most bacteria in a bathroom?

Most bathroom germs predictably start in the toilet, but they can easily spread to other parts of the room (like a toothbrush holder). “Over the course of a day, the first thing that shows up is fecal bacteria—microbes from your gut—transmitted to the toilet seat and things like that.
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What is the dirtiest body part?

Keep your hands off your belly button

Did you know that your belly button is the dirtiest part of the body, according to the Public Library of Science? “The belly button harbors a high population of bacteria,” Dr. Richardson says.
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Why is the kitchen sink the dirtiest place in the house?

Dirty Places: The Kitchen Sink

Food particles from plates left to soak or rinsed from dishes on their way to the dishwasher can serve as a breeding ground for illness-causing bacteria, including E. coli and salmonella. They can get on your hands or spread to foods.
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What is the most germ infested object?

In fact, that sponge is likely the dirtiest item in your home, Gerba says. “It's probably home to hundreds of millions of bacteria,” he says. NSF agrees. Its researchers found that 75% of home dish sponges and rags contained Coliform.
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Do toilet seats hold bacteria?

Many disease-causing organisms can survive for only a short time on the surface of the seat, and for an infection to occur, the germs would have to be transferred from the toilet seat to your urethral or genital tract, or through a cut or sore on the buttocks or thighs, which is possible but very unlikely.
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Is toilet water full of bacteria?

On average, a toilet bowl contains 3.2 million bacteria per square inch*. It is in addition to the bacteria found on the other parts that you have come into contact with. The flush handle that's covered in as much as 83 bacteria per sq.
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Is the toilet seat the cleanest part of a house?

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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Do showers have bacteria?

Bacteria thrive in showerheads and water distribution systems. Although most of these bacteria are harmless, some can cause lung infections, he said. Still, just because mycobacteria live in your showerhead doesn't mean you'll get sick or are more likely to get a respiratory infection, Gebert added.
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What is dirtier than a toilet seat?

Kitchen cloth or sponge

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. Each square inch of these items contains 456 times more bacteria than a toilet seat.
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What bacteria is in the shower?

Examples of bacteria that could be found in your shower head
  • Legionella bacteria (can cause Legionnaires' disease and Pontiac fever)
  • Pseudomonas aeruginosa (can trigger ear and eye infections)
  • Mycobacterium avium subspecies paratuberculosis (linked to digestive conditions including Crohn's disease)
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Can bacteria go through toilet paper?

'It is not commonly realised that toilet paper, no matter how thick or medicated, does not act as a physical barrier to the transfer of bacteria,' says John Di Mambro of the Department of Biology at Hutchesons'.
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What is the cleanest part of the bathroom?

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.
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