This coffee maker news is HEARTBREAKING.
By Danielle Tullo, House Beautiful
No matter how clean you think you are, your Lysol wipe obsession is not enough to keep germs entirely out of your home. Sorry, but, you simply existing—you know, having person to person and person to surface contact—is you creating germ-infested areas without even trying. There are the obvious areas that are filled with germs, like switches and knobs, but there are some sneaky parts of your home collecting a ton of bacteria without you even realizing.
No matter how clean you think you are, your Lysol wipe obsession is not enough to keep germs entirely out of your home. Sorry, but, you simply existing—you know, having person to person and person to surface contact—is you creating germ-infested areas without even trying. There are the obvious areas that are filled with germs, like switches and knobs, but there are some sneaky parts of your home collecting a ton of bacteria without you even realizing.
Your coffee maker
This is quite the caffeine buzz kill, but, a deep-dive study into coffee machines found that the appliance is germ-ridden. Conducted by CBS with Roman Golash, a microbiologist at Loyola University, the cup containing coffee grounds, water reservoir, and underneath where the coffee comes out were all tested. The results found all types of bacteria, like staphylococcus, streptococcus, bacillus cereus, and E. coli.
The toothbrush holder
If your toothbrush holder is near your toilet, you might want to relocate it. Particles are likely spraying through the air and onto your toothbrush each time you flush, which, IMO, feels like you're brushing your teeth with the same item you're using to clean the toilet. In a study conducted by the National Sanitation Foundation, it was found that 64 percent of toothbrush holders contained mold and yeast, with 27 percent containing coliform and 14 percent containing staphylococcus.
The bathroom towel hanging behind your door
How often do you wash your towels? Because unless it's every two days, the answer is not enough. GE found in a poll that 50 percent of people use their bath towel at least five times before washing it, which is apparently terrible. In an interview with Time, microbiologist Dr. Gerba explained what that means: "After about two days, if you dry your fave on a hand towel, you're probably getting more E. coli on your face than if you stuck your head in a toilet and flushed it."
The kitchen sink
In a different interview, Dr. Gerba said that the kitchen sink is the second most germ-filled spot in your home. One study even found that 45 percent of kitchen sinks contained coliform bacteria, with 27 percent containing mold. To help this, you should disinfect the sink at least twice a week, if not more.
Bathroom faucet handles
Ah, yes, the bathroom sink and its faucet handles. You go to the bathroom, then you touch the faucets with your dirty hands, which means they don't really stand a chance. In the NSF study, it was found that 27 percent of faucet handles contain staphylococcus, while 9 percent contain coliform bacteria. As if public restrooms weren't bad enough...now you know all the germs lurking in your own bathroom.
Dog bowl
When the NSF swabbed 30 household items, it found that the dog bowl was the fourth most germ-infested one, not far after sponges, which everyone knows is a straight-up bacteria collector. The study found 67 percent of pet bowls have Salmonella bacteria regardless of being dishwasher "clean," because it's not hot enough to kill the bacteria. There were also traces of E. Coli found.
