The Germiest Things You Touch Daily

In addition to wearing a face mask in public and practicing physical distancing from others, one of the best ways to stay healthy during this COVID-19 pandemic is by washing your hands. 
Also, be sure to wash your hands after handling any of the following items. 
Why? It turns out some of the most common things that you touch the most every day are also the germiest. 

Your cellphone
It goes with you everywhere -- even into the bathroom. 
As a result, it could be up to 10 times dirtier than a toilet seat.   
Smartphones can even carry fecal matter.
Handwashing can help keep your phone clean. 
It’s also best to wipe your phone with a disinfectant wet wipe daily.

Remote Control
Television remotes are used by everyone in a house, and even though they are used multiple times in a day, they are not noticed as a hotspot as one of the germiest things we touch every day.
Active germs that are present on a remote control can stay alive for 24 hours and can be transferred with a click of a button. 
Many of us fail to disinfect the gadget, despite the fact that we use them daily and touch them directly.  
You can wipe it down daily to help kill some germs. 

Computer Keyboard
When was the last time you cleaned your keyboard?
We spend entire days typing away on our keyboards with our fingers, which meet with food, the grime on our faces, boogers and all sorts of nasty substances. 
It’s probably time to give your keyboard a good clean. 
While disinfecting wipes are good from time to time our suggestion would be to plug it out and really dig into the nooks and crannies of it, digging out whatever dirt and crumbs could get caught between each key.

Also Read: The 6 Best Non-dairy Substitutes for Milk

Door knobs/ Handles
Whether these are the ones at your home, office or any other public place, doorknobs carry a lot of different types of highly populated germ communities that you interact with on daily basis. 

Elevator Buttons
Just like doorknobs, elevator buttons are high-contact surfaces in public areas and should be cleaned regularly. 
They’re used by dozens of people every day who bring bacteria and viruses, which can remain on metal surfaces for several hours.

The ATM
People from anywhere and everywhere touch buttons on the cash machine. 
A research has revealed that the ATM machines are covered with the same kind of germs that are found in public toilets and are well known to cause common human illnesses.
https://ohsonline.com/articles/2011/01/17/study-atms-as-dirty-as-public-toilets.aspx 

Currency Notes
You can’t clean money, but you can wash your hands after you touch it. 
When you think about all the other people who have handled those bills, you’ll probably want to. 
Studies have shown that most cash in circulation has about 3,000 types of bacteria on it.

Shopping Cart
One study found that the average grocery cart hauls around over 360 times more bacteria than a bathroom doorknob. 
Wiping down the handle with a sanitizing wipe can help to eliminate some of those germs. 

Toothbrush Holders
While change our toothbrushes frequently, toothbrush holders are often overlooked. 
Water that drips from toothbrushes are often trapped at the bottom of these containers, which are damp and shaded, perfect for mold and bacteria growth. 
One study found that 27 percent of toothbrush holders were tainted with coliform bacteria.
 Empty your toothbrush holders frequently and give insides a good scrub with a drop of anti-bacterial cleaner.

Dish Sponge
Surprise! It’s the dirtiest thing in your house. 
The kitchen sponge is the ideal place for bacteria to flourish because of its moist environment..  
One study found that in just one square inch of a sponge, a whopping 200 million bacteria are present.
https://sfamjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1046/j.1365-2672.1998.00598.x 
While a sponge is supposed to be used to clean, wiping your counters or dishes with a dirty sponge only transfers the bacteria around. 
Sponges are hard to keep clean, try as you might. Your best bet? Replace it when it starts to smell.

Kitchen/ Dish Towel
You don’t just dry your dishes and hands with it. 
You use it to  wipe up spills on dirty counters. 
The result: Your dish towel can be hom­­e to nasty bacteria. 
Good news: The more often you wash your towels, the fewer critters call them home. Soak them for 2 minutes in bleach first

Anything in the office breakroom
The vending machine buttons aren’t that clean, either. 
And the damp, dark reservoir in your coffee maker could be full of yeast and mold. 
Rinse the coffee pot between uses.
The microwave and refrigerator doors and the faucet are all covered in bacteria. 

Restroom Faucets
Someone goes to the bathroom, and then goes to the faucet to wash their hands. 
When they first touch that handle, their hands can be contaminated. 
The safest way to turn a bathroom faucet on and off is by a using paper towel when you touch it.

Your Pet's toy
Think about everything your dog's mouth touches—and then all the places they may drop their toys. 
That will give you somewhat of an idea about how germy that toy or ball that belongs to Fido or Fluffy actually is.
Every time they slobber on Mr. Squeaky, they don’t just transfer bacteria, they create a sticky wet place for other germs to thrive. 
Clean rubber toys by hand and toss fabric ones into the wash.

Your Purse
Sure, the handles of your purse may be dirty from the germs that are on your hands but think about the other parts of that purse. 
The bottom comes into contact with anywhere and everywhere you plop. It goes into the bathroom with you. 
Do not forget all the stuff that you throw inside of it. 
Then you get home and put it on your kitchen table, your bed, and who knows where else. 
The spread of germs is endless. Carrying antibacterial wipes will help you to keep your purse sanitized.​