1. Your Computer Keyboard
According to a survey conducted in 2018, the average American spends about 6.5 hours a day on their computer. That’s quite a lot, so there’s no surprise that our keyboards are teeming with germs.
In fact, in 2018, a team of scientists published a study in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health in which they tested various keyboards for several harmful microorganisms. They discovered that the majority of them were contaminated with strains of bacteria ranging from Staphylococcus aureus to Bacillus, which each have a high potential to cause disease.
2. Your Kitchen Sponge
Surprise! The item you’re cleaning your dishes with has more germs than you’d think. If you’re not replacing your kitchen sponge every week or so, then you may want to start. Why? Well, according to one study published in the journal Scientific Reports, kitchen sponges contain a huge amount of bacterial microbiomes.
The experts analyzed the bacteria on 14 kitchen sponges, and they discovered that the seemingly harmless items were infected with 362 different bacterial species. Here’s what Markus Egert, the study author, said: “Locally, the bacterial density reached 54 billion per square centimeter of sponge tissue, which is quite similar to the density of germs in stool samples.” Disgusting!
