Your hygiene habits are way worse than you think. Picture: Thinkstock Source: Supplied BACTERIA and faecal matter. They're everywhere.
It doesn't matter how many times you wash your hands, launder your clothes or clean your bathroom. You're probably still covered in them.
The Huffington Post has put together a list of disgusting facts that show you why your hygiene habits "are way worse than you think".
Washing your clothes doesn't get them clean
University of Arizona research found that washing one load of underwear can transfer 100 million E. coli into the water, and into the next load you do.
Microbiology professor Charles Gerba, who conducted the research, told ABC: "There's about a tenth of a gram of poop in the average pair of underwear."
To combat the problem make sure you take your laundry out of the machine as soon as its finished, or bacteria will multiply in the dark, damp conditions.
Washing dishes is disgusting
The kitchen sink is less hygienic than a toilet bowl, according to Eileen Abruzzo, the director of infection control at Long Island College Hospital of Brooklyn. Dirty plates and soaking pots are the perfect breeding ground for E. coli and salmonella.
There could be faeces on your toothbrush
Flushing a toilet without closing the lid causes faecal matter to fly into the air. Dr Gerba compared it to "the Fourth of July" fireworks, The Atlantic reported. And the particles can travel up to 1.8 metres, which is bad news if your toothbrush is in range.
There is no such thing as the "five second rule"
Clemson University researchers found that food picks up 99 per cent of bacteria are soon as it hits the ground. "The five-second rule probably should become the zero-second rule," says Dr. Roy M. Gulick, chief of the division of infectious diseases at Weill Cornell Medical College. Carpets and wet floors harbour more bacteria than hard floors. Salty and sugary foods take longer to pick up bacteria.
To read the full list, go to the Huffington Post.
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