Led Zeppelin
Diamond Member
I got this email today, pretty interesting, worth the read:
Did you sanitize your toothbrush today? And when was the last time you cleaned out the vacuum?
If you are like most Americans, you are falling short of perfect household hygiene standards.
That's the conclusion of a recent Harris poll of daily household-cleaning habits directed by Philip Tierno, director of clinical microbiology and immunology at New York University Medical Center and author of "The Secret Life of Germs." The research was funded by Brillo, a division of Princeton, N.J., household-products company Church & Dwight Co.
Nearly 46% of the respondents said they have never sanitized their toothbrush, although it is recommended that you do so daily using peroxide or mouthwash, to protect against germs from the toilet bowl. Fecal matter and bacteria, it turns out, can spray as much as 20 feet upward when a toilet is flushed, Dr. Tierno says. So remember to lower the seat cover, and keep toothbrushes off the counter.
Close to half of the 1,000 respondents to the survey admitted they allow dust in their vacuum cleaners to accumulate for more than six months, while about a third said they wait until the dust buildup renders the vacuum inoperable before emptying it. (Raise your hand if it applies.) Ideally, vacuums should be emptied at least once a month to control the release of bacteria into the air.
In one case cited in Dr. Tierno's book, an entire family was repeatedly infected by salmonella bacteria spewed from a vacuum used to mop up a spill containing the germ.
Moving into the kitchen, Dr. Tierno says his research has found kitchen sponges and scrubbers to be the single most infectious source of germs in the home. Not only do they provide the warm, humid, moist conditions on which germs thrive, but they also accumulate food particles, in particular meat and vegetable debris, which can be loaded with harmful organisms. Nearly 50% of poll respondents said they use the same sponge or dishrag for all their kitchen tasks, such as cleaning dishes, cookware, cutting boards and counter tops. Roughly the same percentage said they use the same sponge for more than a month at a time.
"If the average consumer could see what grows in a dirty sponge, they would be more apt to take common-sense steps to disinfect it and prevent cross contamination," Dr. Tierno says.
More than half of the raw chicken in the U.S. market, for instance, contains campylobacter, a food-borne germ that infects an estimated one million people annually, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Though cooking typically kills the bacteria, it can be picked up by a sponge used to clean chicken remains from a cutting board. Same thing with salmonella. A contaminated sponge used to wipe a child's hands before a meal could lead to an infection, warns Dr. Tierno.
He says consumers often overlook the connection between cross contamination caused by poor domestic hygiene and food-borne illnesses. Instead, they tend to attribute infection to bacteria contained in something they ate, rather than transferred from something they touched.
Generally speaking, bacteria cannot survive in dry environments, so it's a good idea to allow sponges and dishrags to air dry between uses or overnight. Replacing sponges and dishcloths weekly and limiting their use to one activity also can reduce the risk of cross contamination. (This is, of course, good news for Brillo, the study's sponsor, which makes sponges as well as scouring pads.)
In addition, Dr. Tierno recommends using an antibacterial cleaning product or a mixture of bleach and water -- about an ounce of bleach to a quart of water -- to disinfect sponges, especially after mopping up meat and vegetable remains.
Alicia Shorter, a New York City occupational therapist, believes she does a fairly decent job of cleaning her home. She lines her garbage can with a plastic bag, and disinfects it every month. She rinses her dishwashing sponge with hot water every night, and tosses it out after about a month.
Dr. Tierno still finds fault. Garbage cans, he says, should be wiped clean and disinfected weekly "even if [the can] is lined." "Even if there's nothing [visible] there, you should still spray" with a disinfectant.
Did you sanitize your toothbrush today? And when was the last time you cleaned out the vacuum?
If you are like most Americans, you are falling short of perfect household hygiene standards.
That's the conclusion of a recent Harris poll of daily household-cleaning habits directed by Philip Tierno, director of clinical microbiology and immunology at New York University Medical Center and author of "The Secret Life of Germs." The research was funded by Brillo, a division of Princeton, N.J., household-products company Church & Dwight Co.
Nearly 46% of the respondents said they have never sanitized their toothbrush, although it is recommended that you do so daily using peroxide or mouthwash, to protect against germs from the toilet bowl. Fecal matter and bacteria, it turns out, can spray as much as 20 feet upward when a toilet is flushed, Dr. Tierno says. So remember to lower the seat cover, and keep toothbrushes off the counter.
Close to half of the 1,000 respondents to the survey admitted they allow dust in their vacuum cleaners to accumulate for more than six months, while about a third said they wait until the dust buildup renders the vacuum inoperable before emptying it. (Raise your hand if it applies.) Ideally, vacuums should be emptied at least once a month to control the release of bacteria into the air.
In one case cited in Dr. Tierno's book, an entire family was repeatedly infected by salmonella bacteria spewed from a vacuum used to mop up a spill containing the germ.
Moving into the kitchen, Dr. Tierno says his research has found kitchen sponges and scrubbers to be the single most infectious source of germs in the home. Not only do they provide the warm, humid, moist conditions on which germs thrive, but they also accumulate food particles, in particular meat and vegetable debris, which can be loaded with harmful organisms. Nearly 50% of poll respondents said they use the same sponge or dishrag for all their kitchen tasks, such as cleaning dishes, cookware, cutting boards and counter tops. Roughly the same percentage said they use the same sponge for more than a month at a time.
"If the average consumer could see what grows in a dirty sponge, they would be more apt to take common-sense steps to disinfect it and prevent cross contamination," Dr. Tierno says.
More than half of the raw chicken in the U.S. market, for instance, contains campylobacter, a food-borne germ that infects an estimated one million people annually, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Though cooking typically kills the bacteria, it can be picked up by a sponge used to clean chicken remains from a cutting board. Same thing with salmonella. A contaminated sponge used to wipe a child's hands before a meal could lead to an infection, warns Dr. Tierno.
He says consumers often overlook the connection between cross contamination caused by poor domestic hygiene and food-borne illnesses. Instead, they tend to attribute infection to bacteria contained in something they ate, rather than transferred from something they touched.
Generally speaking, bacteria cannot survive in dry environments, so it's a good idea to allow sponges and dishrags to air dry between uses or overnight. Replacing sponges and dishcloths weekly and limiting their use to one activity also can reduce the risk of cross contamination. (This is, of course, good news for Brillo, the study's sponsor, which makes sponges as well as scouring pads.)
In addition, Dr. Tierno recommends using an antibacterial cleaning product or a mixture of bleach and water -- about an ounce of bleach to a quart of water -- to disinfect sponges, especially after mopping up meat and vegetable remains.
Alicia Shorter, a New York City occupational therapist, believes she does a fairly decent job of cleaning her home. She lines her garbage can with a plastic bag, and disinfects it every month. She rinses her dishwashing sponge with hot water every night, and tosses it out after about a month.
Dr. Tierno still finds fault. Garbage cans, he says, should be wiped clean and disinfected weekly "even if [the can] is lined." "Even if there's nothing [visible] there, you should still spray" with a disinfectant.
