World's Germiest Places

We in the professional cleaning industry hear about germs every day. But have you ever wondered about the 'germiest' places in the world?

The Forensic Science Technician, an organization that promotes the teaching of forensic sciences, has compiled a list of the 50 germiest places in the world, some of which are everyday locations, while others are a little less common.

 

The top 10 germiest everyday places include:

1. Portable toilets
2. Kitchen sinks
3. Door handles
4. Underwear
5. Purses and handbags
6. Hotel linens and towels
7. Computer keyboards
8. Communal office equipment/workstations
9. Cell phones; and
10. Kitchen sponges.

Some of the more unusual germiest spots include:

1. The Blarney Stone in Ireland, kissed by thousands of tourists each year
2. Baku, Azerbaijan, considered the world's germiest/dirtiest city
3. Oscar Wilde's grave in Paris, which tourists traditionally kiss
4. Airplane bathrooms
5. Health care facilities and nursing homes
6. Vacuum cleaner bags
7. Beds (beds are practically Petri dishes, according to the report)
8. Murder/suicide scenes
9. Automatic teller machines; and
10. Money.

'There is not much our industry can do about cleaning up the Blarney Stone or Oscar Wilde's grave,' says Matt Morrison, Communications Manager for Kaivac, developers of the No-Touch Cleaning® system. 'But there is a lot we can do to hygienically clean and sanitize toilets, door handles, and office equipment.'

For instance, to clean high-touch surfaces, Morrison encourages cleaning professionals to use flat-surface cleaning systems that combines microfiber, a window squeegee, and chemical injection technologies.

Additionally, he advises using the new generation of microfiber 'smart towels' that can be folded into quadrants, allowing a fresh section to be used for each cleaning task.

'If disinfectants are necessary, use broad-spectrum disinfectants, effective against a variety of disease-causing germs,' Morrison adds. 'However, many of these areas can now be sanitized without chemicals using cleaning systems considered a 'sanitizing device' based on EPA* criteria.

*U.S. Environmental Protection Agency