Bacteria Hot Spots in Your Bathroom

There’s simply no getting away from it, your home is rife with germs. No amount of obsessive cleaning can ensure your sinks, toilet, flush, baths and showers are entirely spotless, but we still try, don’t we? Bathrooms are riddled with germs, with the most common types being E.coli, salmonella, streptococcus, and of course bacteroidaceae (or bacteria from poo.. nice). We have put together a list of ‘hot spot’ bacteria areas within a typical bathroom, for you to take extra consideration with.

This bathroom heatmap from from Soakology found the below hot spots in the bathroom:)

Toilet Bowl (3.2 million bacteria per square inch)

Yes, the toilet seat (of course) is a haven for germs and pesky bugs. With 3.2 million bacteria per square inch, the toilet bowl is unsurprisingly the most populated area within the bathroom for infestations of germs.

Toilet Seat (295 bacteria per square inch)

An average toilet seat is covered in approx 295 bacteria per square inch. Not as much as a toilet bowl (where you won’t be touching) – but still extremely high in bacteria contamination considering the surface area of toilet seats!

Toothbrush (200,000 bacteria per square inch)

Ok, this is actually quite disturbing, right? Your toothbrush, the item that you use to ‘clean’ your mouth every day, is riddled with bacteria. With at least 200,000 bacteria per square inch, that’s almost 678 times more that a toilet seat, and you wouldn’t dare think of putting your mouth anywhere near a toilet seat. The University of Manchester have previously undertaken a study where they found that a toothbrush can be home to E.Coli, and staphylococci bacteria. If you’re worried, be sure to store your toothbrush that it can dry out between uses (and replace regularly!).

Bathtub (120,000 bacteria per square inch)

Your bathtub can harvest more germs than you think! Every household member will be using the bathtub (or shower) to wash themselves, so there are bound to be bacteria lurking around in there.

Drain / Plughole (119,468 bacteria per square inch)

The dirtiest place within the bath is of course the plughole. This makes sense because that is where all the water carrying the bacteria eventually ends up. The average plughole contains 120,000 bacteria per square inch – wow.. Are you now thinking maybe it’s time to get the drain cleaner out? Us too!

Sink (2,733 bacteria per square inch)

Since we were all younger, we have been told if you go to the toilet, you must wash your hands. Thus meaning, all of that bacteria is on your hands already (that you have picked up prior to, and from using the toilet) will be transferred over (or shared with) to the taps, and also getting washed into the sink. Although (antibacterial) soap is an effective solution from killing bacteria off of your hands, they will still be left to fester within your bathroom sink.

Taps (6,267 bacteria per square inch)

Taps are touched both before and after you wash your hands = germs are transferred every time! Bathroom taps have been found to contain a whopping 6,267 bacteria per square inch – even more than found in the sink itself!

Bathroom Light Switch (217 bacteria per square inch)

The light switch gets touched when you enter the bathroom, and also when you leave. Bacteria is transferred to and from the light switch with every single touch. After spending time washing your hands for 20 seconds with soap and water, you don’t want to then pick up that same bacteria that was initially on your hands and transferred on to the light switch, do you? Always remember to wash your light switch down when you clean!

Flush Handle (83 bacteria per square inch)

After using the toilet, you will of course need to come into contact with the toilet flush (although in many public bathrooms there are now automated flushes, which is a big thumbs up from us!). A toilet flush handle can be home to as much as 83 bacteria per square inch, so always remember to wash your hands!

Bathroom Floor (764 bacteria per square inch)

This is actually quite surprising, as many would think it would be much higher than this. But of course, bathroom floors tend to be the largest surface areas within the bathroom, so although the ‘bacteria per square inch’ isn’t as much as you’d expect, when considering the size of a bathroom floor, it sure does add up to a LOT of bacteria. Be sure to mop regularly!

Of course, the best way of preventing all of these germs from spreading is by washing your hands, and cleaning regularly. For extra protection, we recommend using NanoGuardX to protect your heavy-touch surfaces from bacteria. Our Antimicrobial coating solution works on water-resistant surfaces, so you can protect your toilet seat, light switch, flush handles and door handle in your bathroom.

Not all bacteria is harmful to us though. The NHS says that it is important for our bodies to have the right balance of exposure to good and bad germs in our everyday environment. This is in order for our immune system to be trained to deal with different illnesses.