Clean Toilet Seat
Burke’s Backyard scientist Graeme Quirk explained that when it comes to household hygiene, things are not always as straightforward as they seem.
Tucson study
A 30-week study at the University of Arizona measured bacteria populations on household surfaces in 15 Tucson homes. Researchers took swabs from toilet seats, kitchen bench tops, chopping boards, tap handles and sinks. Surprisingly, they found that toilet seats were relatively clean. The fluid wrung from dishcloths hosted a million times as many bacteria as the toilet seats, while chopping boards had three times as many bacteria.
Why is it so?
Bacteria like living on moist, porous surfaces. The scientists concluded that toilet seats are probably too dry to support thriving populations of bacteria.
