If you dropped a piece of fruit in your kitchen sink while rinsing it, would you think twice about popping it in your mouth? What if you dropped it in the toilet?If you were to ask someone what object in the bathroom is the most contaminated with bacteria and mould, the answer you would receive is probably “the toilet seat”, however a recent study, undertaken by BioCote, shows that bacteria don’t always thrive in the places we would expect.

Dirty Places: The Kitchen Sink

Although the mere thought of retrieving anything from your toilet bowl may be enough to make you sick, your toilet may be cleaner than your kitchen sink, says Eileen Abruzzo, director of infection control at Long Island College Hospital of Brooklyn, New York. Food particles from plates left to soak or rinsed from dishes on their way to the dishwasher can serve as a breeding ground for illness-causing bacteria, including E. coli and salmonella. They can get on your hands or spread to foods.

Although most people take steps to disinfect their toilet bowls, few give their kitchen sink the same consideration, Abruzzo tells WebMD. “They rinse their sinks with water and assume they are clean -- but they’re not.”

lets find out microbes in each part of our toilet

CLEAN YOUR BATHROOM SINK, BECAUSE IT’S MORE CONTAMINATED THAN THE TOILET

Our microbiology experts took multiple samples from objects and surfaces in a public disabled toilet and tested them for levels of bacteria and mould.

Most people would assume that the toilet seat would be right at the top of the list for high levels of contamination but the level of bacteria found on it was equal to that found on the hand rail and the tap. Topping the list was the sink itself which showed more than 50,000 Colony Forming Units (CFUs).

Dr Richard Hastings, technical director says ‘in many cases germs are spread via touch so we can see that objects touched after people have used the toilet, but before they have washed their hands can be just as contaminated.’

The other interesting results were the levels of bacteria found on the less obvious objects and surfaces such as the floor, the wall and the underneath of the toilet. Dr Hastings explains ‘this is probably because people only tend to clean the areas they can see, and the areas where they expect the bugs to grow. Unfortunately bacteria and mould can be found everywhere and they will just keep multiplying. We know most rooms are full of germs and although they may not necessarily be harmful, the higher the count, the greater the risk of illness.’

The only object in the bathroom on which no traces of bacteria or mould were found was the soap dispenser incorporating BioCote antimicrobial technology.

“There’s more E. coli in a kitchen sink than in a toilet after you flush it. The sink is a great place for E. coli to live and grow since it’s wet and moist. Bacteria feed on the food that people put down the drain and what’s left on dishes in the sink. That’s probably why dogs drink out of the toilet—because there’s less E. coli in it,” says Dr. Germ.
DR. GERM’S ADVICE: “Clean the sink basin with a disinfectant product made for the kitchen. Vinegar and lemon juice can clean some bacteria, but they can’t clean really bad pathogens, so the Environmental Protection Agency doesn’t recommend using them as an alternative.”