I’ve been avoiding anti-bacterial products and am annoyed by the positive sounding benefits that these products are said to have. While their claim of killing 99.9% of bacteria sounds compelling at first, the thought of leaving behind 0.1% of bacteria that can’t be killed sounds rather scary.
An interesting article from MedicineNet.com, researches swabbed for bacteria in 32 locations within 35 houses. Here’s the number of bacteria per square inch found:
- Toilet bowl: 3.2 million bacteria/square inch
- Kitchen drain: 567,845 bacteria/square inch
- Sponge or counter-wiping cloth: 134,630 bacteria/square inch
- Bathtub, near drain: 119,468 bacteria/square inch
- Kitchen sink, near drain: 17,964 bacteria/square inch
- Kitchen faucet handle: 13,227 bacteria/square inch
- Bathroom faucet handle: 6,267 bacteria/square inch
- Bathroom sink, near drain: 2,733 bacteria/square inch
- Pet food dish, inside rim: 2,110 bacteria/square inch
- Kitchen floor, in front of sink: 830 bacteria/square inch
- Toilet floor, in front of toilet: 764 bacteria/square inch
- Kitchen countertop: 488 bacteria/square inch
- Bathroom countertop: 452 bacteria/square inch
- Garbage bin: 411 bacteria/square inch
- Dish towel: 408 bacteria/square inch
- Toy: 345 bacteria/square inch
- Kitchen tabletop: 344 bacteria/square inch
- Home office phone or refrigerator door: 319 bacteria/square inch
- Toilet seat: 295 bacteria/square inch
- Bathroom light switch: 217 bacteria/square inch
- Microwave buttons: 214 bacteria/square inch
- Kitchen chopping board: 194 bacteria/square inch
- Child-training potty: 191 bacteria/square inch
- Infant changing mat and infant high chair: 190 bacteria/square inch
- Kitchen phone: 133 bacteria/square inch
- Bathroom door’s inside handle: 121 bacteria/square inch
- Toilet’s flush handle: 83 bacteria/square inch
- TV remote control: 70 bacteria/square inch
- Home office computer keyboard: 64 bacteria/square inch
- Home office computer mouse: 50 bacteria/square inch
I measured one of my kitchen countertop (#12 above). It’s 2’x6′. That equals 1728 square inches. If I multiply that by 488 (the number of bacteria per square inch) I get 843264 bacteria. Now, if I use a cleaner to kill 99.9% of them, I’m left with 8432 bacteria. That sounds like a lot of bacteria spread throughout my kitchen counter. And as a reminder, this isn’t your regular garden variety bacteria. This is highly resistant super bacteria, able to withstand some pretty harsh chemicals. This bacteria doesn’t have to compete for food, housing or jobs from its fellow bacteria.
So I ask you, is it worth it or do you think it’s better to let them all live to fight it out with each other in their own little microscopic world?