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Post by Plocket on Nov 16, 2006 14:45:09 GMT
I never given this a thought, but have you ever noticed
gals who sit their handbags on public toilet floors - then go directly to their dining tables and set it on the table?
Happens a lot! It's not always the 'restaurant food' that causes stomach distress. Sometimes "what you don't know WILL hurt you"!
Read on...
Mum got so upset when guests came in the door and plopped their handbags down on the counter where she was cooking or setting up food. She always said that handbags are really dirty, because of where they have been. Smart Mum!!!
It's something just about every woman carries with them. While we may know what's inside our handbags, do you have any idea what's on the outside? Shauna Lake put handbags to the test - for bacteria - with surprising results. You may think twice about where you put your handbag.
Women carry handbags everywhere; from the office to public toilets to the floor of the car. Most women won't be caught without their handbags, but did you ever stop to think about where your handbag goes during the day?
"I drive a school bus, so my handbag has been on the floor of the bus a lot," says one woman. "On the floor of my car, and in toilets."
"I put my handbag in grocery shopping carts, on the floor of the toilet while changing a nappy," says another woman "and of course in my home which should be clean."
We decided to find out if handbags harbor a lot of bacteria. We learned how to test them at Nelson Laboratories in Salt Lake, and then we set out to test the average woman's handbag.
Most women told us they didn't stop to think about what was on the bottom of their handbag. Most said at home they usually set their handbags on top of kitchen tables and counters where food is prepared.
Most of the ladies we talked to told us they wouldn't be surprised if their handbags were at least a little bit dirty. It turns out handbags are so surprisingly dirty, even the microbiologist who tested them was shocked.
Microbiologist Amy Karen of Nelson Labs says nearly all of the handbags tested were not only high in bacteria, but high in harmful kinds of bacteria. Pseudomonas can cause eye infections, staphylococcus aurous can cause serious skin infections, and salmonella and e-coli found on the handbags could make people very sick.
In one sampling, four of five handbags tested positive for salmonella, and that's not the worst of it. "There is fecal contamination on the handbags," says Amy.
Leather or vinyl handbags tended to be cleaner than cloth handbags, and lifestyle seemed to play a role.
People with kids tended to have dirtier handbags than those without, with one exception. The handbag of one single woman who frequented nightclubs had one of the worst contaminations of all.
"Some type of feces, or possibly vomit" says Amy.
So the moral of this story - your handbag won't kill you, but it does have the potential to make you very sick if you keep it on places where you eat.
Use hooks to hang your handbag at home and in toilets, and don't put it on your desk, a restaurant table, or on your kitchen countertop.
Experts say you should think of your handbag the same way you would a pair of shoes. "If you think about putting a pair of shoes onto your countertops, that's the same thing you're doing when you put your handbag on the countertops" - your handbag has gone where individuals before you have sneezed, coughed, spat, urinated, emptied bowels, etc! Do you really want to bring that home with you? The microbiologists at Nelson also said cleaning a handbag will help. Wash cloth handbags and use leather cleaner to clean the bottom of leather handbags.
I've always been careful to hang my bag on a hook when in public toilets, and across my chair if in a restaurant (under a coat or jacket). And thank GOODNESS it's washable and goes in the washing machine regularly!!!!!
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Post by piggingardener on Nov 16, 2006 15:52:34 GMT
I never use a handbag apart from a briefcase for work. It never goes into the loo with me and never goes into the kitchen at home. I invariably wear jeans when shopping and my purse goes in my pocket. If I need to carry things on holiday or on a day out, eg camera, guide book, etc., I use a bumbag. Apart from the hygiene problems with handbags, they are so easy for people to steal.
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Post by Deleted on Nov 16, 2006 16:43:47 GMT
That is truely disgusting and may be just the excuse I need to go out any buy myself a new handbag which I promise never to leave on the floor of a toilet  |
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Post by JennyWrenn on Nov 16, 2006 17:46:00 GMT
Oooooo Plocket I'll pass this round my office
On a similar subject anyone notice that cashiers lick their fingers so they can open the carrier bag that they put your groceries in
Even happens in M & S - so you then get hold of the handles covered in their spittle
<vomitchuckupsmiley>
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Post by Plocket on Nov 16, 2006 17:52:12 GMT
Oh GROSS! I'm glad I take my own bags to put the shopping in!!!
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Post by isabella on Nov 16, 2006 19:31:53 GMT
I must admit I hadn't thought about how dirty my handbag could get! If I have to use a public loo I always hang my bag on the back of the door if there is a hook to do so. As I am a bit forgetful sometimes I have found it safer for me to always have my handbag on me :i.e. across my chest so I always buy handbags with a shoulder strap! I am amazed at how careless some people can be when visiting our store - they leave their handbags in their trolley and go off and look at plants! Just asking for trouble when there are so many dishonest people around! You wouldn't believe what some people get up to!! They just steal things and throw the packaging away in tucked away places in the store or garden centre They pick receipts up that people have thrown away and come into the store and pick the same item up and ask for a refund They switch labels so they get an item cheaper - this really annoys me when they do it to plants!  Sorry I will shut up - I have gone off topic!! |
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Post by Plocket on Nov 16, 2006 19:41:07 GMT
It's a good rant though Isabella! Sometimes I'm shocked just how dishonest people can be, but it's nice to know you realise they are doing it so they don't get away with it.
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Post by Jonah on Nov 16, 2006 20:52:07 GMT
Ugh, I'm going to have to email that to my mum. Whenever she comes round all of her bags get plonked on the kitchen top and I have to shift them into the hall. Mums don't always know best!  I don't have a handbag, I do carry a holdall with all the childrens stuff in and my purse etc. I use the hooks in the toilets, and it is one that goes on your back, but I must admit to putting it on the floor at playgroups and sometimes when we are out and about. I'll have to check the washing instructions.....  |
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Post by Deleted on Nov 16, 2006 21:30:32 GMT
Oh Yuck! never given it a thought, but like others I hang mine on hook behind loo door . I always use shoulder bags otherwise I would be sure to loose it ,always take mine straight into living room,as it may get stolen as kitchen door is usually open. In restraints I put it between my feet, must try to remember to clean it. Read somewhere that tea-towels also are health hazard, so I my rinse my pots & leave to drain. My S,I,L keeps urging me to get D- washer.  |
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Post by Jonah on Nov 16, 2006 22:43:16 GMT
we've got a dishwasher, must admit I don't use tea towels very much. If I do little bits of washing up I tend to use kitchen roll if I am using them straightaway, but I put most of the used roll in my compost bin, so I don't feel as guilty as sticking it all in the rubbish. |
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Post by isabella on Nov 17, 2006 4:49:52 GMT
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Post by isabella on Nov 17, 2006 10:26:51 GMT
I read somewhere that the little bowls of nuts etc. on bar counters were tested for germs and the results were appalling- I don't think men are quite as fussy as women about washing their hands when they visit the loo!! YUK YUK YUK  |
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Post by Plocket on Nov 17, 2006 11:51:31 GMT
I'm like Jonah - I don't use t-towels because we've got a dishwasher and hand-washed stuff either drains or gets dried with paper towel which then goes in the composter. And the dish cloths I have for wiping surfaces goe in the wash every day.
I'd never thought about toothbrushes in the bathroom though so thanks for the heads up on that one.
And as for nuts on bar counters - yuck!!!!! I don't know fo many pubs that do free snacks these days though.
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Post by sleepysunday on Nov 17, 2006 12:05:33 GMT
I suspect that most men are far fussier than women about washing their hands after going to the toilet. And flushing the toilet, and leaving the toilet seat up.
I suspect that it is women that have serious lapses in these areas.
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