“..Our homes and workplaces, we’re told, are trying to kill us.
Recently, a University of Arizona microbiologist named Charles Gerba, author of hundreds of scientific papers about household microbes, gave a terrifying lecture at the offices of the Food and Drug Administration.
Gerba—who, incidentally, has a child with the middle name Escherichia—that’s what the “E” in E. coli stands for—
– explained that a kitchen sponge and sink are home to thousands of times more bacteria than a toilet seat.
Plus, 10 percent of household dishrags contain salmonella.
After playing with other children, toddlers have more fecal bacteria on their hands than does a person exiting a public toilet stall.
Those toilets, by the way, aerosolize so many droplets with each flush that Gerba compares their dispersion to “the Fourth of July.”
And every public swimming pool he’s ever tested has contained disease-causing viruses..”
In response to these kinds of data, more than 700 products promise to help consumers kill bacteria, molds, and viruses in their homes and workplaces, from ultraviolet lights meant to kill toothbrush bacteria, to dishwashers that superheat silverware, to specially treated doormats.
Three-quarters of all Americans use six or more antimicrobial products each day..”
go to source/story>>Can hand sanitizers like Purell really stop people from getting the flu? – By Darshak Sanghavi – Slate Magazine
