How Much Bacteria Is On A Door Handle

After a study conducted by the worcester polytechnic institute wpi gathered that 1323 bacterial colonies were displaced among 27 door handles.

How much bacteria is on a door handle.

Flush handles generally have around 83 bacteria per square inch. This study was conducted on the university campus an area which is considered fairly dense in population which many people will access these doors providing a host for the bacteria to travel elsewhere. Surfaces that are touched frequently from shopping carts to the elliptical machine at your gym are often crawling with bacteria. A budget grocery store cart has 8 112 bacteria colonies per square inch while a toilet handle only has 30 bacteria colonies per square inch.

The faucet and interior door handles had only a fraction of the bacteria found on the shower curtain or floor. Salmonella are often found in toilet bowls. Home office computer keyboard. Bathroom door s inside handle.

Traditional grocery store shopping carts have 361 times more bacteria than a bathroom door knob. That goes for door knobs too of course. On clothing or skin the survival time is roughly halved. Difficile has been found to survive for up to five months.

Interestingly though other surfaces we touch frequently had relatively few bacteria. Beth potter assistant professor of microbiology center helps students holly pier and marcelo lob test for bacteria on a door handle at penn state erie the behrend college. A 2000 study by scientists at the uk s aston university school of health and life sciences examined the household conditions of six families who had recently suffered from a salmonella outbreak. Salmonella only lasts four hours but mrsa can last several weeks and c.

One study found that starbucks door handles carried more bacteria than a new york city subway pole. Even still germs need a moist warm environment to survive and cannot live for more than one to two hours on a hard dry surface such as the door handle. Some flush handles harbor as many bacteria as are found on the floor. These harmful bacteria can cause severe vomiting and diarrhea in affected persons.

On a hard non porous surface like a door handle most viruses are destroyed within 24 hours. However when those door knobs are made of brass or copper a chemical. By some scientific estimates each human hand is home to roughly 150 species of bacteria.