According to a recent study, 33% of women admitted to having never cleaned their purse! No wonder they can have more bacteria on it than a toilet seat, as toilets are frequently seen as the dirtier place in house and as you pay attention to their hygiene, you tend to clean them more often.
The cleaning experts of Helpling, the leading online marketplace for household services in Middle East, unveils the hidden threats in your handbag and gives you quick tips to keep it clean and free from germs!
Yes, your handbag is way dirtier than you imagined!
Imagine where you handbag has been in just one day: desks, floors, bathrooms, chairs … All dirty contaminated places you will never touch, but your bag does! Now try to think how many times did you actually cleaned it properly and try to imagine how many bacteria and germs your handbag could have accumulated during the years.
If you are already feeling a bit guilty, well, you should! According to the Hygiene factbook, 10,000 bacteria can be found on just a few square centimeters of your handbag. From this amount, 30% of the bacteria are faecal ones! Also, a Science World Report interviewed specialists that stated that handbags can have 10 times more microbial activity than a toilet seat, inside, outside and especially in the handles!
Now think beyond all the places you carry your bag and focus on how many times you touch your bag. Now try to imagine how dirty your hands can be! To help you to have a full picture, The University of Colorado at Boulder published a study that pointed out 4,700 different bacteria species on the human hand!
Invisible threats can make you ill
Among these millions of bacterias you everyday handbag has, there is harmless ones but also dangerous ones. And when we say handbag, is not only your purse but also grocery bags!
A study from 2013, found dangerous bacteria in handbags, which are also present in grocery bags according to a study of University of Arizona. According to CDC (Center for Disease Control and Prevention), these types found can cause diarrhea, urinary tract infections, respiratory illness or meningitis and pneumonia. So think twice before neglecting the hygiene of your bag!