HARMFUL HABITS
From texting on the toilet to not replacing kitchen sponges, we reveal five habits that are ‘making you ill’
EVERYONE hates getting sick, but while most of us blame a sniffly colleague or that guy on the bus who didn’t cover his mouth when he coughed (gross!), the real culprit could be closer to home.
“People think the toilet bowl and the floor are the dirtiest places around the house,” says microbiologist Professor Sally Bloomfield of the International Scientific Forum on Home Hygiene.
MOBILE PHONE MICROBES We’ve all done it – used our loo break to scroll through Insta. In fact, a study found that 90 per cent of us use our phone in the bathroom*.
“Touching your phone between using the toilet and washing your hands is a very bad idea,” says Dr Paul Matewele, microbiologist at London Metropolitan University.
“Toilet seats, handles, sinks and taps are covered in germs such as E. coli, which can cause urinary tract infections and intestinal illness, C. diff which can result in diarrhoea, and acinetobacter which can cause a contagious respiratory infection.”
FoodWorld 