I am a total germaphobe!

 

I cannot help it. I open public restroom doors with a paper towel. I flush public toilets with my foot. I use hand sanitizer after touching the gas pump. I cringe when I have to shake hands with someone, especially men, because I don’t know where their hands have been!

 

The other day, I received an email about a study that said men are less likely than women to wash their hands after using a public restroom because they “don’t feel the need.”

 

The survey, conducted by Bradley Corporation, states that 60 percent of men say they always wash their hands after using a public restroom, as compared to 74 percent of women.

 

Why the no hand washing, guys? According to the survey, men cited the lack of soap in restrooms, as well as dirty sinks, as the reason to not washing up. Women said they used hand sanitizer instead.

 

The best part of the survey is reading that I’m not the only crazy person out there! According to the survey, 64 percent of people prefer to flush the toilet using their foot; 60 percent use a paper towel to open the restroom door; 37 percent use a paper towel to avoid touching the faucet handles; and 48 percent open and close doors with their hip.

 

It’s nice to know I’m not the only person that avoid cross-contamination.

 

Keep in mind, the survey did not specify whether the participants properly washed their hands using warm water, soap and washing for a full 20-seconds.

 

Check out the survey results here.

 

I’ll leave you with a couple of gross facts. The restroom door knob has as much bacteria as a urinal. The sink has 100,000 germs per square inch, where the toilet has 100 germs per square inch. Keep in mind, with every flush of the toilet you send an invisible six foot radius of bacteria that lands on exposed surfaces.  Lastly, if you are a fan of the Big Bang Theory, you know that hand dryers release more bacteria than paper towels alone. Paper towels decrease hand bacteria by 29 percent, a hand dryer increases it by 162 percent.

 

Check out more facts here.

 

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