16 Things You Use Every Day That Are Grosser Than A Public Restroom

Menus. Hairbrushes. Shopping carts. It's alllllll a hot, gross mess.

1. Your phone

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Has your face been randomly breaking out lately? It might be because of your cell phone. Turns out that a certain lil device that we take with ourselves everywhere— including the bathroom — tends to carry 10 times more bacteria than a toilet seat.

How to keep it clean: Don't take your phone into the bathroom, keep your hands clean, and disinfect your phone regularly with a microfiber cloth and a little rubbing alcohol or lens wipe.

2. The cash in your wallet

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Feces, mold and cocaine — those are just SOME of the fun things that your cold hard cash might be carrying traces of.

How to steer away from poop money: Well, you could use less cash, but you could also make sure you wash your hands every time you handle money.

3. Your computer keyboard

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Studies show that a laptop or desktop computer's keyboard is usually 20,000 times dirtier than a toilet seat. Just think about all the times you've sneezed on it or gotten food on it!

How to keep it clean: Make antibacterial wipes your new best friends.

4. Restaurant menus

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Have you ever thought about how many hands — and all their respective germs — touch a menu every day? This specifically goes for those plastic laminated menus which, even though they're supposed to be wiped down, are still one of the germiest places in a restaurant.

How to deal: After deciding what you're going to eat, make a run for the bathroom and wash your hands!

5. Elevator buttons

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Since so many people touch them, elevator buttons have been found to carry a level of bacteria that's 40 times higher than what you'd find in a public restroom. Tl;dr, every time you press a button, germs are hitching a ride on you, too.

How to deal: Keep that hand sanitizer close.

6. Your cutting board

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Studies have shown that a cutting board can carry 200 more times fecal bacteria than a toilet seat, usually thanks to the raw meat that you slice on it.

How to keep it clean: tbqh, you should have at least two cutting boards at your place: one for meat, and the other one for fruits and vegetables. Wash them both religiously.

7. Lipstick

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Every time you apply lipstick, you're transferring bacteria from your saliva onto your lipstick. If you're adding a fresh coat after eating, there will also be food residue left on it for next time.

How to deal: Wash your lips (as well as your face) before you apply makeup, and from time to time, scrape off a little bit of the top of your lipstick in order to keep it free of bacteria.

8. Clean laundry (!!!)

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Just because you did your laundry doesn't mean that your clothes are free of filth — especially if you just took them out of a washing machine. Now that it's less common to use bleach or hot water for a wash, any humidity left inside the machine can actually encourage the growth of bacteria and fungi.

The solution: Carefully disinfect your washing machine before putting your dirty clothes in. It's also advisable to wash your underwear separately, as since those garments accumulate the most bacteria.

9. Ice cubes from ice machines

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There's nothing like a good iced drink in the summer, but just now this: the machines used to make ice at many hotels, restaurants and fast food venues usually don't get cleaned, so they're often full of germs.

The solution: Certain drinks, such as whisky, vodka, peach tea, and Coca-Cola supposedly kill bacteria but, tbh, your only other options are to opt for no ice at all, or just deal.

10. Face cream from a jar

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Every time you open a jar and stick your fingers in, you're filling it with bacteria that will contaminate the product and do a disservice to your skin.

How to deal: If you can, buy your creams in dispensers or tubes. The other option is to use an applicator or a plastic spoon.

11. Your kitchen sponge

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This item is usually considered "the most bacteria-infested place in your entire house," even more so than your bathroom. Since they're always moist and covered with food residue, sponges become THE perfect place for bacteria to grow.

The solution: Use a plastic brush or silicone scrubber instead of a typical sponge.

12. The TV remote

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Dust, the dirt on your hands, food residue, people's butts that end up sitting on top of it — all of this means that remote controls are a petri dish for gross germs.

The solution: Clean it regularly and, if you can, try to clean it in and around the buttons especially.

13. Shopping carts

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The fact that lots of grocery stores have disinfecting wipes next to the carts for you to use should be a sign of how filthy they really are. In fact, studies show that these carts have more saliva, bacteria and fecal bacteria than a public restroom.

The solution: Deeeeefinitely them a wipe before you use them, and disinfect your hands after.

14. ATMs

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This shouldn't come as a surprise, but the buttons of an ATM are really filthy and riddled with germs.

The solution: Use antibacterial products and just... wash your hands often. Like, seriously.

15. Your water bottle

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Staying hydrated is important, and taking a water bottle everywhere is the easiest way to do so. However, many of us — under the false notion that "it doesn't make any sense to wash something that only has water" — don't clean them daily, which allows germs to grow inside.

The solution: Wash your water bottles EVERY DAY.

16. And finally, your hairbrush

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Not only do these usually hang out in our bathrooms, but they also hold leftover hair product, strands of hair, mold and dead skin — all of which, of course, make for a wonderful environment for bacteria to live in.

How to deal: In order to avoid irritation of the scalp, unpleasant odors or possible allergies, it's best to wash your brushes on a monthly basis, at least.

16 Things You're Definitely Not Washing As Often As You Should

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This post was translated from Spanish.