Norovirus warning as millions aren't cleaning bathroom item that is a 'hotbed' for the bacteria
With Norovirus cases on the rise, a study revealed some shocking hygiene habits in British homes.
While cleaning the bathroom is a chore most people hate doing, it's essential to keep germs and dangerous bacteria at bay.
But new research has uncovered that the equivalent of 845,000 people have never washed their bath mat, while 9.3% wait at least two months or longer before giving it a clean.
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And this is despite a bath mat harbouring more bacteria than a toilet seat.
A recent study showed that bath mats had the highest bacterial count of all items tested, with Gram-positive rods accounting for 85% of their total 31.7 million colony forming units (CFUs).
Experts believe this dirty habit leads to an increased risk of Norovirus contamination.
Dr. Sham Singh, health expert from Winit Clinic, said: “The bathroom mats can act as hotbeds for pathogens such as Norovirus, particularly in homes where the hygiene practice of closing the toilet lid prior to flushing has been neglected.
"Within open-flushed toilets, the aerosols-containing bacteria and viruses can travel up to several feet away and finally settle down on other surfaces, such as bath mats.
"Such characteristics make Norovirus very contagious and its survivability on surfaces measurable in days; thus, contamination could occur when a person steps on the mat with bare feet or touches that mat and then the face or mouth.
"Norovirus is also propagated by the fecal-oral route, and warm damp mats that are seldom washed can potentially harbor viral particles and be a source of such infection in the household. The regular hot wash of washroom mats and adherence to proper hygiene practices, especially with hand washing, and good air ventilation will help in the prevention of exposure.
"Using disinfectant spray or steam cleaning in between washes might also help keep the viral load low on frequently walked mats.”
The survey by Showers to You, a shower enclosures retailer, also found Edinburgh residents are most likely to go the longest without washing their bath mats. Other key findings include that 15.78% only wash their bath mat if they have guests visiting and that divorced individuals are most likely to let their mats fester for a shocking 3-5 months before washing.
However, it’s not all bad news for the nation’s bathroom hygiene, with almost one in four (24%) stating that they wash their bath mat once a week, which is the recommended amount.
