Germ-spreading habits to give up now

You probably have some – if not all – of these germ-spreading habits. Here’s why you might want to rethink them.

When nature calls, germs (including fecal matter!) are released into the air and can land on surfaces… like your phone. Even if you wash your hands before leaving the bathroom, that bacteria is still stuck on your screen. Leave your phone behind the next time you make a trip to the restroom.

Here are more ways you’re using the bathroom wrong.

Sure, soap cleans hands, but bars are actually breeding grounds for germs when they’re used by multiple people. Opt for liquid soap formulas instead.

Sharing is caring – except when it comes to germs. Do your family a favour and give every member of the household his or her very own hand towel for the bathroom. Launder the towels at least once a week – or more, if you have small kids – to prevent bacteria buildup in fabric.

Make sure you’re not making these common hand-washing mistakes.

The optimal amount of time you should spend washing your hands (with warm water and soap) to get them squeaky-clean is 20 to 30 seconds. That’s about how long it takes to sing “Happy Birthday” twice. Yes, really.

Using a public restroom? You may want to skip the air dryer to dry hands. Here’s why: A study published in Applied and Environmental Microbiology found that they can disperse bacteria throughout the room, including onto just-washed hands. Gross! Your best bet when in public? Use paper towels (and use them to open any doors to avoid picking up germs on your way out). If there are no paper towels, just shake your hands dry.

That lid is there for a reason! According to the American Journal of Infection Control, when you flush, the contents of the toilet (water and otherwise) get tossed around, sending a spray flying into the air that contains microscopic bacteria. If you don’t close the toilet lid, the bacteria can contaminate your hands, bathroom surfaces, and even objects like toothbrushes.

Make sure to wash your hands after touching these microbe magnets.

Do you know where that pen has been?! Even if you do, your mouth should probably not be one of those places. If the pen belongs to you, that still means your maybe-not-so-clean hands have touched it, and since chewing on a pen is usually a nervous habit that you do automatically, chances are you haven’t taken into account the cleanliness of the pen, or of your hands. Plus, gnawing on pens isn’t great for your teeth, either.

Yes, sometimes when you can’t get a package open, it may seem more convenient (and, occasionally, more effective!) to get it started using your choppers. However, not only can this be potentially damaging to your teeth, but it can also spread germs. In addition to the germs from your own mouth being transferred to the package, you’re also making contact with any germs that were already present on the packaging.

Here’s the best way to clean the house to avoid getting sick.

Unless your birthday wish is to have germs all over your cake, you might want to reconsider this common tradition. When you blow out candles, you release bacteria that’s been inside your mouth. And guess where it goes? Toward the target of that air: the surface of the cake. While there’s a slim chance of actually getting sick from these germs, it’s still a little icky – especially since a study showed that blowing out candles causes the amount of bacteria on the surface of a cake to increase by 1,400 per cent.

On the other hand, these are the tricks to avoiding germs that don’t really work.