PSA: You should be wiping your microwave down daily
Handle alone is crawling with germs
Handle alone is crawling with germs
Handle alone is crawling with germs
Many of us are probably guilty of only cleaning our microwaves once in a while. As it turns out, though, you probably want to clean the thing 鈥� whether it be at home or the office 鈥� pretty often.
A in 2012 found microwave handles are among the dirtiest surfaces to be touched daily by people in an office setting. According to a press release, hygienists from Kimberly-Clark collected "nearly 5,000 individual swabs from office buildings housing more than 3,000 employees." There were all sorts of office types represented, including law firms, insurance companies and call centers.
The study was carried out with Dr. Charles Gerba, a microbiology professor at the . The results showed 48% of microwave door handles were found to have high levels of contamination 鈥� an adenosine triphosphate, or ATP, count of 300 or higher. When ATP is detected, it indicates the presence of contamination by plenty of concerning sources: "Everyday objects with an ATP reading of 300 or higher are considered to have a high risk for illness transmission."
Microwave doors had the highest percentage of contamination levels, second only to sink faucet handles. Kimberly-Clark suggests simple solutions, such as "placing sanitizing wipes in kitchens and providing employees with easy access to hand sanitizers" as a way to combat the spread of germs.
Moral of the story here? Wash your hands, clean out the microwave and sanitize that microwave handle. Your immune system will thank you!
For a quick and easy way to clean your microwave, try this .