Sometimes ignorance is bliss. For example, the fact that our phone screens, which we touch on the daily and press up against our faces, have millions of bacteria is something that it can feel good to forget.

Someone asked “What’s something most people don’t realize is extremely dirty/gross/unsanitary?” and netizens shared the worst examples. We got in touch with Leaders Cleaning Services to learn more. So get comfortable as you scroll through, upvote your favorites and be sure to share your own thoughts and experiences in the comments below. 

More info: TikTok | Leaders Cleaning Services

#1

Books at the library and keyboards. Source: Used to work in a library.

Image credits: wannabe_wonder_woman

#2

When people lick their finger before turning pages or counting out money.

Image credits: WoolaTheCalot

#3

Hotel rooms

Image credits: Mexicannut

Bored Panda got in touch with the folks at Leaders Cleaning Services in New Zealand who have repeatedly gone viral on TikTok with their cleaning videos. We wanted to hear their take on what can help motivate someone to start cleaning a particularly sizable mess. 

“If the area in your house looks very messy and overwhelming, first and foremost, I would suggest motivating yourself with #cleanwithme or #cleaningmotivation videos on popular platforms. We promise, these videos work wonders and always give you a kick. Secondly, I would recommend starting with the hardest area and finishing it, instead of spreading your attention across the overall mess and keeping your rubbish bag next to you.”

#4

Children, especially toddlers. I remember a pediatrics paramedic instructor once saying, “Forget aerosol sprays, just contaminate one ball in a preschool and that’s it.”

Image credits: Raaazzle

#5

Kitchen sponges.

These things are gross. Likely one of the dirtiest things in your home.

Image credits: NeuxSaed

#6

Many fountain soda dispensers and bar gun dispensers never get properly cleaned/sanitized and harbor molds, fungi and bacteria. Drink up!

Image credits: JasperDyne

“If you have a bed, make the bed first; it gives you a feeling of accomplishment that you’ve already done a “significant” amount of cleaning (just tricking the mind). So once you’ve finished the area, you could either continue next time with the rest, or most likely, this will keep the motivation going,” they shared. 

#7

Buffets. My husband needs a kidney transplant. Afterwards, he will be immunocompromised for life because of the anti-rejection d***s. They gave him a list of things he can’t do again after transplant, and eating at a buffet is on it. Even one that has a sneeze guard, even if it looks clean, even if it’s vegetarian. No more buffets, Jimmy.

Image credits: notreallylucy

#8

Clean under your fingernails. Use an old toothbrush if you have to. Don’t use the same brush for both.

Image credits: sunnyspiders

#9

Your keys, you never wash them, drop them a lot, use them with filthy hand… etc… and just think how often parents give them to their babies to play with.

Image credits: ShadyMyLady

We also wanted to hear their take on the topic here, of items that are a lot dirtier than one might expect. “Everyone is different; in my opinion, the most neglected things are handles and light switches. Toothbrush chargers are another big one, as well as anything very below or above eye level. If you pay attention to skirting boards, chair/table legs, toilet bases, or lighting/chandeliers, high shelves, and high mirrors, you’ll find that these things are not cleaned in a long time in most houses. But that’s why people call us!”

#10

Drinking from canned beverages without cleaning them off. You have no idea what’s been touching that can before it touches your lips.

Image credits: Cobra_Bubbles7

#11

Restaurant menus

Image credits: FlippyChica

#12

Escalator hand rails. They NEVER get cleaned, ever.

Image credits: yada_u

“But what we would like to note is that people worry most about cleaning the toilet, but actually, kitchen and bathroom sinks and tapware hold way more bacteria. These are what people disinfect properly less frequently. Definitely prioritize your sinks,” they shared with Bored Panda. 

#13

Your phone screen is probably dirtier than a public toilet seat. Better start cleaning it regularly!

Image credits: purplelips11

#14

That coffee pot/ keurig at work. No, they don’t clean it, they only remove the old pods.

Image credits: Key_Reporter_9316

#15

Your steering wheel. Think of all the things you touch when you’re out and about then get back into your car and transfer it all to your steering wheel. Especially the gas pump.

Image credits: DragonsLoooveTacos

#16

Fast food ice

Image credits: Kshi-dragonfly

#17

Wearing your shoes inside the house after walking around all day stepping in who knows what.

Image credits: IAmSoUncomfortable

#18

1) the filters inside your dishwasher should be washed frequently. I wash/scrub mine once per week.

2) the kitchen sink strainer/stopper can be disassembled and you can clean the upper part of the rubber stopper which will make you gag because it’s so scummy.

Image credits: _jump_yossarian

#19

Bowling ball finger holes.

Image credits: Alert-Eggplant4654

#20

In 6th grade we were tasked with going around our school using a cotton swab to collect bacteria samples and seeing what grew on a Petri dish.

People immediately went to the bathroom and began swabbing toilets, urinals, floors, sinks, etc. Turns out those were some of the cleanest places in the school. Those Petri dishes hardly grew anything.

The dirtiest? In order: drinking fountain, phone receiver, and the inside of somebody’s mouth.

The drinking fountain news reached parents and they demanded answers. Turns out the drinking fountain wasn’t properly cleaned since…ever? The janitors used a Stainless Steel Polish to clean it and that doesn’t really kill any bacteria.

Image credits: SayNoToHypocrisy

#21

New clothes. Often, those clothes have been made from fabric that is dusty or has been sitting in a dirty warehouse. Then the completed clothes are left sit in a dusty/dirty warehouse, often with rats or bugs crawling on them. Then they are handled by sweaty workers with dirty hands who load them into various containers or trucks. Then—for clothes sold in a store—there is a good chance you are not the first person to have tried on that item of clothing.

In short, when you get a new item of clothing, run it through the laundry before wearing it.

Image credits: putsch80

#22

Here’s something no one thinks about – luggage. You’re dragging your suitcase, and maybe an attached tote bag, across sidewalks, floors, maybe airport bathrooms…then what? Handling them when putting them in the overhead bins on the airplane (which makes the bins pretty gross, too). I’m still shocked when I hear people say the set their luggage on the hotel bed. Airplane seats are gross, too. Nothing gets sanitized between flights, so there could be all kinds of germs on the armrests, tray tables, etc. I’ve seen people put their bare feet on the tray tables! The other day as we were deplaning, the girl next to me got up and her seat was wet from crotch sweat.

Image credits: AstralCath

#23

Door knobs

Image credits: fashionistachica01

#24

Ladies, if you bring your bag inside the public bathroom stall with you, don’t set it down on the floor. Especially if it doesn’t have little metal feet(s).

Many of us don’t realize how dirty the floors in bathroom stalls or public area’s actually are.

In some cases, the floors are more bacteria ridden than the toilet seats.

Image credits: NewfoundOrigin

#25

Cash

Image credits: carrotwhirl

#26

Movie theatre seats

Image credits: fartistry96

#27

Wearing shoes indoors especially on carpets

Image credits: carrotwhirl

#28

Flushing with the lid open

Image credits: kphill325

#29

Your belt because you tighten it right after taking a dump before you even have the opportunity to wash your hands

Image credits: Suspicious_Air5950

#30

Hand air dryers in restrooms. Those Dyson air blade ones are the worst apparently

Image credits: Tihsdrib

#31

The condiment bottles at a restaurant.

Image credits: Jeramy_Jones

#32

Your keyboard. It’s hard to clean, and is used almost constantly

Image credits: Ebonyks

#33

Not washing their hands every time they use the restroom. Even if you haven’t actively gotten urine/feces on your hands from yourself, you have touched dozens of things that other people with urine/feces have touched before you by entering that room. Also, this is your chance to keep your hands clean from the thousands of other surfaces, doorknobs, and light switches outside the bathroom.

Image credits: unclefuckerImustsay

#34

The space behind your ears if you don’t specifically clean behind them

u/Puzzleheaded-Bet1328

In cosmetology school the amount of elderly people who came in with black gunk built up behing their ears.

They really werent kidding when they said to not forget to wash behind your ears.

Image credits: Aria_the_Artificer

Source: boredpanda.com