12 Germiest Places in America According to Health Magazine

The Health Magazine lists the 12 germiest places in America or the so called "dirty dozen":

  1. Kitchen sink
  2. Airplane bathroom
  3. A load of wet laundry
  4. Public drinking fountain
  5. Shopping cart handle
  6. ATM buttons
  7. Playgrounds
  8. Bathtub
  9. Office phone
  10. Hotel-room remote

Purell (TM) and other alcohol-based hand sanitizers are reportedly effective against most common bacteria including MRSA (pictured above). Hand sanitizers are heavily used by politicians during election season, when they have to shake countless hands and remain healthy.

How some hotels clean drinking glasses (video):



References:
Purell, from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
In Clean Politics, Flesh Is Pressed, Then Sanitized. The New York Times, 2006.
Performance feedback of hand hygiene, using alcohol gel as the skin decontaminant, reduces the number of inpatients newly affected by MRSA and antibiotic costs. J Hosp Infect. 2004 Jan;56(1):56-63.
Google Scholar search for "Purell and MRSA."
Image source: Electron micrograph of MRSA, Wikipedia, CDC, public domain.

Related:
Where's Your Germiest Place? Dr. Wes.