What’s The Dirtiest Item In Your Home? Nay, Gising!

I almost spit the coffee I was drinking when the host showed us a video of a crew washing the dishes using a dirty sock.. WTF! is it the same plate I used to eat my appetizer? oh noes!

Apparently.. washing your dishes using dirty sock is much more cleaner than the practice that most household do in cleaning their dishes.. the use of  BAR SOLUTION.. you know, an old bar soap (too little or too thin to use for laundry) + sponge + water.

That’s what we learned from Philippine Society for Microbiology. But before that, host Duday Gallingez assured that our plates was not cleaned using a dirty sock.. whew!

Dr. Jessica Simbahan, Immediate Former President of the Philippine Society for Microbiology, conducted a survey (+ third party research agency) with the use of LUMINOMETER (a germ meter) to measure the amount of contaminants in bar solution and commonly perceived dirty household items. The survey was commissioned by Joy to serve as a wake up call for Filipino moms and as part of the campaign, “Nay, Gising!’ which aims to educate moms on proper kitchen hygiene.

Joy Brand Manager Ms. Jan Ang shared, “Many moms in the Philippines use a dish washing bar solution, which is made up their leftover laundry soap, water and a dish washing sponge. These moms believe they are saving money by using their leftover laundry bar to wash dishes. They do not realize that this bar solution is very unsanitary, especially when the bar solution is left exposed for many hours.”

The bar solution, based on the survey conducted by Dr. Simbahan, has 10x more contaminants than a dirty sock! Here’s the shocking figures:

6,921 RLU (Relative Large Units).. and when you add the amount of contaminants found on toilet seat cover+ dirty socks+ toilet bowl rim and sides + living room floor + trash bin cover, the contaminants present in the bar solution is still higher!

BUT HOW? What makes the bar solution THAT dirty? It’s a bar right?a cleaning agent, so it must be clean.. and the sponge has to be soaked on it (overnight as much as possible) so that the sponge will be clean too..

Dr Supachai Basit, Philippine Society for Microbiology, educated us on Microbes in the Kitchen and what makes the bar solution that dirty:

• It’s a fact that when a detergent solution is left exposed and is kept soaking, the level of contaminants including germs and bacteria increases.
• There were published reports that pathogenic organism could grow in detergent (ewe!)
• Sponge is another culprit as a study in Japan, it was found out that dish washing sponge contained Escherichia coli (can cause Gastroenteritis) and Staphylococcus aureus (can cause food poisoning)

Madalas magtae? madalas sumakit tyan ng mga bata? Alam na! Nay, gising! It’s your bar solution that is the culprit.

Given the fact that bar solution can actually bring more disease than lean your dishes, Philippine Society for Microbiology suggested that when washing the dishes, use antibacterial dish washing liquid and Joy Antibac (with power of Safeguard) is accepted by Philippine Society for Microbiology.

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So yes, my dear readers.. the answer from the survey:

Which of the following do you think is the dirtiest item in your home?
a. toilet seat cover
b. dirty socks
c. toilet bowl rim and sides
d. living room floor
e. trash bin cover
f. bar solution (used laundry soap + sponge + water)

is F. BAR SOLUTION

out of 200+ respondents, only 133 got it correct 🙂

as soon as I got hold of the name of the winner, I will include it on this post.. for now, Team F, hold your breath 🙂

and the winner of 1000 PhP worth of Joy Antibac (with power of Safeguard) is:

CONGRATULATIONS!