A recent study indicates that what tends to be the dirtiest items in off-campus student housing aren’t what might be expected.

The study, conducted by the National Sanitation Foundation International, revealed that kitchen appliances dominate the top six dirtiest areas, rather than items that people tend to think of as dirty such as cellphones, beer pong balls and door knobs.

The top six dirtiest items were dish sponges, shower tubs and drains, kitchen sink drains, shower heads, kitchen faucet handles and coffee makers.

Beer pong balls, although often moist, are very smooth and nonporous, so the bacteria cannot grow easily on them, according to the study.

The researchers asked students participating in the study to identify the most common spots for germ buildup. They listed their cell phones and bathroom door knobs, but failed to mention the coffee maker and the shower head.

“The college students didn’t ace this test, correctly identifying only 60 percent, or 4 out of 6, of the most concerning surfaces or items where germs were found,” said Jesse Miller, director of the Applied Research Center at National Sanitation Foundation International, in an email. “This would be a ‘D’ in most classrooms.”

Although the organization has previously conducted similar studies — including the “2011 Household Germ Study” and the “2013 Household Germ Study” — it has yet to research on-campus housing like residence halls, Miller said. He declined to comment on whether results would be similar in on-campus housing.

Contrary to students’ expectation, smooth, dry surfaces such as cellphones prove to be difficult for bacteria to grow, according to the study.

“(Cellphones are) a dry environment, like living in the desert. The bacteria just can’t survive being dry that long,” said Esther Angert, an associate professor of microbiology at Cornell University. “But in the shower, you take your shower and the shower stall gets wet, and usually there are parts of it that stay wet until the next person takes a shower.”

The NSFI sent researchers to Michigan to test the houses of college students, many of whom said they don’t clean regularly or at all, according to the study.

The researchers used swabs to capture the bacteria on the different surfaces, Miller said. For objects like dish sponges and ping pong balls, the researchers took them along with swabs to the organization’s laboratory in Ann Arbor.

The study tested for the presence of E. coli, coliforms, MRSA, yeast and mold — all were found in the homes during the study.

Angert said studies like this can be sensationalized and some people might draw irrational conclusions about the dangers of microbes in the environment.

Not all microorganisms are harmful, Angert added. A small percentage of people have MRSA, or methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, living on their skin.

But when these dangerous microorganisms enter the body, it can prove harmful and take students out of class for several days or even weeks, according to the study.

There are several measures that students can take to temper those risks, Angert said, including cleaning up kitchen surfaces before and after preparing the food, making sure cooked food does not come in contact with the countertop or plate where the bacteria-exposed food was prepared prior.

In the study, the NSFI advises students to follow several steps to promote cleanliness in the six most highly populated bacteria hotspots. Some of the tips are paying attention to wet and textured surfaces, microwaving the sponge daily for two minutes and replacing the sponge every two weeks. It also recommended using disinfecting cleaner to the kitchen sink, the shower drain and faucet handles.

Angert pointed out that although Syracuse is located in a cooler climate and a lower average temperature than southern regions, cleaning habits should be applied.

“I think, particularly, whenever you have food that is not refrigerated or kept properly, I can see that the warmer household environments or outside environments could allow harmful bacteria to grow faster in a warmer climate than a colder climate,” Angert said. “But I think, in general, it’s probably microbes in your environment that you’re concerned about are probably similar concerns in the North or the South.”

Published on September 13, 2016 at 10:39 pm

Contact Kenneth: kmintz@syr.edu