Healthy Living

15 Household Items That Can Make You Sick

8. Doorknob

Door knobs can easily spread sickness, whether it’s your office door or your bedroom knob. Due to their frequency of use and the plethora of bacteria and viruses that are transferred from our hands to the knob, a disease can pass to multiple inhabitants within hours. The flu and the stomach bug are among the most easily spread from person to person via door knobs. Once the disease-causing organisms are on the knob, every person who touches it can then pass on the microbes to any other surface they touch, such as lamps, toothbrushes, and kitchen appliances, to name just a few.

Research has shown that copper door knobs can actually encourage bacterial death, although the reason behind this is not fully understood, and sweat from human hands inhibits this effect. However, the easiest way to protect yourself from door knob germs is simply to wipe them down with disinfectant wipes.