GRAND TRAVERSE AND LEELANAU COUNTIES -- They're everywhere...micro-organisms. Even living comfortably on that kitchen sponge right next to your sink. What about the other places in your home and even your workplace?
7&4 News wanted to find out what microscopic creatures are actively crawling around, so we contacted the microbiology lab at Munson Medical Center in Traverse City. They gave us culture plates and we went to work.
The investigation started with the place you're in every single day: the kitchen.
We swabbed the handle on the coffee pot...the refrigerator door handle...the handle on the cupboard...car keys and last but not least the dish sponge.
Next, lets move to the workplace. With another five places tested in the 7&4 News station. It's a typical work place with people coming and going on daily basis. Starting with the keyboard and computer mouse.
Countless people use these during the day. Plus the office phones and the handle on the water cooler that is a popular hot spot. Also, you can't forget the door handle on the restroom. Once the culture plates were complete, they went to the Munson micro-biology lab.
They were place in incubators for about three days...here's what we found out.
"We found lots of micro-organisms and micro-organisms are everywhere," says Janet Swift-Godzisz the lab manager of infection prevention at Munson.
She goes on to say, "All of these micro-organisms are very typical for skin flora that you find. They are colonizers, they not disease producing...the little yellow dots those are micro-cautious. They like to live in soil, live on dead decaying material but they're all over the environment."
"What if you touched lets say car keys and then put your fingers in your mouth?" asks 7&4 News.
"You should not get sick. The only way you would get sick is if you picked up one that is a pathogen," says Swift-Godzisz.
With that said, one culture plate did stand out above the rest. The plate used to swab the dish sponge turned dark green and had a foul odor.
"This is proteous. This bacteria takes over and multiples very quickly. It's this dark greenish brown color and loves to live in water and be around that area," says Swift-Godzisz.
"Are people spreading that onto their dishes and cups?" asks 7&4 News.
"Absolutely. They are and it's on your hands. But if you wash your hands you get rid of the proteus. We shouldn't keep spongers or dish rags if they smell," says Swift-Godzisz.
Lets not forget about the plastic handle on the water cooler. That culture plate also stood out with the various colors that formed.
"It's not the water just the handle. Typical flora we see and some proteus also. Every handle for a water source would show you the same thing," says Swift-Godzisz.
Bottom line: nothing dangerous or disease causing was found during my investigation. Yet, you need to keep certain hygiene rules in mind.
"You don't know as you go through your day the hygiene of other individuals," says Swift-Godzisz.
So, what's the best way to prevent disease?
"The best way to protect yourself is to wash your hands before you eat, after you eat, after using the restroom and after you sneeze or cough. A home will never be free of micro-organisms but a home doesn't have to be a breeder of pathogenic organisms," says Swift-Godzisz.
