5 Places Germs Pool in Popular Businesses

As the holiday season approaches, we're all getting a little busier and for most of us, that means more shopping, whether it's grocery shopping, picking up gifts for family and friends, or purchasing some finishing touches to make our homes more inviting for company.

Unfortunately, all that increased activity comes with increased contact with germs, especially as the cold and flu season kicks into high gear. Here are some of the top spots germs are likely to pool as more and more people flood stores and shops, courtesy of BYO-Safe Environment:

1) Public restrooms. Something as simple as not covering a toilet before flushing can send bacteria and germs flying up to 20 feet, according to HealthStatus.com. Even if everyone follows the proper handwashing procedures, how many are recontaminating their hands and spreading germs by touching faucets and doors?

2) Check-out counters. Cold and flu viruses can live for 18 hours on hard surfaces, Forbes has reported. Even if employees wipe down counters regularly, think how many hands (and purses) touch the counter between cleanings. How many people sneezed there without properly covering their noses?

3) Shopping carts. They can circulate among many people before an employee touches them. One test of 85 random carts found "50% carried E. Coli, and 72% contained coliform bacteria, which suggests there is fecal material on the cart," according to Safetec.com.

4) Escalators and handrails. "One study of handrails on New York escalators found more than three million counts of pseudomonas putida, dirt bacteria, per swab analyzed," according to Forbes. Most of us use handrails to steady ourselves but it's easy to imagine a good portion of the people who came before us touches their noses, faces or a dirty object before grabbing onto the rail.

5) Communal free food. Imagine all the places everyone's hands went before they grabbed a free sample. According to Forbes: "Studies by the Minnesota Department of Health cite that hand-to-food is one of the most common ways to spread illness."

As a consumer, there's not much you can do (aside from washing your hands regularly and using sanitizing wipes when necessary) but there is a great, local solution for business owners and managers.

BYO-Safe Environment, which is based in Billings, has a system that can disinfect an entire business (including hard-to-reach and hard-to-clean spots) with a solution that will keep killing germs, mold and mildew for weeks (and even years, depending on environmental conditions.)

BYO-Safe Environment uses an electrostatic wrap-around spray that is quicker, covers better and lasts longer than other cleaning methods, such as wiping surfaces down with bleach products. As the solution wraps around the surface, the positively-charged particles tend to be attracted to the neutral or negatively-charged surfaces and distribute themselves over them evenly. No corners are missed to become grimy breeding grounds.

Want to find out more? Click here to learn more about BYO-Safe Environment's business and office services. (They can help schools, daycares, fitness centers, restaurants, hotels and medical facilities, too.)