The contents of a woman's handbag have long remained a mystery to men around the world.But the truth is a lot dirtier than one could ever have imagined.
German research found 10,000 different bacteria are present in just a few square centimetres of handbag, making it dirtier than your average toilet seat.So how does your bag get so disgustingly filthy?
The Herald Sun spoke with My Bag Spa owner Alex How from Melbourne, who has found food scraps, rubbish and even dog or cat urine in handbags.'Dog and cat pee are the worst and we have to wear gloves and a mask to remove those smells or else our skin starts to itch,' Mr How said.'Some bag users put rubbish in their bag and totally forget about it.Wine, all sorts of food scraps and sauces and cigarettes are things that build up over years. It can be quite ugly when the bags come in for service.'
The bacteria from your hands can also contaminate your bag's lining, with much of the dirt trapped between the lining and the leather exterior.The Herald Sun spoke with online cleaning agent Helpling partner manager Roxanna Pelka, who said handbags are dirtier than your average toilet, as toilets are cleaned more regularly.She quoted the Science World Report 2013 that revealed handbags have about ten times the amount of microbial activity than a toilet seat.
But not all handbags are rife with bacteria, with a bag's quality mainly dependent on the user.
German research found 10,000 different bacteria are present in just a few square centimetres of handbag, making it dirtier than your average toilet seat.So how does your bag get so disgustingly filthy?
The Herald Sun spoke with My Bag Spa owner Alex How from Melbourne, who has found food scraps, rubbish and even dog or cat urine in handbags.'Dog and cat pee are the worst and we have to wear gloves and a mask to remove those smells or else our skin starts to itch,' Mr How said.'Some bag users put rubbish in their bag and totally forget about it.Wine, all sorts of food scraps and sauces and cigarettes are things that build up over years. It can be quite ugly when the bags come in for service.'
The bacteria from your hands can also contaminate your bag's lining, with much of the dirt trapped between the lining and the leather exterior.The Herald Sun spoke with online cleaning agent Helpling partner manager Roxanna Pelka, who said handbags are dirtier than your average toilet, as toilets are cleaned more regularly.She quoted the Science World Report 2013 that revealed handbags have about ten times the amount of microbial activity than a toilet seat.
But not all handbags are rife with bacteria, with a bag's quality mainly dependent on the user.
