It is often considered one of the cleanest places in your home.
But a new study might have you ditching the cleaning products the next time you’re in the bathroom.
Scientists at Northeastern University have warned that our showers and toothbrushes are “teeming” with viruses.
The researchers found 614 unique viruses living on these bathroom items, including many previously unknown to science.
Lead researcher Dr Erica Hartmann warned: “The number of viruses we found is absolutely wild.”
Researchers say your bathroom could be a hotspot for viruses, as your toothbrush and shower head retain hundreds of unique viruses (file image)
While many of us regularly clean our bathrooms with harsh chemicals, that doesn’t mean your home is free of microorganisms.
In fact, many areas of the bathroom provide a perfect environment for bacteria and viruses to thrive.
‘Microbes prefer environments with water. And where is there water? Inside our showers and on our toothbrushes,” says Dr. Hartmann.
This new study is an outgrowth of a research project called “Operation Pottymouth” which aimed to see if toothbrushes were contaminated by toilet spray.
As part of that research, scientists collected samples from shower heads and toothbrush bristles across the United States.
By sequencing the DNA found in those samples, researchers discovered hundreds of unique viruses living in your bathroom’s bustling microbiome.
Dr. Hartmann says: “We found many viruses that we know very little about and many others that we have never seen before.”
‘It’s amazing how much untapped biodiversity there is around us. And you don’t even have to go far to find it; It’s right under our noses.
By sequencing DNA found in bathroom samples, researchers found 614 viruses living on the shower head (blue dots) and on the toothbrush (red dots). This graph shows the types of bacteria these viruses were associated with.
This study is an offshoot of a research program dedicated to seeing whether your toothbrush is contaminated by aerosol particles ejected from toilets.
Researchers discovered that each of our individual shower heads and toothbrushes host an astonishingly diverse and almost unique ecosystem.
Of the 614 viruses discovered, 314 were only found in a single sample and no two samples were completely alike.
Likewise, Dr. Hartmann says that each shower head and toothbrush is like “its own little island,” with very little similarity between the two.
The researchers found no overlap among the 15 most common viruses in shower head and toothbrush samples.
If you’re worried about viruses infesting your bathroom, you don’t need to take out the bleach just yet, since these viruses don’t infect humans.
Researchers say the water-rich environment of your toothbrush is a perfect breeding ground for microbes (file image)
Rather, the viruses collected in this study were all “bacteriophages,” a type of virus that only replicates within bacteria.
In their paper, published in Frontiers in Microbiomes, the researchers say this mIt could explain why the viruses found on toothbrushes and showers are so different.
While your shower head harbors bacteria commonly found in soil and drinking water, your toothbrush is covered in species associated with the human biome.
Each of these distinct bacterial communities also has its own unique community of viruses dedicated to destroying them.
In the future, researchers believe we may even be able to use these viruses to make our homes cleaner.
All of the viruses found were “bacteriophages” (pictured), meaning they only infect bacteria. Researchers say they could be used to eliminate harmful microorganisms from the bathroom.
The most common species found were types of mycobacteriophages that infect pathogenic species that cause leprosy, tuberculosis and chronic lung infections.
Dr. Hartmann says, “We could imagine taking these mycobacteriophages and using them as a way to clean pathogens from the plumbing system.”
These same viruses could even be the basis of futuristic treatments for antibiotic-resistant bacterial infections.
Viruses that specifically target disease-causing bacteria could be injected into humans to eliminate difficult-to-treat infections without causing side effects.
Researchers suggest our bathrooms may already be hiding many of these life-saving treatments.
Scientists say our homes are full of bacteria and viruses at all times and trying to kill them with chemicals leads to more antibiotic resistance. Researchers say the best strategy is to simply “accept” the fact that there are microbes living in your home.
“We want to examine all the functions these viruses could have and find out how we can use them,” says Dr. Hartmann.
If you want to keep your bathroom clean, Dr. Hartmann recommends regularly soaking your shower head in vinegar to remove calcium buildup that harbors bacteria.
Alternatively, simply wash the shower head with soap and water instead of using harsher cleaning chemicals.
You should also avoid purchasing antimicrobial toothbrushes, as they can cause bacteria to develop resistance to antibiotics.
Instead, remember to replace your toothbrush head regularly so that it never gets too dirty.
However, researchers warn that the best way to deal with the microbes living in your bathroom is to simply not worry about them.
Dr Hartmann concludes: ‘Microbes are everywhere and the vast majority of them will not make us sick.
“The more they are attacked with disinfectants, the more likely they are to develop resistance or become more difficult to treat. “We should all accept them.”
