I know it's a lot to read, but it's kinda gross thinking about it....but I'm kinda germ-a-phobic


Have you ever noticed gals who sit their purses on public restroom floors beside the toilet - and then go directly to their dining tables? Happens a lot! It's not always the 'restaurant food' that causes stomach distress. Sometimes "what you don't know 'will' hurt you"!

Read on...Mom got so upset when a guest came in the door and plopped their purses down on the counter where she was cooking or setting up the buffet. She always said that purses are really dirty, because of Where they have been. Smart Momma!!!

It's something just about every woman carries with them. While we may know what's inside our purses, do you have any idea what's on the outside? Shauna Lake put purses to the test - for bacteria - with surprising results. You may think twice about where you put your purse.

Women carry purses everywhere; from the office to public restrooms to the floor of the car. Most women won't be caught without their purses, but did you ever stop to think about where your purse goes during the day?

"I drive a school bus, so my purse has been on the floor of the bus a lot," says one woman.

"On the floor of my car, probably in restrooms."

"I put my purse in grocery shopping carts, on the floor of bathroom stalls while changing a diaper," says another woman and of course in my home which should be clean."

We decided to find out if purses harbour a lot of bacteria. We learned how to test them at Nelson Laboratories in Salt Lake, then we set out to test the average woman's purse.

Most women told us they didn't stop to think about what was on the bottom of their purse. Most said they usually set their purses on top of kitchen tables and counters where food is prepared. Most of the ladies we talked to told us they wouldn't be surprised if their purses were at least a little bit dirty.

It turns out purses are so surprisingly dirty, even the microbiologist who tested them was shocked. Microbiologist Amy Karren, of Nelson Labs, says nearly all of the purses tested were not only high in bacteria, but high in harmful kinds of bacteria.

Pseudomonas can cause eye infections, staphylococcus aurous can cause serious skin infections, and salmonella and e-coli found on the purses could make people very sick.

In one sampling, four of five purses tested positive for salmonella, and that's not the worst of it. "There is fecal contamination on the purses," says Amy. Leather or vinyl purses tended to be cleaner than cloth purses, and lifestyle seemed to play a role. People with kids tended to have dirtier purses than those without, with one exception. The purse of one single woman who frequented nightclubs had one of the worst contaminations of all. "Some type of feces, or even possibly vomit or something like that," says Amy.

So the moral of this story - your purse won't kill you, but it does have the potential to make you very sick if you keep it on places where you eat.

Use hooks to hang your purse at home and in restrooms, and don't put it on your desk, a restaurant table, or on your kitchen countertop. Experts say you should think of your purse the same way you would a pair of shoes. "If you think about putting a pair of shoes onto your countertops, that's the same thing you're doing when you put your purse on the countertops" - your purse has gone where every individual before you has spat, coughed, urinated, emptied bowels, etc!

Do you really want to bring that home with you? The microbiologists at Nelson also said cleaning a purse will help. Wash cloth purses and use leather cleaner to clean the bottom of leather purses.

it kinda scares me now how my purses are..i should wash them all now. just incase.

eww haha thats really gross... lol thanks for this though.. i never thought twice about this before XD

Thanks for the post rosieposie! That really reminds me of where to keep my purse

remember this?

I forgot about that thread. Thanks for the reminder clichelove!

^^^ that keychain thingy is pretty cute haha

Oo for the washroom thing, i never put my purses or bags on the floor because thats pretty common sense not to do that. unless u have no one to hold it, no hook/handle and you can hold it..i guess, still gross!! a VERY good point about the counter top and tables! because you do drop your bag, leave it on the floor, on chairs, counters, changing rooms or w.e..eww haha

thanks for the tipps.

haha interesting but true. i don't put my bags on floors unless i REALLY have to

haha i never really put my purse on floors because in the washroom i hang them up where they provide a clothes hook? but they still touch the doors so i guess its equally disgusting..its funny how when you get the gucci or ferragamo bag you love it sooo much but after you treat it like another one of your toys.

wow it's so true.. i never put my purse on the washroom floor but i do put it on other floors sometimes when i have to..

i agree, i never put my purse on the floor in most public places unless i have no real other choice...but sometimes we forget that they've put their bags on the floor of the car or on the floor at school (where the bottom of shoes have been).....

its just best to remember to wash your hands before you go and eat because i'm sure no one wants one of those illnesses mentioned above....and maybe wipe down the purses that you can once in a while

Whoever puts their handbag on the floor must be crazy. Not only does it risk being dirty as hell but it also risks being stolen without easily being noticeable. I wouldn't want to risk getting my Vuitton bags stolen! I do the lap thing to be safe.

Gross! I never put any of my purses/bags on the floor. If I'm with someone I'll ask them to hold it and if I'm alone I'll look for a hook to hang it on. I only put my school bag on the classroom floors but I only touch the handles and zippers of that bag, lol.

oh, i've noticed the thing with women putting their bags on bathroom floors! it is gross, and i don't know how they do it, especially when there are hooks on the bathroom doors! i always check for the hooks before using the stall and if i leave my bag on the ground whenever i'm outside of the house, i make sure to wipe it down as soon as i get home.