23 January 2023 , 14:15
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A microbiologist has left people horrified after sharing just how dirty a kitchen sink can be, even after it's been thoroughly cleaned.
Tim Call, 32, posted a video on TikTok in which he tested his kitchen sink for bacteria before cleaning it with hot water and soap and testing it again to see how many germs he'd managed to get rid of.
And the results are bad news for germaphobes, as even with a good scrub and some bacteria-killing supplies, the scientist still found a whopping 45,000 original bacteria samples lurking behind.
The microbiologist tested his sink by swabbing the surface before and after giving it a clean, and seeing what would grow from the samples when placed in a petri-dish.
Tim tested a dirty sink and a clean one (Jam Press/@whatmightgrow)
He swabbed the surface of his sink (Jam Press Vid/@whatmightgrow)He then posted his findings online to his 203,000 followers on TikTok, and it quickly went viral - with over 33.4 million views and many social media users taking to the comments to share their horror.
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One person said: "But my dishes touch the sink … how does one avoid sink germs on freshly washed dishes?"
While another wrote: "Don't eat at anybody's house!"
And a third posted: "So that means our plates..."
He cleaned the sink before taking a second sample (Jam Press Vid/@whatmightgrow)
He found 45,000 original bacteria samples lurking behind (Jam Press Vid/@whatmightgrow)Tim, from the US, often posts to TikTok to educate others on just how dirty everyday items can be, but said he has also had some items which have taken him by surprise.
He said: "I make this content because I've always been curious about what was growing around me and I wanted to visually see it. It's starting to visually answer many questions that people have had.
"The grossest thing I have tested is a new matte drink that is becoming more popular called Kratom. It consistently has a high amount of bacteria contamination – hundred of thousands to millions and this is due to a poor quality control process found in the gathering and manufacturing locations of Kratom.
"The cleanest thing that I tested that surprised me was gas pumps at gas stations. I thought they would be filled with bacteria due to the amount of usage but was surprised to see there was very little growth – around five colonies grew. I hypothesise this is due to the gas fumes being antimicrobial."
And while many commenters were disgusted by the bacteria found in their sinks, several others said the bacteria wasn't necessarily a bad thing - as "literally everything" has bacteria.
Someone said: "You realise there are bacteria in literally everything right?"
As someone else added: "I use soft scrub but I would never put food in my sink."
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