THIS Is How Much Dirt Is In Your Handbag…

A new survey has found that 90% of our handbags contain grossly high levels of bacteria contamination.

Devil Wears Prada
Devil Wears Prada
(Image credit: Everett/REX Shutterstock)

A new survey has found that 90% of our handbags contain grossly high levels of bacteria contamination.

In what is potentially today’s grimmest news, a new survey has found that 90% of our handbags contain grossly high levels of bacteria contamination.

The study, conducted by Initial Washroom Hygiene with Good Morning Britain, found that just 2% of women clean their bags once a month and a whopping 80% have never emptied their bag for a good clean up.

A quick thought on some of the junk we’ve got swirling around in our own bags - make up, mobile, snacks, loose change - and it’s actually quite clear how our favourite tote has become one big germy breeding ground. Sobs.

So how bad is it? Women whose bags were swabbed on the program scored an average bacteria reading of 1000. To put that in perspective, less than 200 is considered clean(ish), more than 500 is a cause for concern, and around 150 is the mark of an average toilet seat. Nice.

As we throw our bags around on the tube and on bathroom floors, with hands dipping in and out, its pretty clear how the germs have stacked up.

‘Anything over 500 is obscene and needs urgent attention,’ says Luke Rutherford, bug expert.

So that's our Monday night in with a packet of antibacterial wipes, then.