A study has found that sofas, the space where people relax at home, are about 75 times dirtier than toilet seats.

On May 9 (local time), foreign media outlets including the UK’s Daily Mail reported that a research team from Emelbek Microbiology and Sofa Club released the results of an investigation into sofas in six households across the UK. According to the research team, sofas that appear clean on the surface were actually found to be the most contaminated spot in the home. The team collected and analyzed sofa surface samples from six households in the UK and found an average of 508,866 CFU per 100 cm². This figure is about 75 times higher than that of a toilet seat (6,823 CFU) and more than 84 times higher than that of a kitchen garbage bin (6,000 CFU).

A study found that sofas are about 75 times dirtier than toilet seats.

The contamination levels were especially higher in households with pets.

"Sofas are multipurpose spaces used for eating, sleeping, and bonding with pets, but hygiene management is often overlooked."

"If the sofa cover is removable, it should be washed at least once a month."Photo by Getty Images Bank

The main bacteria found on sofas include Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, mold fungi, and yeast. These microorganisms proliferate due to food residue, skin flakes shed from the body, and pet excrement, and can cause infectious diseases, allergies, skin disorders, and food poisoning. The contamination levels were especially higher in households with pets. In one household with two cats, 2.73 million CFU of Escherichia coli per 100 cm² were detected on the sofa. In a household with a pet dog, more than 190,000 CFU were measured. In contrast, the sofa of a single adult living alone had a relatively low count of 46,000 CFU.

In addition to sofas, large numbers of bacteria were also detected on household items that are rarely cleaned, such as desks (5,932 CFU), laptop keyboards (5,800 CFU), TV remotes (3,739 CFU), and door handles (1,813 CFU). However, none of these items had contamination levels as severe as the sofa. Dr. Monica Puccio, who participated in the research, pointed out, "Most people change their bed sheets once a week, but they hardly ever clean their sofas. Sofas are multipurpose spaces used for eating, sleeping, and bonding with pets, but hygiene management is often overlooked." She added, "If the sofa cover is removable, it should be washed at least once a month."