Your Designer Handbag Can Make You Sick

5 Ways to Keep Your Handbag from Making you Sick

Do you want to carry a handbag filled with bacteria, virus and germs?

I cannot think of one woman who suspects that their everyday handbag is possibly covered with fecal matter, E Coli and diarrhea causing microbes.

Because everywhere a woman travels her purse is sure to follow, memorize my 5 ways to keep your favorite handbag bacteria free, so you won’t get sick.

Two handbag bacterium reports administered by microbiologists, Chuck Gerba for ABC News and Amy Karren for CBS found high amounts bacteria on women’s handbags.

Here’s a re-cap of both of their findings after testing 22 handbags:

1) Material matters. Cloth bags carry more dirt than vinyl or leather bags. The cloth surface has a tendency to grab not only dirt and grime, but bacteria and viruses as well.

2) Moms have dirtier, bacteria-filled handbags than single ladies. Mommies with kiddies have a higher incident of bacteria and germs than those women without. I imagine that all the diapers, runny noses, sippy cups and pacifiers are germ magnets.

3) The bottoms of handbags carry the most bacteria. According to the article,  Gerba found about 500,000 counts of bacteria on the bottom of one woman’s bag that she carried for an entire year.

4) Handbag waste not, we want not. Half of the bags tested in Gerba’s study had large amounts of animal and human waste.

Vigorous hand washing and  proper disposal of cat and dog waste, could eliminate the bacteria. But I suspect that most human poop particles come from the floor of the bathroom stall.

So how do we keep our designer handbags, bacteria free?

1) Clean your handbag with disinfectant regularly. Wipe off your bag with a mild detergent, especially the bottom of your bag. If you’re a germ-a-phobe, like me, Clorox bleach wipes work fabulously.

2) Remember, handbags, bacteria and food don’t mix. Keep handbags off kitchen countertops, restaurant and dinner tables and away from general eating and cooking environments.

3) Keep your handbag off the floor, in public places. The public bathroom stall, movie theater floor or other public area are not proper receptacles or resting places for your handbag.

4) Old makeup and unwrapped food should be discarded and never placed in your handbag. Those old tubes of mascara and lip glosses  provide the perfect environment for bacterial growth.

Similarly, your handbag is not the best place to store any unwrapped food. Even that sandwich, wrapped in paper, can find unsuspecting bacteria to keep it company.

5) Handle everyday items with care, before you drop them into your favorite bag.  Remember, mobile phones, newspapers and money carry germs too.

Give your handbag the white glove treatment it deserves. Keep the bacteria far away from your handbag with a little disinfectant, a whole lot of love and a few sprinkles of common sense.

Mechele Pellebon reports on fashionable finds, designer bag trends and deals for the modern wardrobe. From the urban sophisticate living the glamorous life to the mom who wants to pamper herself with a special purchase,  she’lll help you find a handbag that will be a treasured addition to your collection and that you will wear and love forever.

No related posts.

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

This entry was posted on Monday, January 19th, 2009 at 9:22 am and is filed under Handbag Maintenance. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.