Germs are everywhere, including restaurants. Yikes! The worst part is, germs in restaurants are often in places where we least expect them to be.

When cleaning your restaurant, keep an eye out for these places because these are the grimiest, germiest places (and items) in a restaurant.

The 10 Germiest Places in a Restaurant

 

1. Toilets and bathroom floors.

This one is pretty much a given. Toilets are, after all, where people go to do their dirtiest deeds. The most prominent types of bacteria found in public toilets include certain types of Lactobacillaceae that abound from urine contamination, microbes often found in fecal matter, and bacteria that are usually transferred through human skin.

 

2. Doorknobs and door handles.

A study showed that it can take a matter of only two to four hours before a virus from a contaminated doorknob spreads through the population of an entire building.

 

3. Tables.

Aside from being an area of high contact, restaurant tables don’t necessarily get as clean as you’d think when they are ‘cleaned’ with rags of questionable quality.

 

4. Menu.

Like almost everything that gets passed around and touched frequently, menus are a hotbed for contamination. One study found traces of bacteria including staph and E. coli.

 

5. Condiment Bottles.

Your essential salt and pepper shakers may have an abundance of aerobic bacteria. These are known for thriving in areas where there is oxygen. Among those that may be present are types of Coliform bacteria and E. coli, bacteria found in the gut and in fecal matter.

 

6. Lemon Wedges.

This study found that 70% of lemon wedges put under the microscope showed significant microbial growth. Another study showed the presence of fecal matter in the lemon wedges.

 

7. Salad Bar Tongs.

You may think you’re eating healthy by reaching for the leafy greens but the buffet-style salad bar at your favorite restaurant is also an all-you-can-eat for bacteria! Sharing the same tongs with everyone in the restaurant may just be as bad as all these people touching the food with their bare hands!

 

8. Restaurant High Chairs.

A study on restaurant high chairs showed that the average number of bacteria was about 147 per square centimeter, which is more than ten times the average amount of bacteria found on public toilet seats! These bacteria can give serious infections and diseases to very young children.

 

9. Glass Rims.

The most common culprit for bacteria found on the rims of glasses is improper handling by staff. Whatever contaminants may have been on their hands are easily transferred to the surface of the glass rim, which transfers these contaminants to our lips!

10. Ice.

Restaurant ice may contain bacteria (including nasty E. coli), mold, and other microbes and nasties that get caught in the hands of people who handle both the ice and the ice machine. Exposed ice containers, poor handwashing habits, poorly-handled utensils like ice scoops, and poor maintenance of ice machines are some of the most common culprits of dirty ice.

Keeping a Clean Restaurant

There is no question about it: there should be no room for germs in restaurants. And it starts with your linens and restroom supplies. Get professionally-cleaned restaurant linens from a company like Superior Linen Service and stock your restrooms with soaps, sanitizers, and a complete array of restroom supplies, so no one has an excuse not to wash their hands.

Contact Superior Linen Service today to learn more about our restaurant supplies, germs in restaurants, and how we can help you keep your restaurant clean. Call us at 253-383-2636 or visit our Customer Center.