What Lurks Beneath

For as long as there have been houses (and tents?), there have been people trying to keep them clean. In ancient Greece, people cleaned the floors with sand and vinegar, while the ancient Romans used brooms and brushes made from twigs and reeds to sweep up.

There’s no doubt that modern homes are cleaner than their ancient counterparts. We have game-changing technology, such as vacuum cleaners and chemical cleaning products. We’re also much more aware of the relationship between a lack of hygiene and disease.

But I was curious to know just how much cleaner our homes really are. Is it possible that despite our technological advancement and greater awareness of hygiene there are harmful germs lurking about?

I decided to find out.

The Experiment

A small amount of research taught me that you can swab and test for bacteria and other microbes in your own home using a petri dish, sterile swabs, and distilled water. I purchased these items and then set out to find volunteers willing to collect samples from their homes.

When asked, most people said they absolutely wouldn’t want to check their homes for bacteria or any other sort of microbe.

“It’s too triggering for my OCD,” one person told me. “First I’d need to know what ‘normal’ levels are supposed to be. Then I’d spiral, assuming things in my house aren’t normal.”

Another woman told me, “The kitchen is a woman’s kingdom. I don’t need the whole world to know how many subjects I have.”