The Dirtiest Part Of Your Clothes & Why You Should Be Aware Of It

If all the buzz about proper hand hygiene has taught us anything, it's that we might not be quite as clean as we thought we were. In fact, there's a certain step in the hand-washing process that a lot of people skip—and it may be making a surprising part of our clothes dirty, too.

"We did a study a few years ago where we cut clothing from the bottom of pants to the top of the shirt/blouse collar—at every 6 inches—and counted the number of bacteria we isolated," Gerba tells mbg. "The most bacteria were on the hips, while the least were found under the arms." 

Wiping partially or fully wet hands on the hip portion of the jeans increases the moisture level, thereby making it more susceptible to bacterial growth. Plus, according to Gerba, even after using soap and water, some bacteria always remains on the hands. Appropriately drying (i.e., not on the jeans) lowers the risk of contamination.

As important as hand-washing is, hand-drying is equally important but often overlooked. Here's what Gerba recommends for thoroughly cleaned hands (and therefore, cleaner hips), every time: 

So in addition to washing your hands and keeping your fingers out of your face—adding proper hand-drying to your hygiene checklist will help keep your clothes, and you, a bit more bacteria-free.