Keep Your Winter Gear Clean and Germ Free
Keep Your Winter Gear Clean and Germ-Free Javascript must be enabled to use this site. Please enable Javascript in your browser and try again. × Search search POPULAR SEARCHES SUGGESTED LINKS Join AARP for just $9 per year when you sign up for a 5-year term. Get instant access to members-only products and hundreds of discounts, a free second membership, and a subscription to AARP the Magazine. Leaving AARP.org Website You are now leaving AARP.org and going to a website that is not operated by AARP. A different privacy policy and terms of service will apply.
Get instant access to members-only products and hundreds of discounts, a free second membership, and a subscription to AARP the Magazine. Most germs will survive for two or three days on inanimate objects — some longer — and clothes have been proven to be a harbinger of germs. The Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America (SHEA) published a study in February 2014 addressing health care worker attire and its role in health care-associated infections, which led to recommendations to health care facilities about clothing and the transmission of germs and bacteria, Allen says. Other, and arguably more adorable, "scientists" found similar results for winter gloves. Three sixth-graders from Shimek Elementary in Iowa City, Iowa, who call themselves , sought to discover whether particular pathogens on gloves make people sick. The Germinators tested 31 gloves worn during recess and found that 113 individual bacterial colonies grew and about 61 percent could be attributed to those that cause infections or illnesses. Stephany Cochran (right) helps Germinators Evan Raefield, Ari Collins and Anna Mattson find colonies of bacteria that have grown in a petri dish from swabs of children's gloves. courtesy of the State Hygienic Laboratory at the University of Iowa While most of us are no longer playing on the monkey bars, we are out and about touching shopping carts, door handles, steering wheels, stair and public transit railings, and more areas that are full of germs. So why don't we think to wash our outerwear as often? "Likely because it is a bulky article of clothing that is taken off upon entry and left in a coat closet or another out of the way area and forgotten about," Allen says. There may be a lower perceived risk of infections, but winter gear can serve as a fomite, or an object that can transfer germs, infectious diseases specialist Nasia Safdar, medical director of the Infection Control Department at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, tells AARP. Gloves and scarves are likely the because people tend to cough, sneeze or wipe their runny noses on them. Scarves also typically cross your face or are placed directly beneath the chin. People may also cover a cough or sneeze with a scarf and then hang it up in the office next to coworkers' belongings, promoting cross-contamination, according to APIC. "Obviously, due to touching, gloves have a high bacterial germ count. Not only are we touching surfaces with our gloved hands, but we touch our face hundreds of times each day. So every time your contaminated gloves and/or dirty hands touch your face, the risk for exposure to winter colds and flu germs is elevated," Allen says. People also have a habit of taking their gloves off with their teeth, which could transfer the germs to the mouth.
Should You Fear Your Winter Gear
Not washing coats gloves and scarves could put you at risk for germs and illness
Gloves and scarves tend to be the germiest winter gear because people cough, sneeze or wipe their runny noses on them. Getty Images that probably haven't been washed in months — or possibly even since last winter. With older people at higher risk of illness in this tough cold and flu season, it might be time to revisit winter washing habits. "Winter coats and accessories are no different from any other article of clothing in regards to need for laundering ... maybe not as often, but certainly regularly," registered nurse Vicki Allen, communications committee chair of the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology (APIC), tells AARP.Get instant access to members-only products and hundreds of discounts, a free second membership, and a subscription to AARP the Magazine. Most germs will survive for two or three days on inanimate objects — some longer — and clothes have been proven to be a harbinger of germs. The Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America (SHEA) published a study in February 2014 addressing health care worker attire and its role in health care-associated infections, which led to recommendations to health care facilities about clothing and the transmission of germs and bacteria, Allen says. Other, and arguably more adorable, "scientists" found similar results for winter gloves. Three sixth-graders from Shimek Elementary in Iowa City, Iowa, who call themselves , sought to discover whether particular pathogens on gloves make people sick. The Germinators tested 31 gloves worn during recess and found that 113 individual bacterial colonies grew and about 61 percent could be attributed to those that cause infections or illnesses. Stephany Cochran (right) helps Germinators Evan Raefield, Ari Collins and Anna Mattson find colonies of bacteria that have grown in a petri dish from swabs of children's gloves. courtesy of the State Hygienic Laboratory at the University of Iowa While most of us are no longer playing on the monkey bars, we are out and about touching shopping carts, door handles, steering wheels, stair and public transit railings, and more areas that are full of germs. So why don't we think to wash our outerwear as often? "Likely because it is a bulky article of clothing that is taken off upon entry and left in a coat closet or another out of the way area and forgotten about," Allen says. There may be a lower perceived risk of infections, but winter gear can serve as a fomite, or an object that can transfer germs, infectious diseases specialist Nasia Safdar, medical director of the Infection Control Department at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, tells AARP. Gloves and scarves are likely the because people tend to cough, sneeze or wipe their runny noses on them. Scarves also typically cross your face or are placed directly beneath the chin. People may also cover a cough or sneeze with a scarf and then hang it up in the office next to coworkers' belongings, promoting cross-contamination, according to APIC. "Obviously, due to touching, gloves have a high bacterial germ count. Not only are we touching surfaces with our gloved hands, but we touch our face hundreds of times each day. So every time your contaminated gloves and/or dirty hands touch your face, the risk for exposure to winter colds and flu germs is elevated," Allen says. People also have a habit of taking their gloves off with their teeth, which could transfer the germs to the mouth.