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Korinne Thorne
Takehome #8
Assignment #8. Find an example of a myth regarding microbiology/microbes. It can be an urban
legend, an old wives’ tale, or something in the popular press. Describe the myth, and de-bunk it.
Myth: A clean home is a healthy home
This modern-day myth is backed by television commercials that advertise and promote
disinfectants that kill 99.9% of all bacteria in order to have a clean and healthy home.
Disinfectants are substances applied to non-living objects in attempt to destroy microorganisms
living on those surfaces or objects. However, disinfectants do not necessarily kill off all
microbes, especially those that are resistant, such as spores. Television commercials and
advertisements suggest that if you do not buy these disinfectants and use them, your family is at
risk for infection and will be subjected to dangerous bacteria that will invade their bodies and
cause illness. However, what many fail to realize is that this myth is not true at all. Yes, bacteria
can be harmful, but the majority of bacteria living in our homes is harmless and is actually a key
component to our health! The bacteria that live on every surface in our home help to buildup
our immune system resistance. Because we are exposed to the bacteria that live among us, we
are able to stay healthy and strong, yet when a foreign harmful, pathogenic bacterium enters
the home, there is possibility to get sick. For example, if a child at school contracts a new
influenza virus strain, most likely the rest of the family will also contract the virus because it is
most likely not a common microorganism that has been living amongst the family or their
immune systems were not prepared for this pathogen due to lack of exposure to attenuated
strains. If we try to disinfect every square inch of our homes in order to rid our homes of
bacteria, we first would fail over and over again because the turnover rate for bacteria is
exponential and secondly, we would be harming ourselves because that .1% of bacteria that are
resistant to the bacteria live and can proliferate without competition. As a result, our immune
systems weaken due to little exposure to the bacterial communities in our homes. If you were to
keep exposing bacteria to disinfectant chemicals, they would just become more chemicalresistant, allowing them to live and enter into our own immune systems more easily, causing
worse effects. All in all, a “clean” home is not necessarily a “healthy” home.