A microbiologist has gone viral on TikTok revealing the “absolute filth” lurking on petrol pump handles.
While it’s recommended that we use gloves when visiting petrol stations, not everyone follows the guidance.
But after seeing the results of Nicholas Aicher’s investigation into how much dirt can be found there, we might all be rethinking our choice.
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Nicholas, who works as a senior quality control analyst, regularly shares clips of himself testing the cleanliness of various everyday items with his 455,000 followers.
The expert swabs things to test for bacterial growth, incubates the samples in petri dishes and then sees how much bacteria shows up.
In a TikTok that garnered 123,000 likes, Nicholas put petrol pump handles to the test.
“I thought it would be fun for people to know all the little nastiness that we don’t think about every day,” the Chicago-based content creator told What’s The Jam of why he shares his experiments online.
Sharing footage of the test, Nicholas posed the question: “How dirty is a gas pump?”, saying it is often requested by his followers.
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He starts by swabbing various areas – the pump handle, the buttons to select the type of gas, and the pin pad to pay by card.
He transports them home in labelled containers, and uses the swab to transfer the sample onto individual petri dishes, which he leaves in an incubator.
When he returns 48 hours later, he looks at the amount of bacteria on each dish.
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Each dish can be seen teeming with growth.
Nicholas says: “Absolutely filthy.
“Smells awful too.”
The lesson is clear: use gloves at the petrol station.
One viewer commented: “Yup that’s why I wear gloves! People think I’m nuts here’s my proof!”
“Not me thinking about all the times I’ve pumped gas and gone straight to a drive thru to eat w/out washing my hands,” another user write. [sic]
Someone else commented: “It would be interesting to see how much of that transfers to your steering wheel after a normal use.”
“I don’t wanna know this!” another user wrote.
Someone else added: “Door handle, keys, steering wheel, gear shift, EVERYTHING gets contaminated.”
Nicholas previously went viral after revealing the huge amount of bacteria growth found on the sanitary label inside swimsuits at a supermarket, after customers have tried them on.
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