Sink drain: dangerous to health according to a new study.
Sink drains and plumbing are nasty places. A new study analyzed more than 250 “bathroom sink fungal communities.”
British researchers recently investigated over 250 ‘bathroom sink fungal communities’. The team collected samples from bathroom sink drains and P-traps in 20 buildings on the university’s main campus. Sink drains and plumbing have always been nasty places.
The DNA from the samples was used for polymerase chain reaction amplification and bioinformatics processing to help identify the microbial residents of the wells. In practice, real rainforests have been discovered in the drains. The wells housed 375 genera of mushrooms . The mushroom ratio didn’t vary much from sink to sink. What they have in common is the fact that sinks are mainly used for washing hands.
Drains and P-traps are places for microbes to live, but they are also reservoirs for moulds, yeasts and other fungi. Even dangerous for humans. They are ideal locations due to continuous humidity, temporary changes in temperature, high pH of detergents and potential accumulation of organic matter. Among the mushrooms found in abundance in the study is Exophiala, a “black yeast” with terrestrial and aquatic species. They are considered pathogens causing skin infections with an overall high risk, but have been documented as fatal systemic infections.
- The Hidden Things Lurking in Sink Drains Can Be Dangerous, Even Deadly
