A doctor has urged everyone to regularly clean their shower heads, saying bacteria lurks inside them.
Dr Scott Walter, from the US, referenced multiple studies to back up his statement after a group of researchers found shower heads were a breeding ground for bacteria, yeast and fungi.
WATCH THE VIDEO ABOVE: Why you need to clean your shower head.
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If left uncleaned for a long time, the dermatologist said the water spraying from the shower can distribute the potentially harmful bacteria in droplets – making it easy for people to inhale into the lungs.
“I had never known this until this year,” Dr Walter said in a now-viral TikTok video.
“Apparently, we should be washing our shower heads. And here’s why.”
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He said there was a bacterial slime in showerheads called biofilms, which were microorganisms that stick to wet surfaces.
“Do you know what biofilms are? They’re bacterial colonies,” Dr Walter explained.
“Actually, they’re more like a fortress because they’re very impenetrable and they live inside our shower heads, according to several studies.
“So why does that matter?
“When you shower, those bacteria, yeast, and fungi get aerosolised, and those can get into your lungs, they can affect your skin and elsewhere on the body.”
Dr Scott Walter has urged everyone to regularly clean their shower heads after he discovered bacteria lurking inside them. Credit: Dr Scott Walter/TikTok
The health expert said those with weakened immune systems, smokers or patients with lung disease were more vulnerable.
“But the same bacteria and biofilms have been linked to skin diseases and other conditions,” Dr Walter warned.
“I found several studies to back that up.”
There are two ways to clean a shower head – submerge in a bowl of vinegar or tie a bag filled with vinegar to the head. Credit: Dr Scott Walter/TikTok
How to clean shower heads
To clean shower heads, Dr Walter says all you need is white vinegar.
“Combine white vinegar in a big bowl and then just submerge your shower head in it for a total of four hours or overnight,” he said.
In a second technique, he tried cleaning the shower head using a plastic bag.
“You leave the shower head on and then using a small plastic bag with white vinegar in it, you submerge the shower head and then tie it off using a rubber band.
“But I realised here that I didn’t really have enough volume, so this was just a test run, but there you have it.
Dr Walter added: “Have fun cleaning your shower heads.”
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