52 h. ago Is your home a health hazard? 15 surprisingly filthy everyday items, from taps to toothbrushes

Your water bottle could harbour 40,000 times more bacteria than your toilet seat. And that’s just the tip of the dirtbergMost everyday objects are at least a little bit grimy. They rarely, if ever, make contact with soap or disinfectant – unlike your toilet seat, even though that’s the one that’s often used as a symbol of filth in studies of household cleanliness. Aside from pathogens that can cause disease and illness, “for the most part, we’re dealing with our own bacteria”, says Jason Tetro, microbiologist and author of The Germ Code. This usually isn’t a problem, especially for youngish healthy people – but, Tetro adds, “when they accumulate, even if they are your own, it can lead to things like skin irritability, itchy scalp, cavities [in teeth from bacteria-heavy toothbrushes], that type of thing”.Does it matter that your reusable shopping bag might be carrying faecal bugs? Or that your watch strap is teeming with lifeforms? Are the studies – usually small, and sometimes condu...

Society

4 d. ago This £8.99 beauty deal saves £80 on handbag essentials including high

This new money-saving beauty box is a carefully selected edit of the items you use everyday and always carry in your bag – here's how to get it for under £9

Economics

9 d. ago Clash of cultures: exhibition tells story of when Vikings ruled the north of England

Viking North at Yorkshire Museum features UK’s largest exhibition of Viking-age artefacts, including era’s ‘cheap’ jewellery and evidence of slave-owningWhen Anglo-Saxons buried their jewellery in an attempt to keep it safe from marauding Vikings, it is unlikely they envisaged their treasures would be dug up a millennium later and studied by their descendants.Nor would they have expected the items to sit alongside everyday objects owned by their Scandinavian oppressors as part of the largest exhibition of Viking-age artefacts in the UK, aiming to tell the story for the first time of the invaders’ power base in the north of England. Continue reading...

Politics

9 d. ago Urgent warning to UK drivers over everyday items that can kill in heatwave

Day-to-day items that might seem harmless on the surface could actually pose major health risks if you leave them in your vehicle which can, in a heatwave, reach high temperatures

Events

1 week ago Drivers warned to remove this everyday item from their cars ahead of heatwave

Few people realise that heat can affect the usefulness of this essential item

Events

3 w. ago The invisible killers lurking in YOUR home: A shocking new experiment lays bare exactly how everyday items like deodorant, air fryers and even pets are damaging our health

We all know the dangers of leading a sedentary lifestyle, smoking and sunbathing without sunscreen. But the biggest health threats comes from polluted air.

Events

3 w. ago Everyday UK items that could go up in price after Donald Trump attack on Iran

Oil prices has risen to a five-month high - threatening to hit British households in the pocket.

Politics

4 w. ago The everyday item you should NEVER store in your car during a heatwave

With temperatures soaring in recent days and set to hit 34C in parts of the country on Saturday, motorists need to ensure this one product is not in their cars.

Politics