Food poisoning is one of those things that we are all afraid of. It can really happen to anyone, and even just the thought of it makes our stomachs turn.

There are a lot of horror stories about undercooked foods, spoiled ingredients, or unsanitary preparations, but did you realize that your tea towel is actually known to cause food poisoning?

That's right, researchers have discovered that 37% of dish towels are actually full of enterococcus bacteria that can often lead to infections, while another 14% were covered in the staphylococcus bacteria.

As gross as it is, that isn't even the worst of it. 37% of towels studied also were found to have E. coli bacteria on them, which is often found on damp items. When a damp towel containing E. coli was used, it was known to cause cross-contamination when drying dishes and cleaning counter tops.

Pretty gross right? Well, between all these bacteria growing on your towel, they can actually make you really sick.

The amount of bacteria in your towel depends a lot on what your diet contains and how big your family is. Those who live in large family households, those who eat meat, and also families with a lower socioeconomic background were found to have the highest rates of bacteria growth.

So how do you avoid getting food poisoning without having to burn through an entire roll of paper towels everyday? Well, the authors of the study said that using a damp towel is never a great idea because that is when it's most likely for bacteria to transfer around.

They also suggest that you should use disposable towels for washing up counters, because that way you aren't collecting unnecessary bacteria.

Another object in your kitchen that you should be wary of is a kitchen sponge. It's one of the most dirty objects in your entire house, and honestly is just making everything more dirty than before.

How often do you wash the tea towel in your kitchen? I am starting to think I am not doing it often enough at all...

It's not just the things you're using to clean, some of the surfaces in your house are way dirtier than you thought.

And f you're starting to feel like you live in a germ factory, there are a lot of hacks out there that'll help you keep it all clean.