There are many unsanitary, dirty places that we would never think of allowing our children to play in or around because of the presence of bacteria, mold or disease-causing germs. Places that frequently come to mind are public restrooms and other high traffic public areas. A children’s playground is certainly not considered one of these dirty places, or is it?

Recent studies conducted by the Journal of Environmental Health, have come to the determination that as much as 44% of a playground’s surfaces tested positive for contaminants such as feces, urine, mucus, saliva and other bloodborne pathogens. Surprisingly enough, the same tests conducted found that only 25% of public restrooms contained the same contaminants.

Based on these findings, it is safe to say that playgrounds can harbor a number of bacteria that can harm children. These harmful contaminants can be eliminated when playground cleaning and playground sanitation is performed on a regular basis.