The top 6 places for germs to watch for this holiday weekend

Many of us will pack up the family for the annual summer road trip this weekend. 
    
Some of the objects you come across between home and your destination could be breeding grounds for germs. Billions of germs live on the umpteen surfaces you will touch - one example is at the gas pump.

A recent study by a team of doctors at Kimberly-Clark, 71 percent of gas-pump handles sampled were "highly contaminated" with the kinds of germs most associated with a high risk of illness.

If you're staying at a hotel on your road trip, take a look at that remote control. It's one of the things that doesn't get cleaned often and can be a germy hotspot. 
    
So what's the key to keeping those nasty germs away? Make sure you and your kids are washing your hands regularly with soap and water. 

If you can't get to a sink, keep antibacterial hand sanitizer around - especially in the car - and use a clean napkin or a towel to touch some of the items you want to stay clear of. 

And if you do touch something, don't put your hands near your eyes, nose or mouth until you get to the sanitizer.

By the way, in that Kimberly Clark study, gas pumps were the germiest, followed by:

Public mailboxes

Escalators

ATM machines

Parking meters

Crosswalk buttons