Comments for How Clean Are Netflix DVDs?

How Clean Are Netflix DVDs?

2009-11-29T20:00:42Z

Netflix DVDs and their envelopes pass from hand to hand, and from home to home, with all sorts of interesting opportunities for contamination. What sorts of bacteria are on them? A Texas local news team set out to find out and discovered...well, not much of anything likely to kill you. Sorry to disappoint.

We began our test by unsealing each Netflix envelope. We removed each disk from its sleeve, and the lab supervisor swabbed them front and back. Once each petri-dish was swabbed, the plates were placed inside an incubator.
A few days later, we found at least four different kinds of bacteria growing inside the plates. But it wasn't what Dr. Wallace expected.

"They were fairly clean," said Wallace. "If I took my fingers and laid them on the top of the plates, this is what you'd grow."

As for the disks themselves, Wallace said he found nothing that could potentially cause disease.

Netflix under the microscope...literally [KLTV] (via Hacking Netflix)

(Photo: Kimaroo)

Comment from DangerMouth on 2009-12-03

2009-12-03T17:18:59Z

You just had to say that, didn't you?

I can always tell when my OCD is getting worse when I start worrying about library books.

Comment from Keavy_Rain on 2009-12-02

2009-12-02T15:52:10Z

I see no point in renting Blu-Ray's from Netflix. I just watch the movie on DVD or Instant Watch and, if I like it, I buy it on the cheaper format, unless one format offers better bonus features.

It's all about the bonus features, yo.

Comment from ABBailey1981 on 2009-12-01

2009-12-01T07:56:17Z

WOW after years of reading the Consumerist never have I seen or expected to see an article linked to my hometown News, let alone ABC Channel 7 KLTV. Good to see Joe Terrell is still going at it. Thought I would finally feel somewhat special. I have to say I haven't lived there since 2001 though.

Comment from amuro98 on 2009-11-30

2009-11-30T22:01:10Z

Um. Duh? Most people aren't going to be using plastic discs to wipe their a**, and it's not as though a plastic disc not normally used in food preparation is going to be exposed to nasty bugs and whatnot...

Comment from bcsus83 on 2009-11-30

2009-11-30T20:03:50Z

I have to wonder what they would've found on the edges of the discs, where normal people typically handle them...but it is interesting that there is almost nothing there.

Comment from consumerd on 2009-11-30

2009-11-30T19:41:36Z

unless you are going to live you life inside of a bubble, that's probably not terribly bad. Hell they could have done the test with money as well and probably get the same type of results.

Comment from Coelacanth on 2009-11-30

2009-11-30T19:07:42Z

Could be one of those wonderful strains of bacteria that resist extreme environments? Ever wonder how PCR (to analyze DNA) works?

Comment from lilyHaze on 2009-11-30

2009-11-30T17:33:47Z

When I netflixed, I usually cleaned my discs with those cd/dvd cleaners (the spinny thing with the liquid solution). I was more worried about playability than actual cleaniness.

Of course I never licked those discs either..

Comment from pdxazn on 2009-11-30

2009-11-30T17:23:44Z

It would not have more virus than the money in your pocket. The test is a waste of money.

Comment from YardanCabaret on 2009-11-30

2009-11-30T16:56:50Z

So an item that people are paranoid to touch for fear of scratching/scuffing/marking in some way so that it won't play don't have much bacteria on them? Well color me unsurprised.

Comment from Julia789 on 2009-11-30

2009-11-30T16:14:05Z

Ewwwwwww sticky DVD!

Comment from NotYou007 on 2009-11-30

2009-11-30T14:51:54Z

I'm going to sneeze on Milk before I return it today. Take that all you folks that rent Milk on Blu-Ray from Netflix. HA HA HA HA HA HA HA!

Comment from subtlefrog on 2009-11-30

2009-11-30T14:24:48Z

In January I'm putting together a lab for a load of high school biology kids to swab and culture things - I'll get some to do library books and see if they come up with anything interesting...

Comment from friday3 on 2009-11-30

2009-11-30T12:49:39Z

There are far more dangerous places for bacteria transfer like a public restroom, any door knob, a hotel bed, an airplane. an enclosed office, a bus, the mall, etc. I wouldn't spend a second worrying about this sort of thing. Remember before Netflix or any video rentals there was similar free concept called the library. I havent read about the great library death plague from bacteria on books etc.

Comment from DanFromDetroit on 2009-11-30

2009-11-30T08:53:34Z

I'd be interested in which movies they rented - Cheech and Chong's Up in Smoke would have had hilarious results growing in the petri dish

Comment from kaceetheconsumer on 2009-11-30

2009-11-30T06:44:18Z

I've learned the hard way that playing many-times-rented/borrowed VHS tapes can gunk up your VCRs heads. Kind of like VD for electronics.

But gunky CDs don't play and have to be cleaned first anyway. I've had kid DVDs out of the library that had red and brown goo on them and smelled of PB&J, so I'm happy to believe that that's all it was, and I cleaned it off.

Comment from kaceetheconsumer on 2009-11-30

2009-11-30T06:41:24Z

I just hate it when you finally get a book on hold you've waited for and then it reeks of cigarette smoke. Ewwwwwwwwwwwww.

Comment from mariospants on 2009-11-30

2009-11-30T06:29:12Z

Regardless of the stupidity of the general public, 99% of DVD users likely hold the DVD with their index finger in the hole and the thumb on the edge. So why is the lab technician in the video swabbing the FACE of the DVD? You likely won't find any bacteria there, plus you can actually SEE if there are any finger prints. They were wasting their time. They just didn't swab in the right places.

Also, "Highlander 2"??? OK, seriously folks, if you chose a movie NOBODY in 2009 EVER WOULD RENT, of COURSE there wouldn't be any bacteria. Cobwebs and tumbleweeds maybe, but nothing living.

Comment from tanker_todd on 2009-11-30

2009-11-30T05:46:53Z

Did anyone think to test the cleanliness of a library book as a comparison? How about a school textbook? Judging from what I've seen in books I'd say they would be gross, and we're not even considering the Seinfeld book-in-the-bathroom rule.

Comment from BytheSea on 2009-11-30

2009-11-30T05:28:45Z

I know a librarian who got ringworm from the books. Last Sept I got a nasty, nasty case of poison ivy that I know wasn't from outdoors b/c I hadn't been woodsing in ages and I always wash off with poison ivy soap when I do. Be very wary when you check out board books. Sometimes they come in soggy. Also, I clean a lot of pubes out of the spines.

Comment from BytheSea on 2009-11-30

2009-11-30T05:24:25Z

Aside from the cleaning at the NF mothership, and the time in the mail w/out a water base to proliferate, there's also the time in the player. My computer gets too hot to touch in some places when I play DVDs.

Comment from elleeldritch on 2009-11-29

2009-11-30T02:31:39Z

Thank god! I was getting worried my habit of licking the dvds was going to make me sick! /sarcasm

Comment from elleeldritch on 2009-11-29

2009-11-30T02:30:51Z

Personally, I wouldn't think too hard about that. Adult books may not be so bad, but I can only imagine how many snot nosed kids have handled their books.. *shudders*

Comment from parrotuya on 2009-11-29

2009-11-30T01:59:07Z

What a relief!

Comment from Viper_Bravo on 2009-11-29

2009-11-30T01:38:38Z

Pull a 1$ bill out of your wallet and have it check for bacteria, drugs, excrement and more. It Will all be on it. So all n all, ill stick with my NexFlix disc. lol

Comment from Julia789 on 2009-11-29

2009-11-30T01:36:26Z

Love it! It would be about as healthy as those cereals...

Comment from Paladin_11 on 2009-11-29

2009-11-30T00:26:49Z

Yes, but the bacteria will have nothing to do with it.

Comment from 2 replies on 2009-11-29

2009-11-30T00:10:41Z

The bacteria may not kill you, but it won't stop you from getting sick if you're renting a Pauly Shore or Twilight movie.

Comment from wrjohnston91283 on 2009-11-29

2009-11-30T00:05:22Z

Wikipedia agrees with you.

Comment from Ihaveasmartpuppy on 2009-11-29

2009-11-29T23:32:52Z

I've always wondered about what lurks in library books. One that I have out now is kind of yucky...

Comment from hypochondriac on 2009-11-29

2009-11-29T23:24:02Z

Also glad they mentioned 6 samples wasn't enough to come to a conclusion

Comment from TCama on 2009-11-29

2009-11-29T23:20:49Z

I think Netflix cleans it DVDs between rentals. Not with anything antibacterial, just with a basic cleaner to make sure they can still play.

Comment from pervy_the_clown on 2009-11-29

2009-11-29T23:19:10Z

I swab my own disks at home.

Comment from Trai_Dep on 2009-11-29

2009-11-29T23:05:02Z

That's why I always take a steel wool pad to the NetFlix discs in my neighbor's mailbox... Just in case.

Comment from The Marionette on 2009-11-29

2009-11-29T22:56:17Z

True. This guy I knew was a germaphobe and would sterilize almost everything before he touched it. I explained to him that our bodies have an immune system for a reason and part of that immune system is building up tolerance to things.

Anyways, nobody would have to worry about dirty dvds if they pirated everything ;)

Comment from rpm773 on 2009-11-29

2009-11-29T22:52:33Z

Regardless, I'm still glad I finally stopped eating off of Netflix discs a few months months ago.

Comment from Kimaroo - 100% Pure Natural Kitteh on 2009-11-29

2009-11-29T22:48:12Z

Who is that handsome kitteh up there? I feel like I've seen him before.

Comment from Nick1963 on 2009-11-29

2009-11-29T22:43:41Z

I thought the post office only irradiated government mail.

Comment from enabler on 2009-11-29

2009-11-29T22:41:07Z

Netflix was featured the other night on Nightline. They showed an employee using what appeared to be some quick spinning buffer. I can't recall ever getting a disc from them with many fingerprints. Light scratches, sure, but not prints.

Comment from ShadowFalls on 2009-11-29

2009-11-29T22:16:00Z

Well many things are possible. Also is possible that Netflix cleans the discs when the receive them back from everyone. This would certainly make sense if you wanted to make sure your discs were in good, working condition. Though it would be an interesting question to ask Netflix.

Comment from chrisholland03 on 2009-11-29

2009-11-29T22:10:03Z

I'd be interested to see what is growing on the DVDs from the local porno rental store.

Comment from Julia789 on 2009-11-29

2009-11-29T22:07:59Z

Would be a neat project for college students, to practice their culturing skills with.

Comment from H3ion on 2009-11-29

2009-11-29T22:06:08Z

Science marches on. Really, the letter you got from your Aunt Susie sat in a mailbox with hundreds of other letters. Then was sorted at some mail sorting facility that may have been one of the facilities inspected for anthrax. Then it went into some mailman's bag and finally to you. And your Aunt Susie probably has a serious gum disease and when she licked the envelope, the bacteria were transferred to the envelope.

The only way to be sure is to irradiate each piece of mail at your front door. And then some bacteria will mutate that is immune to radiation.

Comment from pixiegirl on 2009-11-29

2009-11-29T22:05:35Z

The Redbox DVD's are another story. I got one the other day was sticky and I didn't even want to know what it was. *gags*

I do have to say that I'm impressed that Netflix actually wipes the disks down in between use.

Comment from pecan 3.14159265 on 2009-11-29

2009-11-29T21:53:53Z

Maybe Netflix can put on its packaging "Helps Your Immunity!" and it wouldn't necessarily be false if it only appeared on DVDs of medical documentaries.

Comment from pmr12002 on 2009-11-29

2009-11-29T21:49:58Z

Couldn't the cleanliness of the disks be partially due to the irradiation of the mail?

Comment from catastrophegirl on 2009-11-29

2009-11-29T21:33:50Z

since most of the disks rotate in and out of the same distribution centers, i'd find it interesting to see this done nationwide. not that i think they'd find anything deadly. but it would be a neat way to see if different kinds of bacteria are more prevalent in different parts of the country

Comment from Paladin_11 on 2009-11-29

2009-11-29T21:30:05Z

I'm sorry, do they think we're visiting Martians?

DVD disks are not exactly a wonderful medium for growing bacteria. Now the paper packing materials, maybe. Sill, I refuse to live in fear of a future of laser-resistant bacteria exterminating us all.

Comment from Winteridge2 on 2009-11-29

2009-11-29T21:29:53Z

yeah, but, how clean are the contents?

Comment from mbd on 2009-11-29

2009-11-29T21:29:18Z

I prefer my Netflix DVD's cooked in coconut oil...

Comment from Julia789 on 2009-11-29

2009-11-29T21:23:25Z

Flu is mostly transmitted through the air - coughing, sneezing, etc. It does not survive on surfaces very long. Certain strains of flu live on surfaces longer than others, but H1N1 appears to only survive on surfaces a few hours.

Colds can survive on surfaces longer than flu. Bacteria can survive on surfaces much longer than viruses, depending on the type of bacteria. They tend to be tougher outside the body.

Comment from TehQ on 2009-11-29

2009-11-29T21:22:49Z

People are so germ crazy that it actually makes it worse. You need some germs in your life or you don't build up tolerance to it. You can keep things clean but don't bleach everything or sterilize everything.

Comment from Dondegroovily on 2009-11-29

2009-11-29T21:17:57Z

Naturally. All these "Look at all the bacteria, ohmygosh!!!!!!!" stories always neglect to look at whether any of the bacteria is actually harmful. Finally someone actually did a proper test.

Comment from Phaper on 2009-11-29

2009-11-29T21:13:00Z

Now try a Blockbuster DVD, I think you would find much more interesting results.

Good to see that Netflix DVDs are clean, to an extent. I thought you'd find something harmful with flu season going around at the moment.