London, Dec 21 (IANS): Most people pride themselves on trying to keep their house clean and tidy. But a new research suggests our houses are not as tidy as we think.

A new study of more than 2,000 people, undertaken by the Rug Doctor, has shown that when it comes to making our beds, over half of us will leave our dirty sheets on for weeks, reports dailymail.co.uk.

About one-third of people have said that they don't wash their hands after going to the toilet, which directly increases the spread of germs around your property.

Around 30 carpets and shoes from a cross section of houses were also swabbed. The carpets were found to contain traces of horse manure, urine, vomit as well as human and pet hair, pollen and traces of skin.

The shoes that were swabbed were found to have high levels of bacteria as well as traces of faecal bacteria.

The survey also found that one in ten doesn't wash towels weekly and the same number do not brush their teeth twice a day.

And only 53 percent shower or bathe once a day.