KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — The CDC says the flu is still widespread in Tennessee.
UT Medical Center says flu activity has been high in Tennessee for weeks, and germs are easy to find--including on your shopping cart.
Grocery stores offer disinfecting wipes, but how effective are they?
Mothers know it well--kids don't care about germs.
"There's germs everywhere, and with two small kids that put their hands everywhere and then put their hands in their mouth," Jackie Delaney said. "It's important to clean everything."
That's why Delaney always wipes her grocery cart down with the provided antibacterial wipes.
"Wipe it down real quick before you put the kids in the cart and it's just so convenient," Delaney said.
Up under the lid at this Kroger grocery store, there are Purell brand wipes that say they kill 99.99 percent of most common germs.
Dr. Laura Green says there are a lot of factors that go into whether or not your hand sanitizers or wipes are effective.
"When you don't have soap and water available, hand sanitizers are an excellent alternative," Green said. "What you're looking for in your hand sanitizers or hand wipes is an alcohol content of 60% or more."
She says wiping the grocery carts will help, especially on plastic handles, which can harbor more germs because they're more porous.
"There are some surfaces that we would say have a higher porosity, and that's a place that would harbor more viruses, and it may be harder to clean," Green said.
Green said ultimately, the old adage stands--washing your hands is the best thing to do.
But during flu season, the extra disinfectant doesn't hurt.