120109_tf_netflix.jpgYou gotta love Netflix! The online-movie renting giant has become famous for their little red sleeves that allow everyone on the planet to share their library of DVDs by mail. But could the well-traveled envelopes or the discs they contain be spreading extra germs?

East Texas' KLTV 7 decided to do us all a favor and bring six Netflix DVDs and sleeves to a lab at the University of Texas for some serious home tech investigation.

Apparently exchanging hands with Netflix's 11.1 million subscribers doesn't mean that the sleeves are disease breeding grounds. Dr. Richard Wallace found that the samples taken from Netflix packages are no more covered with bacteria than anything else you'd handle.

But he does warn that six is a small sample.

"This doesn't mean that they couldn't pick up any bacteria here, or any bacteria that's dangerous, we just didn't see any," he explained to KLTV 7.

Netflix does take precautions to stop the spread of germs, Steve Swasey, vice president of communications with Netflix, told KLTV 7. Associates remove each movie disc and wipe them down with window cleaner and Netflix replaces the sleeves when they're too worn or if they're stained.

Via Gizmodo

(Image: Flickr user HeatherMG under license from Creative Commons.)