Nobody wants to spend free time cleaning and disinfecting around the house; so for motivation let's explore why it's important to disinfect around the house. Depending on where and how you live, there can be plenty of germs hiding in the home, to keep it simple we will explore the 5 most germiest places and things.
1) CUTTING BOARDS IN THE KITCHEN
Plastic or wood, they both carry germs. So keep your cutting boards clean and disinfected.
After you cut up chicken or any raw meat on your cutting board, disinfect the board before you start cutting up your vegetables. If the board is plastic it can be disinfected in the sink with hot water and disinfectant or if it's small enough it can be as easy as throwing it into the dishwasher. Bamboo and wood cutting boards need different maintenance to keep them germ free. For more information on keeping your cutting boards clean and disinfected read care for your cutting boards.
2) TOWELS IN THE KITCHEN AND BATH
Nobody wants to think about whats on our towels, especially bath towels but it might give you motivation to keep them clean if you know how skin sloughs off when you dry your skin and skin cells sit in the towel after use. Bacteria loves skin cells and grow well in warm, damp locations. It can be dangerous to reuse towels that aren't properly cared for because you can rub those bacteria back onto your skin which can cause infections like STAPH. Hang them to dry in between uses and clean them, at least once a week, washing them in the hottest water possible.
3) KITCHEN FAUCETS
So you're making dinner and you wash the chicken in the sink and turn the faucet on and off after washing the chicken. Then you toss the chicken in a pan and move back to your cutting board, grab your vegetables and head back to the faucet to wash up the tomatoes. STOP. Your faucet is covered in raw chicken juice from earlier and you are going to transfer that bacteria right into your vegetables. First, take a minute to disinfect your sink. Depending on the type of sink you have, there are different care instructions to follow. Read how to clean and disinfect your sink.
4) PERSONAL ITEMS
Personal items such as cell phones, keys, sunglasses and even toothbrushes are full of germs. Taking a minute, once a week, to wipe down your personal items like cell phones and keys with a disinfecting wipe. Use caution not to get the phone wet, but take the protective case off and wipe it down too. Did you know that E coli bacteria can transfer to your toothbrush from just flushing your toilet? Keep your toothbrush in a cabinet or give it some buffer room between the toilet and toothbrush and replace it once in a while with a new toothbrush.
5) OOH YOU KNOW SPONGES ARE NASTY
There are better ways to clean than using a sponge. Sponges can be used but they are disposable - they are not meant to be used and sit on your sink until they smell and are falling apart!! That smell, by the way, is a warning that bacteria, and lots of them, are growing and thriving inside that nasty sponge. If you insist on keeping your sponge around do yourself a favor and clean your sponge in between uses. By the way, always be careful not to mix cleaning solutions in the kitchen, especially bleach, read labels and use caution. Read how to clean a sponge.
Some germs and bacteria are fine, your never going to kill them all anyway and you wouldn't want to but keep a healthy balance by practicing good cleaning habits. You can avoid spreading germs by taking your shoes off when you walk into the house, wash your hands with warm water and soap. If you want more information about how germs grow in your home you can read this study or just follow the helpful tips in this article and keep things a little cleaner.