July 10, 2014
8 Surprising Places Germs are Hiding in Your Home
You take the time to clean your home every single week, and it looks spotless. So, that must mean it’s clean right? Unfortunately, it doesn’t. Germs are lurking in your home in some of the most unexpected places. The good news is, once you know where they are, you can adjust your home cleaning regimen and get rid of them easily.
Where are they hiding?
Top 8 Germ Hiding Spots
- Your TV Remote- If you think about it, your television remote spends a lot of time in the hands of every individual in your family, and none of them bother to wash up before changing the channel. As a result, a Web MD study found that many remotes have on average about 70 different kinds of bacteria per square inch. Avoid touching, and spreading, these germs by wiping down the remote with a mixture of water and lavender. Your remote will not only have a wonderful odor, but lavender is high the anti-bacterial component linalool.
- Cutting Boards- Sure you wash your cutting board every time you use it, but did you know that that cutting board could have 200 times more fecal bacteria than your toilet seat? If your cutting boards are plastic, it’s easy to clean them; you simply throw them in the dishwasher. However, if they are wood, the dishwasher could cause them to crack and split. To keep germs at bay, always use separate cutting boards for vegetables and meat. Wash the surface of the wooden cutting board after use (do not submerge) with hot water and liquid castile soap. Once it is dry, disinfect the board by spraying it with distilled white vinegar and letting it set for up to thirty minutes. This will kill bacteria like Salmonella, Staphylococcus, and E. coli.
- Carpet- If you have carpet in your home, bacteria is hiding from you. Carpet is a breeding ground for germs because it collects skin cells, pet dander, food particles, and pollen. These sink to the bottom of the carpet, out of reach of your vacuum. To get rid of them, have your carpet deep steam-cleaned at least one time each year.
- Knobs- It may seem obvious that the door knobs, switches, and handles in your home are germ headquarters, but they are often forget during regular home cleaning. Because of this, the germs easily spread throughout the home. At least once a week, wipe down these surfaces with white distilled vinegar to kills bacteria hiding in your home.
- Cosmetic Brushes- Women often spend the first few minutes of their day putting on makeup before they head off to work or into town, and many don’t realize these the brushes they use are breeding grounds for bacteria. Think about it for just a minute. The brushes you use spend a lot of time near your lips, skin, and eyes. As they do their job, they pick up dead skin, oil, sweat, and germs. Bacteria grows, and if they are not cleaned, you can transfer that bacteria right to your face. To keep this from happening, clean the brushes regularly with hot water and soap.
- Wet Laundry- How many times have you accidentally forgotten to put a load of laundry in the dryer? If you’re like most people, you will eventually remember to transfer it over or hang it out on the line, but while it’s been sitting there, it’s been collecting germs. If you forget to take the wet laundry out quickly, run them through the wash cycle again to get rid of any germs.
- Your Toothbrush- It shouldn’t come as a shock that your toothbrush is covered in bacteria. Fortunately, most of the germs are your own, so unless you’re sharing a toothbrush with someone else, you probably won’t get sick. Be careful, however, to make sure that your toothbrush is stored in a place where it can completely dry after you’re done using it.
- Shoes- Think for a moment of all the places you walk during the day. All of the germs that you pick up on your shoes from various locations don’t just disappear when you walk in your home. You bring them in with you. Studies have shown that the soles of shoes can pick up significant bacteria, including Klebsiella pneumonia bacteria and E. coli. There’s not simple fix for this problem, but you can reduce a lot of the germs you bring into your home by taking your shoes off at the door.
What germs are hiding in your home? If your home cleaning routine isn’t getting rid of them, call Greenapple House Cleaning? We’ll clean you home with green, natural products that will get rid of germs and keep your family health. Contact our Greenapple House Cleaning staff today for more information.
