With kids touching everything in our homes, we're cautious to keep things extra clean. Even if you're good about wiping things down and keeping to a regular cleaning schedule, there are still a few places that are inevitably just icky. In fact, your toilet seat isn't even the biggest bacteria haven!
It's natural to assume your toilet seat is one of the grossest places in your home. But unless you're in the process of potty training and teaching your young men how to aim properly, the toilet isn't the largest target for bacteria in your home. (At the same time we don't encourage you to eat your lunch off it, but you get the idea.)
That said, there are some places in your home that could use a little extra consideration and attention to make sure you're killing bacteria (the bad kind) and not just removing surface grime.
1. Sponges: Learn how to clean them up in the microwave with a quick zap! It's easy to do and although they are other options the microwave is certainly the quickest.
2. Dishwashers: When was the last time you took a look at the seal around your dishwasher door? The inside is obviously getting clean every time you run a load, but that seal can hold all kinds of harmful things. Give things a good wipe down with white vinegar. It will get the job done without any risk of deteriorating the seal itself.
3. Washing Machine: To keep your laundry as clean as possible run all cold loads first, wash a clothes-free load once a month with 2 cups of vinegar instead of soap and give the appliance a good wipe down each week inside and out. Don't forget that little hiding place up under the lid!
4. Cutting Boards: Although you're probably not licking your cutting board after you just cut up chicken (are you??), that doesn't mean some of the germs aren't left behind... even after it's been washed. The largest downfall to cutting boards is the fact that they deteriorate as you use them. As the knife makes small indentions it creates all sorts of places for bad juju to hide. Save discarded lemon halves that you've used in your cooking and rub down your board when finished using (especially if it will sit for a few hours before being washed). You can also give boards a wipe down of white vinegar even after they're washed to help clean all the nooks and crannies. Stick to wood boards that can constantly be sanded down and re-oiled for best results.
5. The Kitchen Sink: Even if you wipe it out after you've done the dishes, the seal around the drain and the place where the sink meets the cabinet and faucet are all great places for bacteria to hide. Check out this thorough tutorial on how to clean your sink properly and you can even shine a stainless steel version with flour to polish it right up!
Where do you always worry about not quite being clean enough? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
(Image: Flickr member gemsling licensed for use by Creative Commons)
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good tips.
strange, though, I've been washing all of my family's clothes plus cloth diapers for 2 kids in my washing machine over the course of the last 4 years and have yet to notice an ick factor of any sort. Have never cleaned the machine and probably don't intend to. Aside from a little bit of dried up soap on the top, it seems fine. Are other people's getting gross, or is this overkill cleaning?
There's some info out there if you Google on washing machines: http://abcn.ws/gPMIBg
Might help clear things up!
OK...but are all these bacteria dangerous? Or at levels that are dangerous? Not all bacteria is bad, and it might actually be bad to avoid bacteria all together. I've never heard about anyone getting an e-coli infection from their washing machine.
Ultra-clean environments are bad for growing immune systems. A reasonable cleaning schedule is fine for most families without panicking about germs lurking inside washing machines.
hmmm... i agree that there are harmful bacteria in places we don't usually think about it, but i think this is overkill. sure i wipe things down and try to get the gunk out of the random corners of things, but if i see a list of a dozen items i 'need' to clean my sink... i'm gonna click right on past it! overkill for sure.
the link to cleaning the skin was really helpful I always think my kitchen skin isn't clean enough but I have very hard water so its always orange. :(
These sanitized and sterilized environments aren't great for people, especially little ones. We need exposure.
Ugh, I hate dirty sponges. Apart from just the germs (I mean, yeah, all right, my immune system can probably handle them), they stink up a kitchen and make washing dishes by hand very unappealing. I actually change my sponges out for brand new ones every two weeks or after scrubbing anything particularly icky, like a cutting board covered with raw chicken juices. Overkill? Probably, but it does the trick for me! I can't wait to try that washing machine cleaning trick. Thanks AT!
My washer has a "clean" cycle that uses bleach to clean. It's one of the only things I used bleach for and it leaves the inside sparkling clean. We also have cloth diapers, so I do it once a month.
I agree with the comments about over-cleaning. Of course, I should probably clean the caked-on crud off my dishwasher seal at some point. :) And it makes sense to use clean towels and sponges when you're cleaning.
The only germs I'm really concerned about are during cold and flu season when there's a newborn in the house. (Or an allergic, asthmatic pregnant woman, as is the case right now.)
Whenever I have left over water from boiling tea or pasta or something, I pour it over the sponge in the sink; which I feel is a good way to keep the sponge (and the sink) a little cleaner. This doesn't substitute of course for normal cleaning, but can be a good quickie cleaning to add to a routine.
I change my dishcloth/sponge every day and run them through a hot wash with bleach once a week.
I just use plastic cutting boards so I can throw them in the dishwasher.
Every time I do a load in the dishwasher, I also throw in my sponge.
I've got unbearably scaldingly hot water in my apartment building, but fortunately that means my dishwasher kicks ass at sterilizing anything.
Other than that, I'm just going to agree with everyone else that not all germs are equally worrisome. Personally I wouldn't worry about cleaning the clothes washer unless I had small children in diapers or training, or someone sick in the house.
Oh my gosh...can we please STOP with the bacterial obsession? C'mon!!!!
We touched stuff and didn't die. My son is 15 and I never panicked because he touched a sponge! And guess what? He LIVES!!!!!
This germ obsession is a weird, creepy result of MARKETING. The world is a dirty and scary place...buy this cleaner/antibacterial gel/sanitized, disposable doo-dad.
I'm a mom...I get it. We worry. But this is just too much now.
I agree...germs have a place! :) Let's not get rid of them all!
I keep things visibly clean and scrubbed but I don't go crazy....my son needs to build up some immunity!
but...sponges get nasty fast, like the reader above, I throw mine in the dishwasher or replace them frequently.
I agree that people are too obsessed with eradicating all germs but sponges should be sanitized quite often.
Sponges can be sanitized by boiling them each day- I use a cotton-crocheted scrubbie to wash my dishes, so I just boil a little extra water when making tea in the morning and pour the extra water over my scrubbie in a small saucepan brought back to a boil.
we need some germs to get by but if washing out a washing machine makes people comfortable, that's cool too. this article is for people concerned, saying "gee, i wonder if there are more germs in my house i can clean out." and not so much those who are comfortable with their routine. i'm going to wash my washing machine at least once, now that i've read this (as i've never done it before). and now i know how to do it. =) thanks.
The lemon and vinegar tip for the chopping board is great but I agree with most of the above comments that the rest is just overkill. I think that some people need to go camping for a week and get in touch with reality. :)
perhaps its not just about germs but also about the item functioning best. with all that black gunk built up it would work better if it were cleaned off. having a hardwater built up on a shower head really put this post into place.
I'm also against overly sterile environments, but I'm going to add these tips to my "deep cleaning" routine, which happens 2-3x per year.
As for sponges, stop using them! They are evil, germ-breeding bits of plastic. Terry cloth towels sold in bulk in the auto care section are great alternatives to sponges or paper towels