Many think that going out into the world can expose you to all sorts of germs, bacteria, and funky things. However, your house can actually be a breeding ground for things that can cause illness.
And some items in our homes are worse than others.
So, that’s why it’s important to make sure we know what these items are and how we can clean them properly so they are sanitary and health for our families.
Here 10 of the Dirtiest Things in Your House:
1) Washing Machines
Did you know that it’s possible that your clothes could come out of the washing machine dirtier than they were when they went in? Yeah, well apparently it’s possible and it’s grossing us the hell out. If you’re not washing your washing machine, it can be teeming with bacteria.
“If you wash a load of just underwear, there will be about 100 million E. coli in the wash water, and they can be transmitted to the next load of laundry,” Charles Gerba, a professor of microbiology at the University of Arizona told ABC News. “There’s about a tenth of a gram of poop in the average pair of underwear.”
It’s always best to use hot water, between 140 and 150 degrees, to kill germs in your laundry when you can. Using bleach and color safe bleach also helps to sanitize laundry. Letting clothes hang in the sun is also a good way to kill bacteria.
You should also clean your washing machine periodically with just bleach and water on a regular cycle. You can find a few other methods for cleaning your washing machine here.
2) Bath Mat
Not only do we step on them but they sit on the damp bathroom floor all day and can get soaked when the shower or bathtub isn’t properly closed off. These things can get pretty nasty.
Make sure you hang it on a shower rod or somewhere where it can dry out completely after every use. Launder it according to its directions when you can. In between washing you can get some baking soda and sprinkle it on your mat. Let it sit for 30 minutes before you vacuum it up.
3) Pet Toys
These are in your pet’s mouth all day and if you think about where your pet’s mouth has been, you’ll know these are filthy. These should definitely get tossed in the washing machine as often as they can or washed with delicates. Hard toys can go in a bucket of equal parts water and vinegar and be scrubbed and rinse clean with warm water.
4) Toothbrush Holder
Most of us take care to cover our toothbrushes in the bathroom but don’t think too much about the toothbrush holder. Those little caddies can contain some seriously nasty stuff like staph, mold, and yeast. So you’ll definitely want to clean them out with soapy water at least once a week.
5) Cell Phone
You touch yourself phone all day long which means whatever you touch is now on your clean phone. And you bring your cell phone into the bathroom… enough said. And your cell phone cases don’t help either. They often hide things like bacteria, staph, and salmonella. So, you should use toothpicks and Q-tips to get any gunk out of the nooks in your device and wipe the front and back down with surface wipes.
6) Garbage Disposal
These can actually be dirtier than your toilet. It’s basically a giant hole of moisture where you throw scraps of dead and dying things. So you’ll want to disinfect this area as often as possible. You can pour some vinegar, lemon juice, and peels and let it sit before running the disposal. You can also dip an old toothbrush in the solution to scrub the stopper.
7) Welcome Mat
You basically wipe all the gunk off that you don’t want in your house onto this mat. Plus, it’s left outside where it can get wet and moist. You’ve also probably never thought to clean it. You can shake all the gun off and then sprinkle baking soda on it. Let it sit for a half hour and vacuum it up.
8) Refrigerator Seal
We all clean out our refrigerator and it’s door handle, but what about the seal, that rubber piece that makes sure your fridge sticks shut properly? Make sure you clean it once a week with equal parts vinegar and water. Let the liquid sit for abit before you wipe it down. Make sure you dry it fully with a clean cloth.
9) Sponges
These things get super gross and can be home to 362 different species of bacteria with 45 billion of those bacteria per square centimeter, according to NPR. Toss your sponge in the dishwasher on a heated dry cycle, or wet and put in the microwave for a minute. These methods aren’t likely to kill all of the bacteria so it’s best to toss out your sponges every few weeks.
10) Bathroom Faucet Handle
You touch this before you clean your dirty hands, so it’s obviously dirty and bound to have some gross things on it. So, clean it as often as you can with disinfectant spray.
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