When we think about germ-filled environments, we tend to think of places with a lot of people passing through, such as the subway or a public bathroom. The scary thing is, some of the most germ-filled items we come in contact with are in the comfort of our own homes.
Here are some of the dirtiest household items and tips for cleaning them:
- Cutting boards
You use cutting boards when preparing many meals in your kitchen—from fruits and vegetables to raw meat. The gross part? University of Arizona researchers found that the average cutting board has 200 times more fecal bacteria than a toilet seat. Fecal bacteria originate in animals’ internal organs, and the knife grooves you leave when you are cutting meat are the perfect conditions for germs to live and fester.
Cleaning tip: Don’t soak your cutting board overnight. Wash plastic cutting boards with liquid dish detergent and water, then soak thoroughly in a solution of 2 teaspoons bleach and 1 gallon water. For wooden cutting boards, do the same steps, but use 2 tablespoons bleach per 1 gallon water in the solution.
- Faucet handles
Your bathroom faucet handle can have 21 times the bacteria of your toilet seat—and your kitchen faucet handles can have 44 times the bacteria of your toilet seat. Yuck!
Cleaning tip: Disinfect and clean your sink and faucet handles at least once a week to make sure you aren’t making yourself dirtier when you wash your hands.
- Carpet
Germs feed off of dead skin cells. Because we shed millions of skin cells every day, rugs become the optimal place for bacteria to nestle. Research shows that about 200,000 bacteria live in each square inch of carpet (nearly 700 times more than on your toilet seat), including E. coli, staphylococcus, and salmonella.
Cleaning tip: Vacuuming alone doesn’t grab all of the bacteria because it can’t reach the bottom of the carpet. You should hire a professional carpet-cleaning company to deep clean it at least once a year.
- Pet’s food bowl
One square inch of your pet’s food bowl harbors about 2,100 bacteria, whereas the average toilet seat has about 295 bacteria per square inch.
Cleaning tip: Wash all food bowls after every meal with soap and hot water, or combine baking soda, warm water, and salt in equal parts and scrub the surface in circles before rinsing. Otherwise, bacteria will multiply on leftover residue of slobber and food bits.
- Kitchen cloth or sponge
Dishcloths and sponges are dirtier than any other item in the average home, harboring the largest amount of E. coli and other fecal bacteria—mostly because they aren’t replaced as often as they should be. Each square inch of these items contains 456 times more bacteria than a toilet seat.
Cleaning tip: Toss dishcloths in the washing machine and sponges in the dishwasher, and replace them regularly. For sponges, you can heat them in the microwave while damp for 30 seconds to clean them.
- TV remote
If you combine the germs from your hands, food, dust, and getting sat on, you easily can picture why your remote is super germy. The shape and buttons make it particularly difficult to get germ-free.
Cleaning tip: Regularly wipe down your remote using a bit of dish soap or an antiseptic wipe. Get between the buttons.
Don’t let these facts make you paranoid about the germs living in your house. Instead, use them as motivation to remember the areas in your home that need a little extra love when cleaning!