Germs are omnipresent not just in public places, but in your home too. Putting aside all of the common washrooms, offices and public transport, your homes can harbor viruses and bacteria in the millions. No matter how often you hit your home with a container of Clorox, it is still likely teeming with germs.
And while that truth was easy for some of us to ignore in the past, the coronavirus pandemic has even casual cleaners concerned about all the items and surfaces they and their families touch. That is why it is very important for every family to always clean these 5 most dirtiest things exist in your own home.
1) Cleaning Sponges And Rags
A study published in 2017 detected 362 types of bacteria in a sample of 14 different kitchen sponges. Again, it’s not like this means you’re definitely going to get sick because of your kitchen sponge, but it’s not exactly appetizing. In general, the Environmental Protection Agency notes that sponges are hard to clean and make it far too easy for bacteria to thrive.
It’s not a much better picture for reusable dish rags. The EPA has gone as far as to say cotton rags and sponges shouldn’t be used for cleaning at all because they simply move germs around. A reusable surface that stays damp for long periods of time and isn’t disinfected in between is just a great home for all the grody gremlins you’d expect.
2) Cell Phone
A 2017 study of 27 student cellphones in Germs found more than 17,000 bacteria copies per phone, including Staphylococcus aureus, which can cause infections like food poisoning. If your phone is carrying potential pathogens and you’re carrying it around the house, you may be spreading those bacteria or viruses around, possibly making illness more likely.
3) Doorknobs And Light Switches
Anything you and other people in your home touch this often has the potential to be pretty filthy. And, since they’re pretty inconspicuous, it’s pretty easy to ignore these for more noticeably dirty items such as kitchen counters.
4) Kitchen Sink
Some of the biggest concerns in the kitchen are microorganisms that can be found in contaminated food items like raw meats and dairy, such as the bacteria salmonella, Campylobacter, listeria, and E. coli. Then there are viruses like norovirus that can contaminate food and water as well. These can all cause foodborne illness that coops you up with symptoms like diarrhea, nausea, abdominal pain, and a fever.
You might think it’s weird that the kitchen sink is such a potential hotbed for germs since it’s where you clean a lot of things, but that’s exactly why it’s so dirty. Think of cutting boards that have been covered in raw meat, whisks you used on raw eggs, or even just the splatter from your hands as you wash them.
5) Computer’s Keyboard
Your computer keyboard is another potential swamp of bacterial and viral invaders. Ever eat over your computer, for instance. The germs on your hands and the crumbs that sprinkle into your keyboard can lead to bacterial growth. In a 2018 study, researchers took samples from 25 different keyboards, around 96 percent of which were contaminated with pathogens like E. coli and Staphylococcus.
Sources: SELF.