Five germ-infested places in your home

What we think is clean is often what harbours the most germs so it’s important we know what to clean and when. So, here are five germ-infested places in your home that you should definitely make a note of...

• Kitchen Sponge 

This is something that we use to clean our dishes, tables and surfaces so it should be clean, right? Well chances are that it’s not. The kitchen sponge is actually the dirtiest item in your home and the kitchen is the room that contains the most germs. Change your sponge regularly and after you’ve used it you should wet it and then put it in the microwave for two minutes – it sounds crazy I know but it kills all of the germs that are making themselves comfy in the sponge. 

• Kitchen sink

The kitchen sink is said to carry more germs than a toilet seat because we tend to clean our toilet a lot more as we assume it’s always dirty. Any food particles left in the sink will cause germs to manifest. Always use kitchen cleaner and hot water to clean your sink each day and then disinfect it once or twice a week. 

• Door handles and switches

We often clean big things like the floor and the tables but we can sometimes forget about the smaller things that contain germs such as door handles and switches. If you think about how many people touch the doors and light switches in your home then you’ll realise that it’s a lot of germs. Remember to wipe down any handles and switches once a week or whenever you choose to clean – don’t forget to wipe down the toilet chain too and any taps. 

• Bath tub 

Ideally this should be clean – after all you are getting clean in the bath tub, right? Wrong. When you get out of the bath you should always dry any water left in the tub. This is because any water left will breed mould and fungi – not something that you want in your bath. Disinfect your bath tub up to three times a week, it may seem like a lot but it will get rid of any remaining germs.

• TV Remote

This often gets overlooked because it’s normally on the floor or down the side of the sofa where germs are happy to live. So many germs will be lurking on your TV remote that it’s essential that you frequently wipe it down with bleach or cleaning wipes to get rid of them. If that’s not enough to put you off then TV remotes can also be contaminated with cold viruses. 

As you can see germs can be everywhere – there’s no way to completely remove them from your home but you can minimise the risk of them causing viruses. Regularly clean surfaces where you prepare food – and remember to clean and change your sponge or else you are just transferring the dirt. Don’t let germs make your home their home!

Written by Jessica St Pierre on behalf of carpet and upholstery cleaning company ChemDry