Things Dirtier than Your Toilet

appliance, carpet, chores1. Carpets

A soft furnishing like a rug or your carpet are a trap for dust, dirt, and allergens, which is good for the air except they can hold about 20,000 bacteria per square inch. If you wear your shoes in your home, it can make matters worse.

How to clean it: You should vacuum three times a week with a vacuum cleaner that has a HEPA (high-efficiency particulate air) filter, especially with this terrible flu season we’ve been having. Ideally, you should be having your floor covering cleaned by a professional every six months.

2. The kitchen sink

Talk about germs. Think of all the bacteria that comes off dirty plates and hands. Don’t forget your sponge which can contain the same number of germs as three people – times 7 – in just a single cubic centimeter.

How to clean it: Minimize the amount of “debris” in your sink by scrapping off leftovers into the garbage (or a compost bin!). Rinse your sink with warm water and dishwashing liquid after every meal, and don’t forget to wash the faucet and handles. Sanitize the sink weekly with bleach and change your sponge every week!

3. Doorknobs

Hate to break it to you, but only 5% of people who use the bathroom wash their hands thoroughly and long enough to kill germs. There’s another study that found one infected doorknob can travel to 60% of the people in an office in under four hours. No wonder the flu was so bad.

How to clean it: Use bacteria wipes to wipe down the doorknobs. Maybe hit a few of the light switches while you’re at it.

4. The coffee maker

Since the water reservoir and piping system are often damp and dark, this gives opportunity for bacteria to grow. While it should be a regular, daily thing cleaning out the carafe, you should be cleaning the internal parts as well.

How to clean it: Use soap and hot water to clean the removable parts of your coffee maker, then let them air-dry. Once a month, you should be mixing one-part vinegar and one-part water, then letting it run through the machine. The vinegar will disinfect and remove buildup.

5. Bath towels

As mentioned, bacteria thrive in water and moist areas, which means towels. Almost 90% of towels you use could be contaminated with some very nasty bacteria.

How to clean it: You should be changing your towels every two days and washing them in hot water to kill off gunk. While it sounds exhausting, it’s the best way to avoid harboring bad bacteria in your towels that you wipe your clean body with.

That’s not all! For even more household items that hold bacteria, visit the original article to find 2 more!

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