From dusty streets, from crowded buses and public places that have seen thousands of hands this day alone, we rush home - clean, safe. I don’t want to destroy your faith in “Santa Claus”, but - no matter how. Neither the doors of your “fortress”, nor the exceptionally close people within its walls, nor the endless harvesting is a hindrance for a number of such familiar microorganisms. Yeast, mold, staphylococcus, salmonella, Escherichia coli ... Some scientists even got confused with a "dirty" study and found in the average apartment the dirtiest places in which almost four hundred species of bacteria live.
Undoubtedly: you can manically clean the house to a shine, even disinfect, even hard-to-reach places; at least every day. But there are several places / objects in each home - the dirtiest simply in terms of their functionality, “nature”, if you want.
This collection does not cherish the goal of rewarding you with ripo— (fear of dirt) or misophobia (fear of infection). Forewarned - armed. Just pay attention to these places much more often.
So, the 10 dirtiest objects in your home:
1
Bin
Of course, with the advent of disposable garbage bags, bacteria have become dull. But they didn’t get any less from it: the bag can break, garbage, liquids can spread throughout the bucket. Or just touch the tank lid and stain it, creating new houses for germs.
The trash can is no accident already in tenth place of the top - it is usually much cleaner than some items in the kitchen. But, nevertheless, a hundred or two bacteria can live on a square centimeter of an overflowing tank, which will happily multiply anywhere - on the floor, walls to which the bucket adjoins, and so on.
Therefore - we clean the trash bin at least monthly, with bleach, under a good stream of water (for example, in the shower). Do not forget about the surfaces around the tank, not sparing detergents.
2
TV remote
Especially do not gloat if you do not watch TV: there are plenty of objects that all family members touch a hundred times a day in your house. On the switches, of course, there are much fewer germs. But the general computer keyboard on all or the same remote control from the air conditioner are stuffy.
The remote control is more pleasant for bacteria due to the frantic “traffic” of the hands in which it happens, heaps of buttons with slots around each; especially if the buttons are soft. More than half of the randomly tested remote controls contained invisible yeast and mold. So-so neighbors to your tea for an evening show.
Fortunately - cleaning the remote does not require parsing buttons. Enough ready-made disinfectant wipes or your own antiseptic (alcohol with water). It is also recommended to wipe the battery compartment.
3
Kitchen surfaces
We are talking about kitchen cabinets and a table, if you cook on it. If not, the dining table usually also gets.
Even if you imagine that your kitchen surfaces do not interact with anything other than food, this is the most favorable environment for microbes. A third of all these bacteria are harmful in earnest. You can easily get an infection if you rub your eyes right after the countertop.
The most unforgivable thing is to “clean” kitchen cabinets with a sponge or an omnipresent rag (there are those that play the role of everything in the kitchen at once). Because (attention, spoiler!) - a dishcloth or her sister - a rag - the dirtiest things in your house.
Wash countertops and a kitchen table with household chemicals as often as possible. For special materials, look for safe but good disinfectants.
4
Faucet handles
Ever thought of this vicious circle? With dirty hands after cooking or using the toilet, you turn on the water, transferring bacteria to the faucet handles. After washing your hands, close the water, taking back your little "tenants", grabbing new ones that were already on the tap before that. Washing hands is reset.
Examination of washbasins revealed the presence of mold in almost a third of them, and on some - even staphylococcus aureus. And every square centimeter of the faucet handle is a good fifty microbes.
Choose an affordable and enjoyable way of disinfection: wipes, alcohol, bleach with water or a special tool; wipe the faucet handles with them every day.
5
Stove handles
Handles, switches or handles - whatever you call, they will not become cleaner. For some reason, these guys are less likely than others to undergo thorough cleaning in the kitchen. If we tear the surface of the plate to a shine, we can forget about the handles or hastily wipe only obvious spots. And how much remains under (behind) them!
These switches always suffer from dirty hands while cooking and leaking food. About 15% of them detected E. coli, and a third of the examined pens were covered with yeast and mold. If you think that the temperature of the stove (especially if the regulators are not located on the side of the panel, but on top, next to the burners) destroys the bacteria on the handles ... No, on the contrary. And it’s better not to go into details.
Try to remove pens at least once a week and soak in soapy water. Or at least clean with chemicals and be sure to wipe dry.
6
Coffee maker
This lovely little thing energizes not only a person, but a whole ton of different microbes. Half of all tested coffee makers contain mold, yeast, staphylococcus, streptococcus and other free additives to your coffee.
It doesn’t matter what type of coffee machine or how difficult it is to understand. Having learned that a coffee pot that has not been cleaned for a long time stores about 15,000 bacteria per square centimeter, would you be able to sleep peacefully?
As an option to clean the coffee tank - vinegar or vinegar water. Let it stand for half an hour, then boil it until the smell evaporates. And after - boil clean water several times to remove any mention of vinegar.
7
Kitchen sink
Regrettably, any kitchen sink is dirtier than a toilet door handle. 70,000 times. Yes, there are four zeros.
In the kitchen sink there are more coliform bacteria (E. coli) than in the toilet - before, after use. After that, information about a third of mold-affected sinks doesn’t sound so scary.
It's simple: food waste that bacteria eat is constantly falling into the sink. And there is always the water that they drink. Just a paradise.
No more outline of the situation. Just choose the cleaning method: killer for germs and gentle for your washing; and forget about the scary pictures of your imagination.
For example, warm water with bleach (plug the plums and hold the mixture for ten minutes), or lemon and soda - it is good to rub it, at the same time getting rid of odors.
8
Cutting board
Well, admit: how many kitchen boards do you have assigned to different types of products? Let's say it has its own for fish, and for meat, and bread, and fruit and vegetables. But even the latter is a paradise island for germs. Do not forget that on the planks there are hundreds of such cuts from knives where not every flea fits, but bacteria can easily.
If you do not properly care for the boards, write in writing. Micro-pieces of food were brought into the cracks, they rinsed the board (delivered some water to the feasting party) - grace. And if the board is also wooden ...
Non-lyrical digression: improperly operated boards can contain, among other bacteria, about 20% - intestinal, about 15% - mold and yeast. And the “wonderful” supplement is 200 times more fecal microbes than on the rim of the toilet.
If possible, use different cutting boards for different products, do not wear them “to the holes”. Plastic can be washed in a dishwasher, while wooden ones can be soaked more often, for example, in water with vinegar, washed with hot water and allowed to dry in the fresh air.
9
Toothbrushes and where they live
She stood, dried up - it means she’s cleansed, - you think, sending a toothbrush to your mouth every morning. Alas. She stood, wet, with a set of bacteria from her mouth; exchanged, multiplied bacteria with objects standing nearby in a glass (even worse if you have brush holders for the “head”), picked up fecal microbes if the toilet is not far. And in the morning - all over again.
The trouble is the same: mold, yeast, staphylococcus and Escherichia coli. A holder with a couple of three toothbrushes is home to nearly 3 million bacteria that walk wherever they want. A glass for brushes not far from him left.
Therefore, wash brushes and holders with hot soapy water at least twice a week. And better keep each brush as closed as possible.
10
Sponge for washing dishes
After 9 points, you already know what's what. Therefore - dry numbers. Scary, dry numbers.
Each gram of dishcloth is more than 300 million microorganisms.
Almost 80% of sponges can boast of salmonella, E. coli and fecal bacteria. Almost 90% contain mold and yeast, almost 20 - staphylococcus.
Sponges are recommended to be changed every two weeks. They can be cleaned with bleach water, either by boiling, or by holding them in the microwave for several seconds. With a dishcloth, the story is similar in all respects.
It is clear that houses and walls help, and even microbes - some kind of relatives. But still: don't get used to them very much. And perhaps, change the sponge more than twice a month.
And what are the dirtiest places you would add to our list? TheBiggest editors are waiting for your comments.
Article author: Elena Zavodnaya