Everyone is hypersensitive about what they touch nowadays. But, are you really paying attention to EVERYTHING you touch?
You’re cautious about the surfaces you touch when you’re out about, but what about the small surfaces and items you come in contact with inside your home?
We get used to using certain items every day that touching them becomes second nature. Unfortunately, this can cause those surfaces and items to become riddled with germs and put our health at stake.
Are you ready to identify some places and items in your home that could use a good cleaning? Check out this list below and prepare to be blown away.
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House and Car Keys
Think of all the times you touch your keys throughout the day. You can’t leave home without them, so your keys are always in your hands.
To clean your keys, wash them in a small bowl of water with a few drops of dish soap. Dry them thoroughly to prevent rust. After cleaning them, wipe the keys with a disinfectant wipe. Don’t forget about your keychains!
Credit & Debit Cards
A study conducted by Lendedu shows the average payment card has more germs than a New York City subway pole. Just plain gross.
Wipe your credit and debit cards with a disinfectant wipe or switch to digital, touchless payments like Apple Pay.
Steering Wheels
What’s the one thing you always touch in your car? The steering wheel.
According to CarRentals.com, the average steering wheel is four times dirtier than a public toilet seat.
Keep your steering wheel clean by regularly wiping it down with disinfectant wipes.
Make sure you wipe down other surfaces in your car that are frequently touched, like the radio display and gear shift handle.
Cellphones
Whenever you hold your phone to send a text message or answer a call, you transfer bacteria.
Remove your phone from its case and turn it off before wiping it with a disinfectant wipe. Avoid the headphone and charging ports.
Remote Controls
When was the last time you cleaned your TV remote control?
Something as simple as changing the channel can riddle your remote control with germs.
Wipe all of the remote controls with a disinfectant wipe or a rag dabbed in 70% isopropyl alcohol.
Light Switches & Doorknobs
Opening doors and flicking light switches are habits that you don’t even think about; you just do them. Unfortunately, light switches & doorknobs can harbor thousands of germs.
Frequently wiping them with disinfectant spray or wipes will help reduce the spread of bacteria.
Under the Toilet Bowl Rim
You clean the toilet fixture and the inside of the toilet bowl. But do you clean that dark, shallow area under the toilet bowl rim, where the bathroom jets are? If not, this area can become a breeding ground for mold and mildew.
Make a paste with borax and vinegar, apply it to the rim, and let it work for a few hours. Then, take a clean toilet brush and scrub it away before flushing.
Pillows
You change your pillowcases regularly, but it’s not a bad idea to wash your pillows every few months.
Washing your pillows in the washing machine will remove dead skin cells and dried up slob.
If you’re unsure of how to properly wash your pillows, look at the care label for instructions.
Computer Keyboards
Think of all the times you touch your keyboard throughout the day.
Food crumbs and dust particles accumulate in the small spaces between the keys, making your keyboard look gross.
Use a can of compressed air to clean out crumbs. Clean the keyboard keys with a q-tip dipped in isopropyl alcohol.
Cleaning Supplies / Tools
Your broom, mop, and vacuum can carry harmful bacteria that you spread back into your home every time you use them. Here are a few ways you can clean some of your most commonly used cleaning supplies:
- Wash your dishcloths in the washing machine by themselves on a hot cycle with a cup of bleach.
- Clean your broom by letting it soak in a bucket of soapy water for 30 minutes. Rinse it off, dry the bristles with a cloth, and let it dry in the shower with the broom head up.
- Clean your string mop head by letting it soak for 30 minutes in a bucket of water with a half cup of bleach. Allow it to air dry.
- If you have machine-washable cleaning supplies, wash them in the washing machine by themselves.
Bras
A good bra can be expensive and delicate, so you want to make them last. But, you still need to wash them to get all of the sweat, bacteria, and dead skin cells off.
You can wear a bra 2 to 3 times before washing it, but keep a few bras in rotation to avoid wearing the same bra every day.
Makeup Brushes
Would you willingly paint your face with bacteria, dirt, and dead skin cells? That’s what you’re doing when you use dirty makeup brushes to put on your makeup.
Start cleaning your makeup brushes once a week with baby shampoo in warm water.
Bathroom Rugs
Every time you step out of the shower, you step onto your bathroom rug.
Mildew can start to grow on the rug from all of the moisture.
Wash your bathroom rugs every week if they are constantly moist. Check the care label on the rug to find the instructions on how to wash it.
Ceiling Fans
Ceiling fans are a hotspot for dust. You don’t wat that dust falling all over your room.
Place a pillowcase over a ceiling fan blad and slide it across, letting the dust fall into the pillowcase.
You don’t have to clean your ceiling fans often, but if you haven’t cleaned them in a while, you need to ASAP.
Outdoor Furniture
We all like to spend time outside on the patio during the summer. No one wants to sit on dirty patio furniture that’s been rained on or stained from birds and small critters.
How you clean your patio furniture depends on what type of furniture you have.
Clean your outdoor furniture once every two weeks when you’re using it and keep it covered when not in use.
Bathroom Exhaust Fan
The exhaust fan in your bathroom plays a crucial role in keeping your bathroom free of mold.
Cleaning the vent cover, the exhaust fan blades, and the exhaust fan housing twice a year will keep your exhaust fan in good shape.
Kitchen Exhaust Fan
Overtime, grease will buildup inside the exhaust fan and negatively impact the efficiency of the fan.
Giving your kitchen exhaust fan a deep cleaning once a year is enough to keep it working properly.
Air Conditioner Unit
Is your AC not cooling when you turn it on? The AC unit could be clogged with dust, debris, grass, etc.
Improve the performance of your air conditioning unit by having it cleaned by a professional once a year.
Microwave
Splatters and spills can make your microwave look dingy and smell bad.
Pour equal parts of water and vinegar into a microwave-safe bowl.
Place the bowl inside the microwave and set the microwave to heat for 5 to 10 minutes.
When the time runs out, let the bowl sit for a few more minutes before using oven mitts to take the bowl out.
Then, use a damp microfiber cloth and wipe the inside and the door of the microwave.
Complete these steps once a week to have a clean microwave.
Toothbrush
Dip your toothbrush in alcohol-based mouthwash once a week to kill germs.
The CDC recommends replacing your toothbrush every 3 to 4 months or sooner if the bristles are worn out.
Plastic Shower Curtain
Most people get rid of their shower curtains when they become dingy, but you can wash them in the washing machine with a half cup of vinegar once a month to keep them looking good and free of mold and mildew.
Earbuds & AirPods
The buildup of earwax can affect the sound quality coming from your earbuds / AirPods.
Use a toothpick to clean out the earwax.
Pet Toys
We all love our four-legged friends, but the pet toys that they chew on can be covered in bacteria.
Wash cloth / stuffed toys in a garment bag inside the washing machine.
Soak plastic / rubber toys in vinegar and water. Cover the air holes with tape before washing to prevent mold growth.
Showerhead
Hard water stains will mkae your showerhead look disgusting.
Fill a small Ziploc bag halfway up with vinegar and tie the bag around the showerhead.
Leave the showerhead submerged in the bag of vinegar for 20 minutes before untying the bag and turning on the shower to clean away the vinegar.
Sofa
Fabric sofas are cozy, but they stain easily and can start to look worn out.
Check the cleaning codes on your sofa’s tags for instructions on how to clean it.
Clean your sofa 1 to 2 times a year.
Water Dispenser
Your water dispenser provides you with crisp, cold water at the push of a button.
Wiping the external parts of your water dispenser with a cloth dipped in vinegar will clean it.
Refer to your fridge’s manual book to learn specific details on how to dismantle the water dispenser to clean inside of it.
Coffee Maker
A study conducted by the NSF International showed that 50% of the coffee maker reservoirs they tested had mold or yeast. Gross, right?
Wash removable parts of your coffee maker with soapy water after each use.
Run a brewing cycle with equal parts of water and vinegar once a month to deep clean your coffee maker.
No matter what you do, there will always be something that needs to be cleaned. But, don’t get stressed out over it. Just do what you can to keep you and your family healthy and call it a day. Share your tips in the comment sectin.