Take a look at these a few things you touch all the time are even germier than your toilet seat. After reading this, you’re going to want to take a shower.

1. Your Cellphone

Even if you never take your cellphone into the bathroom for a little toilet time scrolling, it is still covered with the bacteria from everything else you touch and every surface it touches.

Cleaning is very simple with the right supplies: a bit of rubbing alcohol, distilled water, and a microfiber lint-free cloth. While you’re cleaning, don’t forget to clean your earbuds and other accessories.

2. Keyboards and Remote Controls

How many times each day do you touch your laptop keyboard or the remote controls for the television, game systems, or even ceiling fans? Just like your phone, they harbor the germs from every hand that’s touched it.

Cleaning is easy if you use a disinfectant wipe made for electronics. This should be done at least daily and more often if someone in the household has a virus or infection.

3. Bathroom Doorknobs

Does everyone in your house wash their hands faithfully each time they use the bathroom, sneeze, or prepare food? Probably not.

It’s not just the bathroom doorknob that teems with bacteria or is virus-laden, it’s all the doorknobs, handles, light switches, and electronic keypads around the house. A quick wipe down with a disinfectant wipe will take care of the problem. Be sure to use one wipe per room. One wipe won’t disinfect an entire house full of knobs!

4. Cutting Board

Food-borne bacteria in the kitchen are the cause of many of the most common illnesses in a household. Cross-contamination from raw foods, mishandled food, unwashed produce, and improper food temperatures are all breeding grounds for bacteria.

Cutting boards, especially wooden ones, are some of the worst offenders because bacteria can become embedded in the tiny cuts and nicks on the surface. Cutting boards should be washed in hot, soapy water after every use and there should be separate boards for meats and vegetables.

5. Kitchen Sponges

When you catch a whiff of a foul-smelling sponge, what you’re smelling is the odor from coliform bacteria (Salmonella or E.coli) lurking in the sponge pores. And when you use that sponge to wipe down countertops, you are spreading a fine layer of that bacteria all over the surfaces.

Zapping the sponge in the microwave for a few minutes just won’t do the trick. The sponges must be cleaned with a heavy-duty disinfectant in boiling water to really clean them. It’s best to simply replace them every few weeks.

6. Reusable Grocery Bags

Reusable grocery bags are great for the environment but they can pose a hazard to your family’s health. Each time you load in groceries, the bacteria from a leaking meat package, unwashed produce, and other dirty packages go in the bags as well.

When you get home, the bags are emptied and then often stashed in the trunk of a hot car until the next shopping trip. The heat encourages the growth of any bacteria that remain in the bags.

It is important to wash the bags used for meats, vegetables, and raw foods after every use. It’s a good idea to designate one bag for any chemical cleaning products to prevent accidental cross-contamination.

7. Pet Toys and Food Bowls

Our pets are part of the family and we want them to remain as healthy as possible. Most of us wash our dishes after each use to prevent bacteria from growing on the utensils and making us sick. Do you do the same for your pet?

Pet bowls are filled with bacteria from the animal’s mouth and the leftover food and multiply after every use. Bowls should be washed after every meal with hot water and soap. The same treatment should frequently be done to pet toys.

8. Purses or Backpacks

Purses and backpacks often end up on the floor of stores, offices, classrooms, and bathrooms. Now imagine what else has touched that floor. The handles harbor the bacteria from everything your hands have touched throughout the day.

When we toss a handbag or backpack on the kitchen counter or table, all those germs and bacteria come along. If the purse or backpack can be washed, do it often or use a disinfectant wipe to clean the bags often and keep them away from food preparation and eating areas.

9. Money

Bills and coins make the world go round, but they also spread germs like woah. According to research from New York University, each dollar bills carries about 3,000 types of bacteria on its surface. There’s no cleaner to solve this problem, so here’s to going digital!

10. Your carpet

Soft, cozy, and … filled with germs? Your carpet has a whopping 4,000 times more bacteria content than your toilet seat. This is just another reason why you should vacuum this surface along with your rugs once every week.

11. Your desk

And not just by a little — it’s 100 times dirtier than the average toilet seat. But that totally makes sense if you, like many, forget to give this surface a swift cleaning until it starts to feel sticky. To avoid these germs, use a disinfectant wipe to rub down dirty surfaces once a week.

12. Fast food ice

Of course, not every restaurant is the same. But according to research from the Daily Mail, six out of 10 of the places they tested had ice with higher levels of bacteria than water from a toilet. Maybe skip ice the next time you grab a soda to go.

Kitchen

Stinky Dishwasher

The moisture in your dishwasher can become a breeding ground for smelly mold, mildew and rotting food bits. Besides periodically wiping down the interior, try this handy trick: Fill a small bowl with white vinegar and place it in the lower rack of an empty dishwasher. Without adding detergent, run a normal cycle and select extra rinse and hot rinse, if available. That should take care of the smell.

Garbage Disposal

You might not think of cleaning your garbage disposal when doing everyday cleaning. But leftover food particles and grease can stick on and under the blades. To remove them, use a garbage disposal cleaner like these highly reviewed tablets from Affresh. Or try this quick DIY trick: Put a cup of ice down the disposal, followed by 1/2-cup table salt, then turn on the water and run the disposal. No more smell!

Fridge

If the funky smell is coming from the refrigerator, there are a few things you can do. First, the obvious: Clean up spills immediately, regularly throw out spoiled food and wipe down the interior as needed. If a stubborn smell persists, KitchenAid recommends using activated charcoal or, oddly enough, newspaper. For the charcoal solution: Place some activated charcoal in two paper bowls (or use these charcoal bags), then place one in the fridge and one in the freezer. For the newspaper option: Roll the pages into two loose paper balls, add one drop of vanilla extract to each, then place one in the fridge and one in the freezer.

Living Room

Stinky Carpet

Do your carpeted rooms have a mysterious odor? Everyday schmutz brought indoors on shoes, pet hair and food and beverage spills can leave your carpet looking dirty and smelling awful. Professional carpet cleaners recommend having your carpet cleaned at least once a year. (Of course, you can also clean it yourself!)

In between deep cleanings, you can freshen carpet with baking soda (a proven odor absorber). Sprinkle baking soda liberally over the carpet, wait a couple of hours and then vacuum it up using slow back-and-forth passes.

New Furniture

That bad smell coming from your new furniture is not only annoying, but could possibly be toxic. Some vinyl and flame retardants used in new upholstery fabric contain volatile organic compounds (VOCs), which can pollute your indoor air. Get rid of the smell by keeping the room well ventilated and turning on a fan until the smell fades. If you’re extra concerned about VOCs, invest in a high-quality air purifier.

Bedroom

Stale Sheets

Bed sheets absorb our body oil and sweat. Cleaning experts agree that sheets and other bedding that touches your skin should be washed once a week. Be sure to use hot water (above 140° F) to kill any bacteria, especially if the person sleeping in the bed has been sick. For extra freshness, make your own linen spray to use between washes. Fill a small spray bottle with six tablespoons of water, two tablespoons of witch hazel and 10 drops of lavender essential oil; shake to combine.

Smelly Closet

Closets can smell bad, especially if you store your dirty clothes hamper inside. Keep closet doors open so that you don’t trap moisture, and remove and wash dirty laundry regularly. If you live in a particularly humid climate, try hanging a mini dehumidifier inside your closet to absorb excess moisture.

Bathroom

Musty Mildew

Mildew loves moisture, which is why you’ll often find it in the bathroom. If you smell that signature musty smell (like wet socks), here’s what to do. Fill a spray bottle with white vinegar (don’t dilute!), spray the affected surfaces and wait one hour. Open a window or run the bathroom fan for ventilation. Then wipe the areas with a sponge and hot water.

Laundry Room

Stinky Front-Load Washer

Unfortunately, front-load washers are known for their tendency to smell bad if not maintained correctly. Moisture gets caught in the door seal and detergent drawer, causing smelly mildew and mold. After running a wash cycle, leave the door and the detergent drawer slightly open to let everything dry completely. If you detect a bad smell, mix a solution of 3/4-cup bleach and one gallon warm water. Using a cloth dampened with the solution, wipe the washer drum and door seal or try these popular Affresh front-load washer tablets.

Mud Room

Shoes and Outerwear

The mudroom is where wet coats, stinky shoes and kids’ sports equipment are usually stashed. Consequently, it can start to smell bad right inside the door. Besides keeping the mudroom tidy and coats regularly washed, you can also get rid of that stinky shoe smell with a couple of DIY tips. Sprinkle baking soda inside the offending shoes, let them sit overnight, then dump out the baking soda the next morning. Or, try sticking dryer sheets in the stinky shoes.

source: familyhandyman.com/