Almost all of us regularly dust, sweep, mop and declutter our homes to keep them spick and span. However, while the house may appear tidy, are you sure it’s clean? Confused? Let us explain. There are plenty of spots that you can easily miss or fail to notice while cleaning up the spaces they’re kept or installed in. This unwitting neglect attracts germs and, consequently, different diseases. And nobody wants that. So, without further ado, let’s take a look at the five dirtiest places in your home.
5 Dirtiest Places In Your Home You Didn’t Know About
A lot of people consider the toilet as the dirtiest spots in a house. But that’s not true. We shall now list and discuss the germiest places in your home and how to clean them:
Garbage Disposal Bins
Garbage disposal bins, as the term implies, are containers for garbage or waste material. Quite obviously, these are breeding grounds for germs. Usually placed in galleries outside kitchens, garbage bins can be a source of germs in your home if not covered properly.
Households usually dispose of food residue, cleaned up dirt from the house, and many other wet and dry items. The liquids and residual food mix and rot creating a bad odor in the disposal bin and a variety of bacteria and fungus in the bin. If the trash bag leaks or tears inside the bin, then even if the bag is removed it will still produce smell and germs may be even more.
How To Clean
One must make it a habit to clean these garbage bins once every week. It will not only kill the germs inside but also remove the stinking odor from the bin. An easy way to do the cleaning yourself is by using an all-purpose detergent powder, warm water and a brush. Follow the following steps:
- Mix the detergent in water and the bubbles will indicate once it is mixed
- Pour detergent into the bin and leave it there for some time
- Shake the bin a few times so that it reaches everywhere inside
- Use the brush to scratch off all the sticky residual waste
- Wash it properly with clean water and let it dry
Always use a fresh trash bag to ensure a sanitary, odourless environment.
Sink And Faucet
Be it a kitchen sink or a washroom sink, there is a high probability that germs are growing either around the sink or inside its drainage pipes. Although it is a normal practice in almost every household to clean sinks after use, how many of us ever take a look under the sink and drainage pipes?
Cleaning and disinfecting are two different things, which are often mistaken to be synonyms. Cleaning is the removal of oil, dirt, or any other thing easily visible to the naked eye, but disinfecting, on the other hand, means killing microorganisms like bacteria, fungus, etc. your sink might be clean for you but you need to check it thoroughly for disinfection. These germs and bacteria could be residing under the sink, on faucets, or inside the drainage pipe which hasn’t been cleaned for a long time.
How To Clean
Cleaning a sink doesn’t take a lot of effort and it should be done on a regular basis. If it’s a kitchen sink, remember that any germs or bacteria growing near the sink area can also be in your food exposing you to diseases. These easy steps will help you clean a sink:
- Use 1 to 2 cups of hot water and pour it in the sink
- Use a solution of bleach, easily available in the market, and pour the quantity as mentioned on the bottle in the sink drainage
- Let it stay there overnight
- Repeat it every one 2 weeks
This not only helps in disinfecting your sink drainage but also prevents clogging. To disinfect your sink entirely, use a surface sanitizer and spray it all over the sink after it has been washed. Due to the regular usage of washrooms, a surface sanitizer should be used at least once a day every day.
Toothbrush Holder
Toothbrush holders are more prone to spread the germs inside the washroom. Usually, a brush holder contains more than one brush unless you live independently or have a separate room for yourself. Every time you brush and place the brush back in its holder, there is some water still dripping from it. Over a couple of days, the holder will have some amount of water in it stored there for a few days providing a base shelter to bacteria and other microorganisms.
How To Clean
Cleaning your toothbrush holder is not difficult. What you will need is soap, water and an old brush if the size of the holder is long and follow these steps:
- Use soapy warm water and put the holder in it for sometime so that if there is any stubborn residue on its surface, it softens
- After a few minutes, use the brush to scrub-off the inside properly
- Wash it with water thoroughly
- For added sterilization, place it in the boiling water for 3-5 minutes or soak it in either bleach or vinegar for at least 30 minutes
Carpets
As much as they add to the interior aspect of a living room, carpets also catch dust which settles faster as compared to any other surface. Carpets if not cleaned regularly can become home to bacteria and dust particles. If there is an unclean carpet in the house and someone has breathing problems, it will be further affected by that.
A dirty carpet can not only be a source of germs, dirt and diseases but also compromise the pleasant environment of a room by clogging and damping smell.
How To Clean
While cleaning using a vacuum every two weeks removes the dirt from the carpet, it still doesn’t remove dust mites and bacteria completely. In order to do that, you’ll have to disinfect the carpet and, more often than not, it can be a gargantuan task. At least once a year seek professional cleaning services for carpets; it can help maintain air quality inside the room and reduce exposure to health issues, including pulmonary diseases.
Mattress
Over time dead skin cells, dust, body sweat, pollen and your pet’s hair can accumulate on your bed and that’s not it. These spots also gather yeast and other bacteria that deeply penetrate your bed and act like a slow poison if not dealt with timely.
On average, the lifespan of a good quality mattress is 7 to 10 years, and imagine not cleaning it even once except for dusting its surface. Cleaning it every once in a while not only provides protection from allergies and ailments but also provides you peace of mind and healthy air quality.
How To Clean
Dust that has penetrated deep inside the mattress can be removed using a vacuum. This will also eliminate some of the dust mites that can be hazardous especially for kids and older people. Paying close attention to stains is important because this is where you can find most bacterial germs. Use spot clean for these stains and then sprinkle some baking soda all over the mattress and vacuum again. You should also put a mattress in the open air and expose it to sunlight
Remember: Sanitization is Important
While the above-mentioned places in the house are important and are looked at regularly, you should completely sanitize your house entirely every once in a while. Properly dust off the racks and other spots usually not reached easily like above cupboards etc.
Keeping your house clean and tidy is easy but keeping it sanitized and disinfected requires a little bit of effort. But it’s worth it since going the extra mile helps you and your loved ones stay healthy.
If you liked this piece, you should definitely check out our blog on things inside your home that might be making you sick.
For more information on how to keep your home clean, don’t forget to visit Zameen Blog – your biggest source for solutions to all lifestyle-related problems.
