Your cleaning routine is supposed to make your house healthier, right? Not always.
Mistake: You don’t have a cleaning routine game plan
Strategize the order that you clean a room so you aren’t running back and forth, which can spreading dirt to the places you just cleaned. For instance, if you start by mopping, then wipe off the countertops, you could be getting food bits right back onto your fresh floor. Cleaning top to bottom, and left to right is a more efficient routine.
Mistake: You use dirty sponges
Your sponge could contain 320 million disease-causing bactera. When you’re cleaning, that bacteria could transfer from the sponge to your hand, then to your mouth or eyes and make you sick. To kill the germs before you start your chores, nuke a wet sponge for two minutes. Your sponge is just one of many surprisingly germy kitchen items you never think to clean.
Mistake: You don’t clean your mattress
Mattresses are breeding grounds for dust mites that could irritate your allergies, but you probably rarely (if ever) clean it. Once a month, throw your mattress cover in the wash using the hottest water setting. Before replacing it, wipe down the top of the mattress with hot water.
Mistake: You don’t disinfect your cutting board
The average cutting board has about 200 times more fecal bacteria than a home’s toilet seat. To get rid of those nasty germs, start by cleaning your cutting board in the dishwasher. After it’s washed, spray it with 5 percent vinegar and leave it overnight. In the morning, disinfect it with alcohol or bleach. Here are more effective tricks for cleaning a cutting board.
Mistake: You transfer germs in the laundry
One Belgian study found that families’ regular laundry transferred bacteria to new, unworn T-shirts when cleaned together on the cold setting of a washing machine. Use the hottest water setting to kill the most germs, and use rubber gloves when doing laundry.
Mistake: You don’t clean your trash cans
Of course you take your trash out regularly, but germs could be left behind long after you replace it with a fresh garbage bag. Scrub out the insides of your trash cans regularly, especially those in the bathroom and kitchen.
Mistake: You rarely clean your dishwasher
Just because your machine cleans your dishes doesn’t mean the appliance itself is getting clean. The edges of dishwasher and refrigerator doors can be a breeding ground for mold and mildew, so clean off any fungus that could be hiding there.
