No matter how well you clean, there are some places around the house (or office) that tend to accumulate dirt and bacteria. You might know some of these already… or you might be surprised!
Your mattress and pillows. The bedroom is a favorite spot for those evil allergy triggers: dust mites. Your mattress can also soak up sweat and other bodily fluid! The best way to keep your mattress and pillows clean is to bag them. A plastic cover (underneath your sheets and mattress pad) will keep the dust mites out. Wash bedding regularly in hot water to kill dust mites.
Your vacuum cleaner. Vacuum brushes can harbor all sorts of dirt and bacteria — when’s the last time you cleaned yours? I pick the dog hair out of mine, but that’s about it. So what can you do to cut down on the spread of germs? Vaccuum the cleanest areas first and the dirtiest areas last so you spread the least amount of gunk around. And wash your hands after changing the back or emptying the cannister!
Your office area. The keyboard, mouse, monitor, desk, and phone are chock full of bacteria. Use a disinfectant weekly to keep your home office clean and healthy! And if you eat at your desk (like I do) watch out for bugs. Take care of those crumbs!
The bathtub (and shower curtain). Around the tub drain is a huge bacteria convention — one study calculated more than one hundred thousand bacteria per square inch in that area. YUCK! A dose of chlorine cleaner can help clean up that drain. As for the shower curtain, watch the soap scum. That foam can play host to all kinds of germs. Clean and replace your shower curtain regularly.
Faucet and door handles. At work, I’m meticulous about cleaning the doorknobs and faucet handles. At home, I don’t think about it as much. Bad Aimee! A swipe with a disinfectant cleanser is a good way to keep the knobs in your life safe and clean.
And I’ve already talked about kitchen sponges.
Did any of these surprise you? I was kind of shocked about the vacuum cleaner brush — it just never occurred to me that it would be so dirty. But it does make sense now!