Top 20 Dirtiest Things in Your House – Virgin Pure

By Bob Fear

Top 20 Dirtiest Things in Your House – Virgin Pure

Despite the furious spring cleans we all do and no matter how much we convince ourselves that our homes are bleached clean and spotless there are still some dirty areas unseen to the naked eye. So, where are the dirtiest areas in your home, and what can we do to clean them?

Where are the dirtiest areas in your home?

Out of all the places in your home, you’re most likely to find bacteria growing in your kitchen. There could be more germs there than anywhere in your bathroom, including the toilet. Bacteria will thrive most wherever there’s moisture and nutrients, particularly from food, so it should be no surprise that dishcloths and sponges are the most preferred breeding ground for potentially harmful bacteria, and classed as one of the dirtiest things in your house.

Kitchen countertops, sinks and chopping boards are some of the dirtiest areas in your home, because they are also ideal places for colonies of bacteria to get well established. They love a good nook or cranny to infest and will form a scarily robust film that protects them, even from a little rub of mild detergent.

How to clean the dirtiest areas in your home

Knowing that there are bacteria growing in your home can give cause for concern, but fear not, there are ways to easily clean the dirtiest things in your house and get rid of the nasty bacterium that infests them. Bacteria can live for at least two days on a moist cloth or sponge, but only for a few hours on a dry surface. It’s tempting to whip out a disinfectant wipe to clean everything in your home, but a lot of these aren’t biodegradable and will only end up in landfill or swimming about in the ocean. A simple bleach solution should suffice, along with a set of cloths or rags that you can wash and reuse.

Cleaning some of the dirtiest things in your home, such as the sponge, is simple and effective. Heating wet sponges in the microwave for a couple of minutes should also kill most bacteria, but soaking them in warm water with a little squirt of bleach is most effective. Lastly, make sure everything is regularly cleaned and thoroughly dried - that will be your best ongoing defence.

Where else does bacteria thrive?

Making sure you’re all clued up about the dirtiest areas in your home will help you make sure you know when and what to clean. It’s a safe bet that a lot of handles throughout your home will be harbouring bacteria. Cooker knobs and fridge handles are high on the top twenty germ-ridden surfaces because of the likely combination of food and wet hands. More bacteria may be found here than on bathroom taps and door handles, and even toilet cistern handles are more likely to be breeding bacteria than toilet seats. It’s those dirty wet hands again!

Some of the surprising dirtiest areas in your home

Unsurprisingly, pet bowls and toys are also high on the list of bacteria hot spots in your home. But a few of the more unlikely contenders include pens, keys, money and toothbrush holders. It’s also quite disconcerting to learn that some of the dirtiest areas in your home are found on remote controls, videogame controls and computer keyboards, supposedly with more bacteria on them than on toilet seats. And mobile phones carry only a marginally smaller amounts of germs.

Unwashed produce, raw meat and poultry are the main sources of bacteria. It gets spread around the home by unwashed hands. Not washing your hands after going to the bathroom also spreads bacteria everywhere, which contributes to some of the dirtiest areas in your home.

Top 20 dirtiest things in your home

1.Dish cloth/sponge
2.Kitchen sink
3.Kitchen countertop
4.Toothbrush holders
5.Pet toy 6.Pet bowl
7.Chopping board
8.Cooker knobs
9.Pens
10.Fridge handle
11.Remote control
12.Videogame control
13.Bathroom taps
14.Keys
15.Toilet handle
16.Keyboard
17.Money
18.Toilet seat
19.Phone
20.Wallet

Our homes can be great breeding grounds for several species of bugs, bacteria, and fungi, if we aren’t meticulous enough about cleaning. It’s time to pay more attention to the corners, nooks, and crannies that go ignored because they’re either too hard to get to, or we simply forget about the bacteria build-up that’s quietly going on behind the scenes. The dirtiest areas in your home are not where you may think they are, and require routine cleaning. So, ensure your cleaning is up to standard and rid of that nasty bacterium.

Next, explore some of the coolest gadgets for your kitchen and check out the weirdest things found in sewers around the world!

Sources:

https://www.nsf.org

https://www.healthline.com

https://www.greenmatters.com

https://www.goodhousekeeping.com

Want to keep up to date with all things Purist?

Sign up to our newsletter to get the lastest from the Purist delivered to your inbox every month.