The Top 6 Germiest, Dirtiest Things In Your Home

The dirtiest or germiest areas in your home aren’t always the most noticeable or the ones you might think of first. Here is a quick list of the top 6 germiest, dirtiest things in your home.

1. Doorknobs – Especially during cold and flu season, our hands pick up bacteria and viruses that can make us seriously sick. We touch doorknobs in our home multiple times per day and the knob to the outside door as well. Hot soapy water or disinfecting wipes can keep doorknob germs at bay most of the time. If someone in your household is sick, clean doorknobs more frequently until everyone is completely recovered.

2. Sink Drain – Even if you have a disposal unit for your sink, food debris can still cause a foul smell in your sink drains. To de-funk your sink, run the disposal first with cold water to clear as much food waste as possible. Next, pour a cup of baking soda into the drain, followed by a cup of white vinegar. Let the baking soda and vinegar work for a few minutes, and finish up by pouring a tea kettle full of boiling water slowly down the drain to wash away the grime and the stink. Doing this once per week keeps your kitchen sink smelling fresh.

3. Toilet – While this entry on our list may seem obvious, there are parts of the toilet where people rarely clean – and where dirt and germs build up. Most people are good at cleaning the inside of the toilet bowl, rim of the bowl, and both under and on top of the seat. The sides of the bowl and base of the bowl often go unattended to. Especially if you have children (or men – sorry guys) in the household, accidents can happen. Those accident-prone areas are often the sides, front, and base of the toilet. Make sure to clean and disinfect the outside of the bowl as well.

4. Bathroom Walls – The walls in your bathroom are surprisingly dirty and germy. Partly for the same reason the outside of the toilet bowl gets gunky, but also from flushing the toilet with the lid open. The force of the water when a toilet is flushed (low-flow toilets included) causes droplets of water from the toilet bowl contaminated with germs to become airborne and resettle on surrounding surfaces – known as a toilet plume. The wall areas closest to the toilet are common landing places for these germy water droplets. Clean down walls with the same disinfecting cleaner you use for the toilet (hot vinegary water can be used on most wall surfaces for cleaning also). And teach everyone in the home to close the lid before flushing to keep the germs in the bowl.

5. Floors – While the floors in your bathroom are likely on your mind from the points above, and you’d be correct that they’re quite germy, the floors near the front door and common walkways can also be dirtier than you might expect. The bottom of shoes pick up dirt, dust, pollen, and other particles that create grime – but shoes also pick up various forms of bacteria that contaminate your floors with things like salmonella and E. coli. Combat floor dirt and germs by requiring shoes to be removed at the door. Some floor surfaces can be damaged by certain types of cleaners, however, hot vinegary water disinfects and cleans most floor types and finishes without harm.

6. Cleaning Tools – Sponges, mop heads, cleaning brushes and dish scrubbers that you use to clean surfaces and dishes are some of the dirtiest and germiest items in your entire house. Replace sponges and dish scrubbers frequently and between new ones, sponges can be microwaved for several minutes to kill germs or placed in the dishwasher in the racks on the top shelf, along with nylon cleaning brushes and dish scrubbers to clean and sanitize. Mop heads that are washable can be tossed right in the washing machine for a hot water cycle, particularly after mopping up a germy mess or drips/spills of liquids from handling raw meat.

Were you surprised by any of the dirty things on our list? Keeping these areas and items clean doesn’t have to keep you up at night. The experts at The Clean Up Club know all the places dirt and germs hide and how to clean them up properly, giving you a sparkling clean home and peace of mind.