When you think of dirty places in your household, the first room you may think of is the bathroom, especially the toilet. Surprisingly, the true and underestimated frontrunner for dirtiest places in your home is your kitchen. The National Sanitation Foundation (NSF) confirmed this in one of their studies. From sinks to countertops, including cutting boards and coffee maker water reservoirs but not forgetting light switches, refrigerator handles, or stove knobs, these are places for bacteria to take root, grow, and develop right under your nose. But don’t give up hope, once informed you can be vigilant, and that awareness can propel you to action. Listed below are ten of the dirtiest places that are in your home. Awareness that these are all in the kitchen gives you a place to start increasing your efforts with targeted cleaning, making a difference and having a greater impact moving forward.
1. The kitchen sink
The kitchen sink is dirtier than a toilet after flushing it. The sink has huge amounts of bacteria and fecal contamination. The key to an explanation of why is the moist environment. The kitchen sink is the go-to place at the center of necessary cleaning for all kitchen activities. For that very reason, it is at the top of our list.
2. Kitchen countertops
With kitchen countertops, a quick wipe-down is not enough. If the kitchen sink is at the center of necessary cleanliness for food prep, then the kitchen countertops are a close second as a neglected, but quickly dirtied location. This is where the outside world meets the inside one. To meet our needs for health in our kitchens, we need to keep the countertops more than just superficially tidy for safety reasons. Just in case you believe you are already doing enough as a domestic goddess when it comes to cleaning your kitchen, consider the dirt delivery and germ distribution that happen in the kitchen.
The kitchen countertops are not just where we cook and eat, but where we gather from where we’ve come from, a meeting place and a workspace, an area for easy and efficient daily meal preparation. From hands that touch everything and handbags that sit everywhere, the world enters the kitchen here on its countertops. Unfortunately, this makes the fight for long-lasting cleanliness of kitchen countertops a short-lived series of ongoing, and therefore, incomplete battles. The first step is recognizing this area of the kitchen is always a challenge. In this case, more heavy-duty deep cleaning is definitely better.
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3. The coffee maker water reservoir
The moist environment in the coffee maker water reservoir makes it a prime breeding ground for bacteria as well. It is not easy to access to keep clean, either. Damp and dark, yeast and mold are easy breeders here if this is not cleaned often or thoroughly enough.
4. Cutting boards
Potentially dangerous coliform bacteria can take root and be the foundation for E. coli and salmonella if our cutting boards are not kept clean. Here, thorough maintenance is key. Regular cutting, slicing, or dicing should not make you sick. Neglect or improper maintenance is not only dirty visually on the surface, but also is unhealthy deep down and beyond what we can see.
5. The dish sponge
The dish sponge is the clear winner for the germiest item in the entire household. It is often improperly cleaned (if cleaned at all), yet it is used to clean and wipe up everything. Its moisture contributes to the development of bacteria. It’s a catch-22: you need the sponge to clean, but the same sponge used for cleaning is not clean.
6. Faucet
It’s not what’s on the outside, but what’s on the inside that counts. You’ve probably heard this numerous times in reference to people and their personalities versus whatever good looks they have or lack. But what about considering it when it comes to your faucets? They need to be cleaned on the inside, too. Otherwise, no matter how lovely and clean the handles may appear, a quick look under the faucet can show disgusting build-up that is getting ignored but the faucet is still being used.
7. Inside of the refrigerator
Just because the refrigerator is usually closed and there to preserve food doesn’t absolve or eliminate it from being a place that can get dirty. This appliance is the soul of the kitchen. Its contents run the gamut depending on the owner. Likewise goes for how well the owner keeps it. Although it may be opened frequently and its contents displayed, it has a host of dirty little secrets. Inside it houses the food we need to nourish our bodies. We use its special drawers and shelves for vegetables and other foods and beverages that need to be kept cold. But let’s not forget about the items that quickly turn from fresh and tasty to the old, the mold, and the open or expired that we need to be more aware of and remove as they can be or become germy.
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8. Refrigerator door handles
The refrigerator is an appliance that is so germy that it merited two spaces on our list. The refrigerator door handles can be burgeoning with yeast, mold, staph, or E. coli, according to an NSF study. Here, it is as simple as a wipe-down being good enough and a definite step in the right direction for a cleaner kitchen.
9. Stove knobs
Many stove knobs have coliform bacteria, and some have mold and yeast. This is one of the chief places where germs hide out. Every time you turn those knobs to adjust your stove to prepare a meal, consider that you may be passing on the hidden bacteria that few remember and most never think about. With stove knobs, your innocent touches may be toxic.
10. Light switches
We may not treat light switches as being as big a deal as faucet handles, refrigerator handles, or stove knobs in terms of the spread of bacteria, but the principle remains the same. If you can touch it, germs are there. Light switches need to be cleaned regularly, too. This often-forgotten part of your kitchen deserves more of your cleaning attention.
Taking care of your home means regular, thorough cleaning and maintenance. If you aren’t moved to do it for the end result esthetics, then do it for your health.
