10 Everyday Things That Are Dirtier Than A Toilet Seat

Why you are hesitant to use the public toilets? Or why you prefer the tissue paper seat covers on the toilets?

Yes, you are pretty much aware of the germs and bacteria hanging out on there. And the toilets are always gross. But you know? Many things that you use often are dirtier than toilet seats.

Here is the list of 10 everyday things that encourage the growth of the microbes and the ways to clean those hotspots.

1. Chopping Boards

It is annoying to hear the fact that your unclean chopping boards carry more bacteria than your toilet seat. As per the world-famous microbiologist Charles Gerba, the bacterial contamination in the household is unimaginable. And he points out the possibility of faecal bacteria on the cutting boards through raw meat. After your last meat mincing on the board, have you cleaned it thoroughly? If you nod a big ‘No’, it’s time to sterilize your board before the next use.

• Put your plastic cutting boards on the dishwasher and operate in the sanitizing mode
• Use a dishwashing liquid and steel wool on your wooden boards for a thorough clean up
• Try to bleach the boards especially after cutting the meat

2. Washing Machines

Do you normally wash your undergarments along with the other clothes in your machine? If so, change that habit. The abundant population of the E.coli bacteria in the undergarments may get transferred to the other clothes as well as to your machine. And all the detergents may not be equally powerful to kill such bacteria. If you are using a front loading type machine, the damp part at the bottom will be a rich place for E.coli growth. Practice the following tips to keep your machine clean.

• Clean  the machine at least once in a month using any bleach
• Disinfect the cloth hampers
• Try to wash your undergarments separately in hot water

3. The Laptops Keyboards

When you are bringing the world to your fingertip through your laptop, you are leaving something grimy out there in the keyboard. Yes, you guessed it right! Millions of microbe transmission will be happening in-between the keys and our fingers.

Just reduce the contamination rate with

• Frequent cleaning of the hands and surfaces
• Usage of antibacterial wipes or laptop cleaning kit

4. Money

We all are much aware of the microbe transmission through money. But still is not doing anything with it. Why? Because the majority of us haven’t thought about the consequences or don’t know how to tackle the problem. But in the arising COVID like pandemic situations, some banks are advising some tips.

• Disinfect the coins and currencies with mild sanitizers
• Put them in the hot sun
• As the safest option, encourage card transactions and go digital

5. Cell Phones

It is better to ask when was the last time you transferred the microbes from your phone to your face than when you made the last call. Did you get it right?  Your mobile phones pick up the germs faster; as many of us are using them even in dirtiest ambience and adapt them into great germ carriers.

As per the experts,

• Try to avoid using them in the bathrooms
• Use sterile cloths to clean them
• Use an antibacterial wipe at the end of the day

6. Carpets and Rugs

In many households carpets are multifunctional. Sometimes it will be a dining mat, your kid’s favourite playing spot and munching area while watching T.V.  The pets in our house are very fond of these rugs and carpets. And still, you are falling for the clean looks of your wrinkle-free carpet? They hide all kind of bacteria like E.coli, staphylococcus and salmonella.

 How to make the whole family safe against these microbes?

• Clean it daily with a vacuum cleaner and use it as a carpet alone.
• Perform a steam-cleaning on the rugs and mats at least once in a year
• Utilize the machine washable rugs and sanitize them frequently

7. Kitchen cloth and Sponge

The kitchen sponges will be the dirtiest thing in most of the homes. The studies show that 1 square centimeter of a used sponge contains about 45 billion microbes. As they are not disposed at proper intervals, they happen to be the greatest threats in the kitchen.

   Clean them in proper ways:

• Microwave the wet sponges at least once in a day
• Wash them with bleach or sanitize them frequently
• Dry them in the sunshine whenever possible

8. Lift Keys

While the elevators help you to commute through different floors, the germs also make their commutation process easy through the lift buttons. The elevators in public spaces will be harbouring more bacteria than even you can imagine. It is really hard to stay out of the elevator in everyday life.

As a self-hygiene measure, practice 

• Sanitizing  your hands before and after the use of the lift button
• Wearing  hand gloves while pressing the buttons

9. Fridge Drawers

The oldest myth of ‘it’s all safe to use the refrigerated food still prevails. We store fruits, veggies, and meat bought from the shops directly in the fridge. They might be the tough carriers of disease-causing microorganisms.  The other uncovered food items stored in the same tray may get contaminated with these microbes.

Cleaning tips:

• Frequently  clean the trays with soapy liquid 
• Remove all the rotten veggies and stale food from the refrigerator
• Thoroughly clean all the slots once in a month

10. Toothbrush Stands

 For the comfort of finishing off the morning routine, many of us keep the toothbrush in our toilet. And you may not be finding any hygiene issue on storing them in their stands, that too with cases.  But have you ever thought of the danger of oozed out water in the stand and ever moist bristles inside the case? They are the growing beds of many germs.

 Instead,

• Allow them to dry out completely by placing them erect
• Leave enough gap between the brushes while keeping them in the stand

Conclusion

These are just the top picks from the dirtiest everyday things around you. And I am sure next time when you are dealing with any of them, you will be cautious.