5 germ-covered things at home you are not cleaning often enough

Similar to remote controls, we touch switches on a daily basis, and with a much greater frequency: We make use of them when walking into and walking out of rooms. A quick disinfectant wipe can make a difference, and keeping them clean regularly can keep your white switches from turning yellow too soon. Just make sure the switches and power are off before you give them a wipe, and that you don’t use a rag or kitchen towel that’s soaked in too much disinfectant as moisture and electricity are a bad combination.

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First off, our hands are never completely clean when using things which are part and parcel of our daily lives. The fact is that unless we live alone, everything from TV remotes to fan controls and even air-conditioning remotes are being handled by the entire household of not-quite-clean hands. That can accumulate a lot of germs and dirt on a regular basis. And if you really think about it, we rarely clean the remotes. When was the last time you did? 

You can purchase those individually wrapped alcohol wipes to use whenever you need to disinfect something, or use an antibacterial wipe in a pinch. I’ve started keeping a pack of them by my bed to clean remotes or commonly used things from time to time, but especially my smartphone. The same applies for remotes on a plane or in a hotel room, so just keep this in mind the next time you travel as well!

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We might not need to clean our doors too often, but the handles should get a good wipe down on the regular, at least every few days. These are high-contact items in the house, and disinfecting them is especially important when it comes to your refrigerator, the inside of which you want to keep as germ-free as possible. The frequency with which we open and shut doors on a daily basis is a lot higher than you might realise. Of course there are some doors like office doors or taxi doors we might not be able to keep clean, but doing what we can at home is a good place to start.

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Fans accumulate dust so easily, despite the fact that they get switched on every day. If you can see dark grey dirt sitting on your fan blades, it’s high time to clean them. Dust and dust mites can be especially terrible if you have allergies or sinus issues. There’s also the fact that turning on the fan gets the dust everywhere, making a dirty fan bad for your health as a whole. 

You’ll want to cover all the furniture you can with a large cloth or some cheap painter sheets (the large sheets of plastic painters use to cover the floors or furniture) before you climb up there and clean the fan. The same goes for wall fans, though you might need to vacuum the wire case before wiping it down if there is lots of dust buildup.

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If your toothbrush sits in your bathroom and that bathroom has a toilet, you’ve already got way more bacteria on that brush than you might be comfortable knowing about. Firstly, I recommend always shutting the lid of the toilet when you flush it to prevent all the bacteria (and yes, poop) from getting flung into the air and landing on your toothbrush. If you’re looking to clean your toothbrush, consider an easy solution of vinegar and baking soda with water, or some antibacterial mouthwash in a pinch.

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