As a professional house cleaning service, we at AmeriStar Maids know that germs lurk in the most unexpected places in your home. While it\’s easy to focus on scrubbing and sanitizing more obvious areas like countertops, sinks, and toilets, many germ hotspots often get overlooked. Neglecting these areas allows bacteria, viruses, mold, and other microbes to thrive, putting your family\’s health at risk.
In this blog post, we\’ll highlight the top 7 germiest places that you\’re probably not cleaning or disinfecting properly. We\’ll explain why these areas harbor so many germs and provide tips to help you optimize your cleaning routine for better germ prevention. Keep reading to learn about some of the sneakiest germ traps in your home to make your living space cleaner and healthier.
1. Bathroom
The bathroom is one of the dirtiest rooms in any home as it sees a lot of moisture due to showering, bathing, etc. This moist environment is ideal for germs to survive and spread around various surfaces. Places like the toilet, shower/bathtub, sink, and floors are prime spots. Family members touch the toilet seat multiple times daily, which can teem with E. coli and other fecal matter. Similarly, the sink sees our bare hands during teeth brushing, and face washing and is rarely cleaned correctly. Bathroom floors also stay damp and collect germs from outside shoes. It\’s important to regularly disinfect and sanitize bathroom surfaces to curb the spread of pathogens.
2. Kitchen
Our kitchens see a lot of activity, from meal prepping to cooking. This increased traffic and moisture from things like washing dishes, cleaning vegetables, etc means kitchens are vulnerable to harboring nasties. Some common offenders include the sink, countertops, fridge door and handles, pots and pans, and the floor. Bacteria like E.coli and Salmonella thrive in warm moist places in the kitchen. It\’s not unusual to find traces of these on cutting boards, knives, etc if not appropriately washed after handling raw meat and veggies. Thorough cleaning and sanitization of frequently used kitchen surfaces helps reduce contamination.
3. Bedroom
While we spend around a third of our lives sleeping, our bedding tends to collect lots of dead skin cells, dust mites, and their fecal matter over time. Mattresses, bed frames, pillows, sheets, and blankets are prime spots for these allergens. So is the carpet in the case of carpeted bedrooms. Dirt, dander, and microbes from our bodies accumulate in these textiles with every sleep cycle. Regular vacuuming of dust mites, and washing bedding in hot water weekly keeps levels under control. Ventilation and sunlight exposure also help starve germs.
4. Living room
Shared living spaces like sofas, armchairs, and TV remotes see many hands during the day and become hotspots for germ transfer. Studies have shown that sofas can harbor 10 times more bacteria than toilet seats due to frequent use and sitting bare-skinned. Coffee tables often have leftovers and plates that attract flies and bees carrying various pathogens. Our phones also join the party and get dirtier each use transferring all the germs picked up earlier in the day. Target this room with regular disinfectant cleaning, vacuuming, and decluttering to cut microbial load.
5. Play areas
Kids, by nature, are explorers and tend to put almost everything in their mouths in their growing years – toys, books, floors, etc. These frequently mouthed surfaces then come into contact with other family members. Toys may look clean but can be crawling with respiratory viruses, hand-foot-mouth disease-causing viruses, and bacterial meningitis-causing germs if not sanitized periodically as per manufacturers\’ instructions. Floors in playrooms and living rooms get especially dirty from dirt tracked in by little ones before and after playing outdoors. Focused cleaning and disinfection of floors and toys helps safeguard tiny tots.
6. Doorknobs/handles
Door handles inside and outside the home have the maximum hand contact throughout the day. They become conduits, transferring whatever germs have been picked up from other surfaces. One infected person can potentially spread cough/sneeze droplets on handles that then get transferred to anyone using them next through the hands. Runners like norovirus causing vomiting, influenza viruses have been shown to survive on hard, non-porous surfaces like handles for days. Make it a routine to wipe handles with disinfectant frequently to break chains of transmission.
7. Fridges
Apart from shedding of Salmonella, and E.coli from improperly stored raw meats, fridges themselves provide ideal cool, damp conditions for microbes to survive. Door handles and shelves become contaminated from our bare hands retrieving items throughout the day after touching multiple surfaces earlier. Spillages, and leftovers left in also attract pests. Keep a scrubbing brush and cloth handy to wipe shelves, drawers, and handles weekly with diluted disinfectant to control bacterial amplification in this appliance.
Conclusion
There you have it – 7 unexpected germ hotspots likely lurking throughout your home\’s environment. While it\’s essential to regularly clean and disinfect high-touch areas like doorknobs, faucets, and countertops, you must also pay special attention to these germiest spots that often get overlooked.
At AmeriStar Maids, we\’re the cleaning experts for sanitizing every corner of your home. Our professional house cleaners are trained to disinfect all the germiest places using EPA-registered sanitizing products thoroughly and updated tools and techniques.
Rather than risk the health hazards of hidden household germs, let us handle the deep cleaning for you! Contact AmeriStar Maids at (570) 310-1057 or info@ameristarmaids.com to schedule a germ-busting house cleaning. We service Back Mountain, Wyoming Valley, Mountain Top, and surrounding Luzerne County communities. Your satisfaction is 100% guaranteed!