24/7 Emergency Service7 Dirty Places You Need To But May Not Ever Clean
12/29/2017 (Permalink)
Hidden in plain sight are many of the dirtiest places in your home
1. Trash cans
Your garbage pails and trash cans are where you get rid of the most offensive items: used bandages and tissues, old food containers, spoiled food, dust pan contents, and more. But you’re not perfect, right? All your crumbs, trash, and scraps don’t always make it into the can. And residue may leak from the bag or slip through the sides. Clean your trash cans with disinfectant spray and a solid scrub. If a build-up has accumulated over time, you may need to use hot water, soap, and hard scrubbing.
- Doorknobs
Think of all the times every day that people touch your doorknobs. Your home’s doorknobs are covered in germs and bacterium. When you touch the doorknob and then something else, you are effectively spreading germs. Start a habit of wiping down your home’s doorknobs with disinfectant. Make it part of your bathroom or kitchen cleaning routine. Washing your hands frequently (about five times a day) will also help keep your doorknobs and the other things you touch clean.
- Toothbrush holder
We dare you to look inside at the bottom of your toothbrush holder. Most people find leftover water and toothpaste residue has dripped to the bottom of the holder. It often collects in a gunky, maybe even moldy mess. Your toothbrush is millimeters from touching that dirty mess every time you put it back in the toothbrush holder. Wash the toothbrush holder with hot water, soap, and a bristle brush. Or give it a thorough cleaning via the dishwasher if the holder’s top is removable.
- Mattresses
Do you sleep on a mattress every single night for years without cleaning it? Think about that. Think about the dead skin cells, dirt, and oils that rub off your body. Think sweat, pets jumping up on and napping on the bed, kids with shoes, dust, pollens, the illnesses you battle during the winter months, and stains that make their way through the sheets. Give your mattress a little cleaning attention a few times a year. Vacuum the mattress to get rid of dirt, dead skin cells, crumbs, and other dirty things that are on the surface. Spot clean the stains with a homemade mix of hydrogen peroxide, baking soda, and dish soap. Spray the treated areas and then blot or rub with a clean towel. An upholstery cleaner with a brush also works great to get out tough stains.
You can remove blood stains from a mattress by blotting with hydrogen peroxide. Lift the smells out by deodorizing your mattresses (don’t just do your mattress but every mattress in the house) with baking soda. Sprinkle it on the mattress and let it absorb for a couple hours before coming back and vacuuming it off. Give it fresh air by opening a window after you’ve taken the sheets off. That will help with naturally deodorizing as well as eliminating bacteria. And consider using a mattress protector and cover to preserve the life of the mattresses in your home.
- Keyboards
Most of us spend a lot of time with our fingers on a desktop or laptop computer keyboard. And considering that many of us snack or take lunch at our desks, drink over our computers, or even spill beverages on them, you can imagine the gross, grimy world living just below those keys. High-touch surfaces like keyboards do harbor and grow harmful bacteria if they're not cleaned. Try flipping the keyboard upside down and shake the debris out. Or use a small hand-held vacuum cleaner or can of compressed air to pull or blow unwanted objects out of the keyboards in your house. Then quickly wipe each keyboard down with cleaning wipes, cotton swabs, or a moistened microfiber cloth.
- Remotes and controllers
These are items that may get even more use than your doorknobs. Greater use means more germs. You may have remotes for everything from your television, sound system, home entertainment system, game controllers, and more. Every remote and controller collects germs and dirt quickly, just like doorknobs. To clean remotes and controllers don’t use any spray that has too much of a water base. Heavy water-based sprays can get into the devices and ruin them. Instead use a cloth blotted with rubbing alcohol and wipe down your remotes regularly. Lysol wipes are also a great solution.
- Smartphones
You talk on your phone when you’re sick. You handle your phone with dirty hands many times throughout the day. One study by Stanford students concluded that the average personal phone is 18 times dirtier than the handle of a toilet. To clean your mobile phone use a piece of fabric, a cotton ball, or tissue. Mix a small amount of water and a little of isopropyl (rubbing) alcohol in a shallow dish.
Use enough sanitizer to make sure what you choose to wipe your phone down with is damp, but not soaking and dripping wet. Excess water can ruin your phone. Wipe your phone down, front and back without the case on.
Safety, Disaster, And Cleaning Information
Every month on the SERVPRO of Manchester/Mansfield blog we publish educational articles on how to prevent disasters, deal with them quickly and effectively, or keep your home safer and cleaner. Here are a few you might find helpful:
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SERVPRO of Manchester/Mansfield
100 Peters Road, Bloomfield, CT 06002
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