Some people believe that your home is a reflection of yourself.
If that’s true, then mine probably says, “Please clean me.”
For many of us (myself included), the thought of having to clean an entire home can be intimidating.
After some research, however, I discovered not only why I should be cleaning my home—I found out how often I should be cleaning it!
The answer: It’s more often than I currently do!
Here are a few spots around your home that you should pay special attention to, and how often they should be cleaned:
The bathroom is generally known as one of the dirtier locations in your home, but surprisingly, there’s a spot that’s worse off than your toilet—your bathtub!
According to Elizabeth Scoot, the co-director of the Center for Hygiene and Health in Home and Community at Simmons College in Boston, the amount of bacteria found in/on bathtubs may be higher than the amount found in the average trash bin.
In a study she conducted, Scoot found staphylococcus bacteria, a cause of serious skin infections, in 26 percent of the bathtubs she tested, compared to only 6 percent found in garbage cans that were tested.
That means your bathtub could be even dirtier than where your trash lives!
How often should you clean your bathtub?
To help keep bacteria at bay, you should clean your bathtub at least once a week.
If you’re like me, then you and your family spend a lot of time in the kitchen every day.
With regular cooking and eating, your kitchen surfaces may be dirtier than you realize, even after wiping them down.
According to this Foodandwine.com article, Dr. Charles Gerba, a microbiologist and professor at the University of Arizona in Tucson, performed a survey collecting 1,000 sponges and dishcloths in kitchens, and found that roughly 10 percent contained salmonella.
He explains that one of the dirtiest areas in the kitchen is the countertops near the sink because people tend to clean with sponges that are contaminated with food.
Dr. Gerba added, “They (sponges/cloths) get wet and stay moist, so bacteria grow like crazy. The most E. coli and other fecal-based bacteria in the average home are on a sponge or cleaning cloth.”
How often should you clean your kitchen countertops?
For the best results, you should clean your kitchen countertops every day and try to replace sponges with reusable cleaning cloths that you can wash and sanitize regularly.
If you’ve noticed a funky smell coming from your fridge, it may be more than just the expired leftovers from last week—it could be odor-causing and potentially dangerous bacteria caused by irregular cleaning!
According to researchers from Microban Europe, your fridge salad drawer could contain 750 times the level of bacteria that is generally considered safe.
“Potentially killer bugs such as E.coli, salmonella and listeria are among those found,” they say.
Paul McDonnell of Microban Europe says, “The low temperatures of fridges will only inhibit the growth of bacteria in tandem with regular cleaning. When bacteria get a foothold and no cleaning is taking place, they will tend to multiply over a period of time.”
How often should you clean your refrigerator?
To help prevent dangerous bacteria from affecting your family’s health, you should wipe down all the shelves in your refrigerator at least every 3 to 6 months.
Need help keeping track of how often the areas in your home should be cleaned? Check out this helpful checklist!
Resources:
I’m so glad Norwex makes it much easier for me to clean, because I’m lucky if I get the house clean once a week, let alone some of the daily things I’m supposed to be doing. Thanks for a great article, I don’t think people truly realize just how nasty sponges can get.
I was surprised it was the tub and not the toilet.
I’m doing great with the countertops in my kitchen and cleaning out my fridge due to Norwex. My hubby has always cleaned out my shower/bath for us, but he’s used horrid chemicals that caused me to have an asthma attack. It’s time for me to take over with the handy bathroom scrub mitt :)!
My counter tops get wiped down with a Norwex cloth several times a day and I usually wipe the refrigerator shelves if I notice they look dirty, which is probably every month or so. I am so glad I got the Bathroom Scrub Mitt. Now my shower gets wiped down almost every time I shower. Norwex has certainly helped me keep on top of these 3 areas! 🙂
I try to clean all the places that dirty hands often touch – door handles, cabinets and faucets. The EnviroCloth with BacLock makes that easy and I know the surfaces will be free of bacteria!
I guess I had better start cleaning more and reading Movement blogs less. 😉 Actually, these are three tasks that I do keep up with so it was affirming to read that SOME of my cleaning habits are on track!
The bathtub statistics really surprised me! Ours certainly isn’t cleaned enough, but now I’m more motivated to get it done!
Learning a great deal about keeping my home free of Bacteria and Chemical free. Still learning how not to use harmful home cleaners and getting more hospital coworkers to learn about Norwex!
Thanks, Walter! Keep up the great work!
Our fridge at work developed a smell and this article explains it! Today I brought my envirocloth in to assist with the cleaning of it.
I clean WAY more (and certainly better) with Norwex! It’s changed my life and I love helping others make safehavens too!
The fridge is my worst nightmare.
I try to give it a quick wipe at least once a week. Usually on garbage slash shopping day.
We feel your pain, Tara. We think you’re doing pretty well, though, to clean your fridge that often. Kudos to you!
Having Norwex cloths handy makes cleaning easier and faster. Having Baclock in the cloths is reassuring, since the silver will be at work self-purifying the cloth to get rid of any bacteria.
I better clean my fridge now..:)
Thanks Miss Amy for another great article!!
I am shocked about the bathtub. I know I do not clean it enough. Would love to see a post about the best way to clean it. I have the Bathroom Scrub Mitt that works pretty well on the shower walls, but I have such a hard time getting enough leverage to scrub the soap rings from my boys’ baths. I’ve wondered if using the mop handle with the tile attachment would work better.
I have more work to do . 😉
Thank goodness for the Envirocloth. So easy to wipe and clean the tub after every use.
I was shocked to learn about the tub. Makes me think I should wash it before my daughter takes her bath.
I don’t know how I’d get anything done if I didn’t have Norwex microfiber.. that is not a joke!