The Seven Dirtiest Places in Your Home

To be clear, there is a difference between messy and dirty. A pile of clean clothes laying around the floor in a heap is messy. Those same clothes that haven’t found their way into the laundry after playing in the mud is dirty. Germs are far more of a problem than a hundred wrinkles. So kids, remind your parents of this, and moms should scour this list of the seven dirtiest places in your home.

1. The Kitchen Sink

You have probably heard the expression, ”You brought everything except the kitchen sink.” There is a reason for this. It is very likely to be the dirtiest place in the house. Most people pay far more attention to the other places on this list because they are more obvious. But the kitchen sink is used constantly for everything from washing dishes to getting a drink of water. Germs from everywhere and everyone are left to grow because what you don’t see can’t hurt you. Nope.

2. The Bathroom Sink

Nobody refers to taking the bathroom sink with them because nobody wants to take the bathroom sink with them. The bathroom sink ranks just under the kitchen sink for dirtiness because the dirt is far more obvious. People rinse, spit, scrub, wash, and scrape things from their bodies – usually the hands and face – into this sink. But it does tend to get more attention than many other places in the house because a glob of toothpaste on the side of the sink or the increasing amount of soap scum will grab someone’s attention. Even teenagers are known to wipe it down when it gets really gross.

3. Countertops

It was decided you can have countertops in both the kitchen and the bathroom, so both are covered here. In the kitchen they are used to prepare food, and when not properly cleaned is a major source of health problems for everyone in the family. If you have a large dog or leaping cat they will sneak over and check out what you left behind. As far as the bathroom, when there is no available place to put the odd object the countertop will do just fine. Nobody knows where it’s been, and nobody knows it’s been there. This should make you think.

4. The area around the bed

This area has to be separated from the bed itself because most people will give their bed a change of sheets and pillowcases at least once during the week. But under and around the bed, not so much. The glop of food from the midnight snack that hits the carpeting may be wiped up but not cleaned up. Crumbs are forever in many homes, and there are those that find their way under the bed. It’s not just the dust bunnies that are waiting for you under there.

5. The gym bag

What makes this area of the home particularly annoying is that a dirty gym bag is a contradiction of health. You use your gym bag to carry various and sundry things to keep you physically healthy, then bring it back and let it sit to become a germ factory that can cause any number of health problems. If you’re in that great of shape, use your muscles to take out the fungus filled contents and give the bag a good wipe down with the appropriate cleaner. Sheesh.

6. The Refrigerator

Much has been written about the weeks old storage container whose contents have changed color. Opening it up may actually do more harm than just throwing it out and paying $2 for another one. This is lower on the list because we are an understanding and compassionate group. The refrigerator is often filled with food, edible and inedible, and undergoes so many changes during the week it is almost impossible to keep up with. The small spill gets covered with a storage container and the fungus begins. Probably the best way to approach the goal of a clean refrigerator is to cordon off the area for an hour each week with HazMat warning tape. It may not be an exaggeration.

7. Upholstered surfaces

Basically, this encompasses every area in your home where something is covered with fabric. The first, sanitary, choice is to cover it with plastic. But this is such an extreme decision we are going to recommend at least one alternative. Everything from allergens to bacteria can be hiding in those tiny spaces of fabric, and because the material is soft or comfortable, everyone wants to sit, lean, lay, or recline on these surfaces. Even the pets. Attack these surfaces with a vacuum cleaner and follow up with a disinfectant spray. An added incentive to doing this chore is that there is always something hidden under the cushions or furniture you can profit from.

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