All the rooms and areas in your home need to be cleaned from time to time, but there is one room that you should prioritize over all else – the kitchen. After all, the kitchen is the place where you cook all your meals and also store the different utensils that you use to serve the cooked food to yourself, your family, and guests. Even a little bit of dirt inside the kitchen can end up wreaking havoc inside the body and trigger a wide range of medical conditions.
In this post, we’ve compiled a list of the 10 dirtiest things inside your kitchen that have the potential of causing disease. So, without further ado, let’s get going with our list!
1. Blender gasket
Let’s start proceedings with one of the most commonly used kitchen appliances – the blender. Even though its use is frequent across most households, owners don’t really give it much attention in terms of cleaning and maintaining it. As a result, harmful germs may linger inside the gasket for a long time. So, before you use the blender again, give it a thorough hand wash. Separate all the components of the blender and sanitize them in a mixture of vinegar and water to sanitize them.
2. Refrigerator handle
If you and your family members are continuously accessing the refrigerator throughout the day, a lot of germs may accumulate on its door handle. And the same germs may be transferred to the food items and beverages stored inside. We recommend cleaning the handle at the start and at the end of each day. Even though this won’t completely eliminate the possibility of germs accumulating on it, it certainly is a good form of damage control.
3. Pepper and salt shakers
Pepper and salt shakers are used all too frequently, but do you clean them often enough? The answer, in all probability, is a big no. While cleaning the shakers when they’re full of pepper and salt isn’t an option, you and your family can certainly wash your hands with soap before using them. Once the shakers are empty, use a vinegar and water mixture to get rid of any germs that may have accumulated on or inside them.
4. Dishwasher handle
The dishwasher handle is as prone to accumulating germs as your refrigerator handle. The dishes inside may be clean, but if the handle has germs, it’s quite likely that they’ll be passed on to the dishes sooner or later. So spare some time regularly to clean the dishwasher handle.
5. Dish sponge
If you’ve been using your dish sponge for more than a fortnight, chances are that it has become a breeding ground for bacteria. Experts recommend using a dish sponge only for a week or two. After that period, it’s best to get a new sponge instead of trying to clean the existing sponge.
6. Chopping board
Just think of the amount of food that you’ve cut, sliced, or chopped on your cutting board and you’ll understand how high the risks are of bacterial growth on the board. The worst thing is that most users don’t even wash their boards properly after use. We recommend washing your board thoroughly before and after each use and replacing it after a year or two.
7. Coffee maker
When it’s in use, your coffee maker is piping hot. But when it’s not, it’s cold and damp, which are the ideal conditions for mold and mildew infestation. Every coffee maker comes with a user manual, which contains cleaning instructions. We recommend referring to your manual to perform proper cleaning at least once or twice every month.
8. Reusable bags
So you’ve ditched plastic and opted for reusable bags for carrying home all the food you buy from the local market. That’s great! However, have you considered the high cross-contamination risks that come with using the bags over and over again without washing them?
9. Countertop
Most people tend to wipe down their countertops frequently, but how thoroughly do you do it? Over time, your countertop may become a safe haven for bacteria, especially if you aren’t as thorough as you need to be during cleaning. So when it comes to countertop cleaning, we recommend taking your time and covering every inch of it.
10. Reusable water bottles
Reusable water bottles are incredibly handy, but most people don’t consider cleaning them to be an important task. Typically, when a bottle runs out of water, it’s filled up again without any sort of cleaning. This can result in gradual bacterial growth inside the bottle, which is why you need to wash the bottles with soap and water from time to time.
So, don’t let your kitchen become a place for germs to thrive. Give it the attention it deserves for the sake of your entire family’s health.