Introduction
Look at your hands. It has thousands of bacteria on it even when it appears to be clean. These bacteria colonies and other germs accumulate on various surfaces in your home as you touch them. Some people prefer to hire professional help by searching for “home cleaning services near me” and making their lives easier. Here are some high touchpoint areas you should be cleaning in your home.
The Discussion
- Handles and knobs – Your home has many doors and all of them are entry or exit points into your home or for different rooms inside your home. All those doors have knobs and handles that are frequently touched every time someone goes in and out of your room or home. Those handles and knobs come in even more frequent contact with human germs, sweat, and oil when you have guests over or host a party at your home.
Apart from doors, there are various furniture pieces in your home that have knobs and handles as well. For instance, closets, cabinets, and other storage furniture all have handles and knobs that are frequently touched. You can’t forget about the kitchen either. Apart from sweat and oil, they may also be touched as you have food debris stuck to your hand. On the other hand, handles and knobs inside the kid’s room are on another level of filth. Kids always tend to stick their fingers inside their mouths and like to chew on random things.
However, that’s not all. You also have the perfect breeding ground for bacteria and germs inside bathrooms. Faucet knobs, toilet handles, bathroom cabinet handles, and other such places inside the bathroom are touched frequently in a place that already hosts the most germs in your home. The germs even have an easier time spreading on the handles and knobs inside the bathroom if it’s humid.
Make sure that you clean those knobs and doors regularly with the right disinfectant solution. Spray the disinfectant on those handles and knobs, let them sit for a while, and then wipe them down. Regular sanitizers may not be able to kill all germs and that’s why they use of disinfectants is necessary.
- Switches – While people are inviting AI and digital assistants into their homes and trying to make their homes as smart as possible, the transition has been slow. While everyone may own a smart speaker and a smart TV, most people still operate their lights and appliances the old-fashioned way – with a switch.
There are few switches that get used less and those that are operated quite frequently. For instance, the switch that turns on the dryer is touched two or three times a week at most. On the other hand, switches that turn on the lights are frequently touched every day. The same goes for the switch next to the plug point that’s used to charge your phone and laptop. Each time you touch a switch, you leave a few germs and collect a whole bunch.
If different people are operating the same switch several times throughout the day, there’s also the risk of contamination. That’s why you need to clean those switches at least once every day. If you want to get rid of switch cleaning chores, you may invest in smart lights, fans and voice-assistant enabled digital assistants. However, that transition isn’t going to happen any time soon since it isn’t cheap, especially when you have perfectly functional lights and appliances.
- Kitchens and bathroom work surfaces – You may think that apart from the toilet seat, the bathroom countertop is the filthiest place in your home. However, you’re only partially true since kitchen work surfaces are filthier. Yes, the bathroom countertop can be very dirty. Every day, you and your family members brush your teeth at that spot, groom yourself and shave as well. There are a lot of germs that can spread through those activities. You also touch the countertop several times while you’re using it.
However, the kitchen countertop is dirtier than you think. You’re constantly using that surface to cook and prepare food. There are all kinds of food debris and oils that are spread on the kitchen countertop. The risk of germ spread, and contamination increases when you work with raw food. Both red meat and white meat may have a lot of harmful bacteria that are directly coming in contact with the countertop.
That’s why you need to clean the kitchen countertop and cutting boards every time you use those surfaces. Make sure that you disinfect both kitchen and bathroom countertops and cutting boards at least once every day.
- Electronics, Keyboard, mouse, and remote – Mouse, keyboards, and remotes are the perfect breeding ground for germs since those surfaces have an endless supply of nutrition. You use remotes too many times to watch TV and some appliances, and lights also come with IR remotes. On the other hand, when you’re working from home, you spend several hours touching the keyboard, trackpad, and mouse. All those surfaces accumulate your sweat, body oils, dirt, and the occasional food crumbs if you’ve been snacking at your workstation.
All those things are rich nutrients for germs to increase their colonies and spread diseases. That’s why you need to clean the keyboard and mouse at least once at the end of the day. The same holds for personal electronic devices like phones, smartwatches, and earphones. Spray those surfaces with isopropyl alcohol, let them sit for a while, and wipe down with a microfiber cloth. If once a day sounds like too much, try to disinfect and clean them at least once a week.
Conclusion
Every time you touch surfaces, sweat, body oil, and all the microbes on your hands are transferred to the surfaces and accumulate over time. That’s why the average keyboard and mouse on your work desk are more filthy than the toilet seat. To get rid of the filth, you can search for “home cleaning services near me” and hire professionals.