Four cleaning tips to reduce your health risks and feel your best.

Regular cleaning can reduce your health risks.

Admittedly fall cleaning isn’t as satisfying as spring cleaning. However, with cold and flu season quickly approaching getting into a regular cleaning habit is important to do.

So what needs to be cleaned when to keep you healthy is the question. Here’s the short list.

Four cleaning tips for good health:

1/ Kitchen:

The kitchen is one of the most important spots in your home to keep clean. What you eat effects how you feel. There are four things you can do daily to keep your food from being contaminated with germs like salmonella and E. coli:

• Kitchen towels: To avoid spreading germs around use separate kitchen towels to dry dishes and your hands. Wash them frequently. The more people using the towels, the more frequently they should be washed.
• Cutting Boards: Wash your cutting boards after each use with soapy water. If dishwasher safe, put them in each time you run your dishwasher.
• Pet Bowls: Wash your pet bowls as you do your own and after each use. It’ll help keep you both healthy.
• Kitchen Sink: The saying “everything but the kitchen sink” should be “everything and the kitchen sink” when it comes to cleaning your kitchen. Disinfect your sink and take out the garbage at the end of each day.

2/ Bathroom:

The bathroom is where you detox your body. Basically, you want to keep whatever leaves your body from leaving the bathroom. In addition to general cleanliness, think about all the hot spots:

• Handles: Toilet, facet and door handles should be disinfected at least once per week and more frequently in high traffic bathrooms.
• Toilet Seat: A definite hot spot for germs if people are constantly touching the seat to lift it up or down. The more it gets used, the more frequently it should get disinfected.
• Floors: Even if it looks clean, it probably isn’t. Water from the toilet and wash areas often gets splashed and sprayed around plus other accidents happen too.

3/ Common Areas:

Spending time with others is an important for your mental health and wellbeing. Weekly cleaning keeps the germs from building up on the soft surfaces, floors free of fungus and cold & flu germs and hot spots like remotes free of bacteria. In short:

• Couches & chairs: Vacuum and spray with a disinfectant weekly.
• Floors: Vacuum carpets and mop hard surfaces weekly.
• Remotes + handles: Disinfect at least weekly and more frequently when someone is sick.

4/ Personal Space:

Keeping your bedding, desk and devices clean will reduce your exposure to germs too.

• Bedding: Wash your bedding weekly to tame the dust mites especially if you have allergies. Wash and dry on hot.
• Desk: Wipe it down at least monthly, but more if you use it a lot especially during cold & flu season. If you eat at your desk, food particles can accelerate the growth of microbes.
• Devices: Key board, mouse, tablets and phones should be disinfected at least weekly and more if you’re sick.

Deep cleaning of storage spaces [fridge, cabinets and closets], blinds, curtains, appliances, pillows and comforters still need to be done but can be done less frequently especially if you’re maintaining a regular cleaning schedule.