Washing your hands throughout the day, and coughing and sneezing into your elbow helps stop the spread of germs. But what stops them from multiplying on your kitchen counters, or inside the fridge? Here’s our top list of interesting facts we bet you didn’t know about home hygiene.
- Using antibacterial products to clean surfaces in your home does NOT reduce your risk of getting sick, and here’s why: illnesses are mainly spread person to person, rather than through contact with infected surfaces. In fact, research has shown that cleaning home surfaces with antibacterial products makes no difference to illness rates, however washing your hands does reduce your risk.
- Besides muddy paw prints on your carpets, the greatest health risk posed by pets inside the home is getting bitten or scratched. On the plus side, there’s plenty evidence to suggest that having pets indoors reduces allergies in children when they’re growing up. So, the odd paw print or water trail through the house is worth it!
- If you cut mould off food, is it still safe to eat? It depends on the food! With hard cheese it’s safe, but not with bread. Remember, moulds do more than affect the taste of food; they can also produce toxins that make you sick.
- If you have a cold, tissues are only safe to use if you use them once then throw them away immediately. Why? Viruses can survive several hours in tissues and hankies. So, don’t take the risk, put them straight into the trash where no-one else will touch them.
- The longest that cooked rice can be kept safely in the fridge is 3 days. Once rice is cooked, bacteria grow and thrive in the moist, warm environment. Refrigeration doesn’t kill the bacteria, but it does slow down its growth.
- Out of all your make up products, mascara is the biggest bacteria magnet! Those tubes of lash-plumping goo are breeding grounds for bacteria, so replace yours every 3-4 months. Eye and lip-liner pencils can be sharpened, which helps keep them clean for much longer.
- The #1 mistake we often make is testing food to see if it’s still OK to eat. As a general rule: when in doubt, throw it out! Remember, you can’t taste, smell or see the bacteria or viruses that cause food poisoning, and it only takes a tiny amount to cause serious illness.
- Your mobile phone carries 18 times more harmful germs than the flush handle on a toilet. Bottom line, use antibacterial wipes to clean your phone, mouse and keyboard – every day, ideally!
Kyle Boshoff for HelloDoctor.com