What is the most germ-filled place in your home? Nope, it’s not the bathroom.
You’d be right if you guessed the kitchen. Kitchens are notorious for growing, gathering, and spreading germs.
Germy Kitchen Facts:
- There are 500,000 different types of bacteria per square inch in your kitchen drain. Gross!
- The most contaminated cleaning tool is a sponge. Sponges harbor billions of bacteria, including staphylococcus and salmonella. Both of which can be responsible for food poisoning.
- There can be more than 13,000 different bacteria per square inch on the kitchen faucet handle. Just the handle, yuck! And looking at the floor in front of the sink, there can be 830 different bacteria per square inch.
- And get ready for this one. A kitchen cutting board has about 200 times more fecal bacteria than is typically found on a toilet seat. Ok, so this is not good news.
With germs and other bacteria hiding around in sinks, countertops, floors, sponges, appliances, and cabinet handles, you can see why the kitchen can be such a disgusting and dangerous place.
It’s almost enough to make even the best home chefs like Rachel Rae run from the kitchen. We said almost because we all know she is not afraid of kitchen germs.
So how do we rid germs from the heart of the home? First, we need to talk about the spread of kitchen germs. Then we’ll talk about what we can do to destroy them for good.
Spreading Germs In The Kitchen
Sponges, towels, and dishcloths all trap germs and allow them to breed. Often, the same cloth or sponge is used to wipe down everything in the kitchen. This spreads germs from one area to another. Our hands are another bacteria carrier.
What happens is that our hands come in contact with the bacteria, then pull open a drawer or refrigerator, turn on the light and finally wipe our hands on a towel. Unfortunately, we’ve spread the germs to four different kitchen items. As you can see, it’s a massive undertaking for Mr. Clean or you, armed with the right weapons.
How to Fight Spreading Germs
Many people can hear our mother’s refrain echoing in our heads about now, “wash your hands with soap and water.” She was right, like usual. Soap and water can go a long way in fighting kitchen germs.
Using paper towels during food preparation and disposing of them after, instead of wiping your hands on a cloth towel, can go along way to prevent spread. Kitchen counters and other surfaces can be cleaned with paper towels and a vinegar and water solution to kill germs and prevent a cloth towel from spreading to other surfaces.
Wash your hands before you begin any food prep. When you handle various foods, like meat and eggs, you need to be careful and make sure your food is cook to the right temperature to kill off germs. And then re-wash your hands.
How to Prevent Spreading Germs
“An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure,” is an adage that should have been coined by any cook in their kitchen.
Preventing germs from spreading can go along way to winning the overall germ battle.
Particular countertops can help with prevention. Quartz countertops are an excellent choice for the kitchen. They are easy to clean and keep stain free. They look beautiful, but they also are non-porous and easier to remain free of bacteria and germs.
You could also consider installing a motion-sensor faucet in the kitchen. Motion-sensor faucets eliminate your need to touch the handle during meal prep. You are removing one more place that germs can spread.
Not only will you enjoy the look of quarts and the convenience of a motion-sensor faucet in your kitchen, but you’ll also rest easier knowing your kitchen is closer to being germ-free.
Do you have a germ-fighting kitchen?
