The kitchen acts as the central hub for many family households. It’s where meals are prepared, food is eaten, and the essentials of a healthy life are kept. However, it’s also a place where dangers lurk.
We’re going to take a closer look at your kitchen and identify the areas that need that extra bit of care and attention. Keeping an eye on them will help you lead a cleaner, safer and healthier life.
So let’s blast some bugs and make things spic and span once and for all.
Dishcloths & Tea Towels
These are the two primary elements of keeping your dishes and kitchen clean. But are they? Unless you are taking excellent care of them, dishcloths and tea towels can harbor vast swathes of bacteria. Some of which can’t be killed off by a standard machine wash.
It’s obvious when you think about it. All that contact with leftover food and warm water means a dirty and damp cloth. And that’s the perfect breeding ground for bacteria.
Replace your dishcloths regularly and make sure you boil-wash your tea towels. In fact, some clean kitchen fanatics won’t even touch them, and will use disposable paper towels instead.
Equipment & Whitegoods
Your fridge, freezer and oven are all common areas of concern. Most people give their fridge a good clean once in a while, but it may not be enough.
Salmonella and all sorts of other nasty bacteria can incubate in there with ease. Especially if you have overloaded your compartments. There are other things to think about, too.
Dishwashers and coffee machines all need regular maintenance, for example. So make sure you are following the instructions correctly. Use the correct dishwasher tablets and try this Keurig cleaning solution for the coffee machine to remove the scaling. Again, it’s those warm and wet environments where the nasties thrive.
Counters & Wires
A good wipe down at the end of mealtime might seem like the perfect answer to counter uncleanliness. But you need to go that extra step to blast those bugs. Use a clean cloth – not a dirty one. Otherwise, you will just smear bacteria rather than lift it. And make sure you are using some kind of disinfectant. Also, clean all of your kitchen furniture. Food has a tendency to splatter and splurt everywhere; not just on your counter tops.
While you are doing that, you are going to make a lot of liquid mess – so be careful of your power sockets and wiring. Most of us keep a lot of electrical equipment in our kitchens – more so than ever before in history. But ask yourself; do you check them all that often?
All it takes is a faulty wire or a loose plug to hit liquid, and you could be in serious trouble. So for your sake, check your sockets and wiring at least once a month. Especially if you have youngsters in the house.
Still think that your kitchen is clean? The truth is, as long as you are careful and disciplined with your cleaning; you will have no problems. However, all of the above are common issues that many households forget about. It’s easy to do, so the earlier you get them into your routine, the better.
