The Five Key Areas of Illness-Causing Germs & Toxins in Your Home
by SixWise.com

Germs, whether you like to think about them or not, are in your home. They're on your floor, in your sinks and likely on the computer you're reading right now. And these bacteria and viruses, some of which can thrive on surfaces for two hours or more according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), can be transferred onto your hands and then into your eyes, nose, mouth and body where they cause disease.

Fighting these germs may seem like a losing battle, but knowing the five areas in your home where germs and toxins most assuredly reside will help you know where to start.

Reservoirs: These are areas where moisture collects: U-bends, sinks, drain holes, toilet bowls, drain boards, and other, often humid, areas. Bacteria love moisture, so anyplace that's damp needs extra attention when you clean.

Sink drains, especially in the kitchen, are one of the most often overlooked places where germs reside. And because they're moist, germs can flourish. Here's a hint: After cleansing, use baking soda and an old toothbrush to remove stains and grime from drains and leave them looking like new.

Distributors: Contention items that most people still use for cleaning, like sponges, dishcloths, towels and brushes, harbor germs. In fact, and ironically, they are some of the top locations for germs in your home. They're often damp (a perfect breeding ground for germs), and most of these conventional cleaning tools actually transfer and spread germs around onto other surfaces with every wipe.

Sponges, whose damp, porous areas are a perfect environment for germs, are particularly problematic. "There's a reason why the model food code doesn't permit restaurants to use sponges where food is prepared ... The code recommends the use of wiping cloths, which are easier to keep clean than sponges," says Bessie Berry of the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Meat and Poultry Hotline.

Instead of sponges and typical rags, SixWise.com very strongly recommends PerfectClean Terry Cloths. These cloths are made of the 100 percent safe ultramicrofibers that are only 3 microns in size, which is even smaller than many bacteria. Far more effectively and safely than any other type of cleaning tool out there (which is why they are used in hospitals), they pick up anything in their path, down to those contaminants that cannot be seen with the naked eye.

And unlike the old common types of rags that simply spread microscopic contaminants around when you wipe with them, PerfectClean Terry Cloths hold fast to everything they pick up! Plus, they can be used over 100 times before being replaced, so they're much more economical than sponges and other wipers, which should be replaced often.

Contact Surfaces: These are places where you touch often: handles, doorknobs, toilet seats and flushers, telephones, computer keyboards, appliances and so on. Since everyone in your family touches them, transferring on any germs they may have picked up, cross-contamination runs rampant.

Here's how it works: Your husband/wife (son/daughter, you fill in the blank) comes home after touching a public restroom door, handling change at a parking meter, filling the car with gas and blowing their nose (Think of all the germs that could be on their hands). He/she then opens the refrigerator (touching the handle) and gets a snack (touching cabinets, dishes and food containers). Now, you open the refrigerator and have successfully picked up all the germs from your husband/wife's day onto your own hand.

It's an endless cycle, but one that can be prevented with diligent cleaning of those often-overlooked areas. PerfectClean's Scrub & Clean Reversible Glove is another smart choice. It is an ideal -- and fast -- way to clean handles, doorknobs and other awkwardly shaped germ havens.

It provides all the benefits of the PerfectClean Terry Cloths mentioned above, but since the cloth is on your hand like a glove, it's easy to clean surfaces that aren't flat (but still deserve proper cleaning!).

Other Surfaces: These are surfaces such as floors, carpets, furniture and other objects that may not come into direct contact with skin or food (like contact surfaces), however, collect dirt, dust and contaminants that are tracked in (often on shoes) from outside.

This is a major reason why, in order to keep your home as germ-free as possible, you should leave your outdoor shoes at the door when you come in. Otherwise, germs and toxins that you've stepped in all day long will be transferred into your home, and the particles into the air you breathe. If you have toddlers who crawl on the floor, or if you like to walk barefoot, this is especially important.

Here's something you may not know: Dirt in your home has been verified as one of today's top health risks and one of two primary counter-measures to the risks (the other is proper home cleaning) is to use high-quality mats and rugs at your doorways and other key high-traffic areas.

That's why we highly recommend you invest in high-quality doormats for your home, and by far the Waterhog Grand Premier Mats and Rugs are what we recommend in this area.

Waterhog Grand Premiers are no ordinary mats; in fact, they actually trap soil and liquids in the mat so they don't drain or track onto your floors. This is the one mat we most highly recommend to consumers and businesses who are health and safety conscious-and want something that's attractive as well.

Indoor Air: According to the EPA, the air inside your home may be two to 100 times more polluted than outdoor air. Pollutants in your home air may include:

In fact, according to leading health organizations like the American Lung Association, with the rapidly growing volume of air pollution in the home, having a high-quality air purifier is now as crucial as having clean drinking water.

While your home will never truly be free of all germs, you can drastically reduce the amount to levels your body is meant to handle by keeping your home clean-and paying special attention to the five areas we've mentioned.

For more tips on how to keep your home free from germs and other toxins, please take a look through the articles below.

Recommended Reading

Self-Assessment to Determine if You May Have Biological Pollutants in Your Home

Dust Dangers: What Exactly is Dust, and Why Can it be so Dangerous?

That Little Mouse in Your House is Even MORE Dangerous Than We Thought!

The Top Household Dangers to Your Pet

Hygiene Education