Hand towels
The hand towels in your kitchen, regardless of how they appear, are extremely unclean, according to USDA research. They are, in fact, the most filthy things in the whole kitchen. The little towels in your bathroom are no different.
If you have a large family, you should replace your hand towels every couple of days or even every day because they become dirty more quickly when you use them more frequently.
Kitchen sinks
You may be tempted to believe that after you wash the dishes, your sink is automatically clean too. But this is where you’re wrong. All the grease and dirt from the dishes is left at the bottom of the sink, making it incredibly bacteria-friendly.
According to experts, it’s very important to clean the sink thoroughly with a sponge after you wash the dishes, and if they are too dirty, cover the drain, fill the sink with warm water, and add a tablespoon of bleach. Let it sit for a maximum of 5–6 minutes, then rinse and dry the sink.
56 Responses
for once good advice.
I am 77 and I agree with you. That is why I am getting a once a month cleaning lady as a Christmas gift from my daughter.
Agree !!! Excellent !!! Thank you !!!
are you kidding me? some I clean. but at 72 I am lucky to get dressed!
AND I live alone!
Lonnie, at 76 I certainly understand!! Some days my pj’s are just too comfortable!!
Omg! I am 74.5. I totally hear you!!!
I am 93 and I am with you. I do the best I can.
I am on my way to reading the article but I saw your response and had to pause to let you know I am 90 sitting here in my nightgown, robe and slippers and think had I been this clean all my long life, I probably wouldn’t be sitting her right now! My French granny always said kids have to eat a pound of dirt before they grow up to be healthy. Guess I made enough mud pies to make it!!!
Cheers, Lonnie, you’ve got a lot of dust to worry about now!!!!!!!!!!
me too!! I’m 84!!
I know what you’re saying, I’m 71 with Arthiritis. I clean in spurts, starting – 5am
I’m with you brother…I’m only 68 but I’m right behind ya!
True!!!That’s for young people…now,we enjoy life!
lol
I hear you, I’m 75 .
Amen, Lonnie!
You’re so right and it is hilarious but true. I do my cleaning as frequent as possible, I hate a dirty place but at 65 years old still working and commute, yeah it gets exhausting to say the least
AMEN TO THAT!
Lucky to get dressed at 72 ???!!!!…..Yikes!!…I’m 75 and have no problem
“getting dressed” or cleaning the things mentioned. You may need to start exercising……NOW!!!!
I had to laugh, your comment reminded me of myself. I’m 82
75 I am right there with ya.
I hear you. lol
You made me laugh first thing this morning.
Thank you! Doing all this would be a fulltime job. I choose to be a little dirty…
😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂 girlllllll stop it 🤣🤣🤣
Oh, I know I don’t only agree with you. I understand it It’s getting harder and harder to do stuff that that used to be a big deal. I guess that’s just part of it for some of us that Abused our bodies and they no longer work a DARN!
Table tops,bathroom toilet and sink every night. Dishes by hand kitchen sink and sponges cleaned with bleach every night. Stove every day after cooking. Shower wiped and sprayed after use
You must not have a life! Gee whiz! I don’t even use those things daily.
I totally agree and I actually take the toilet seats off once a month and clean that part the connects them! With men in the house it can get a urine bilud up there quick
Thanks for the reminder
Good advice! Knew many of those things but not others. It’s exhausting just remembering and cleaning at 71 yrs old. Do it while your young! After 70, everything is a chore or just forget. How I remember is, everything I touch then think about how other family members touch, I know it’s got to be germy. If it bothers me, I wipe it down usually with wipes. It’s quick and easy.
I agree with Lonnie, some I clean, but at 72 years old I’m lucky to get dressed every day!
I will have to hire a maid to do these every day !!!!!
I’ve always done all of these things and want to add something things to the list. We store the kitchen sponge inside the dishwasher when not in use. This way it gets cleaned every time the dishwasher is run. Also I kept a car squeegee in the shower and scrub the entire stall daily, plus spray the entire stall with vinegar and water 3x a week. Another thing is using a pastry scrapper tool on the kitchen counter. It removes a lot of things that a sponge leaves behind and makes the counter extra smooth.
Yes, the same.. my kitchen, bathrooms, floors and even electronics are cleaned and wiped down..My cars because of the job that I do, especially everyday…blessings🙏🏾to all
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I clean the microwave every night too.
It’s used everyday and guys usually forget to cover the food with the micro-cover so there is splatter everywhere!
There is a product made to help you with the shower. It hangs in the shower. Just close the curtain or door after you shower and it sprays away scum.
But you used the people above full name. Use only first name.
Not buying that handwashing dishes are cleaner than dishwasher. Cleaning the filter in the dishwasher is necessary.
I never leave dishes over night. I’m 87 I clean what I can, when I can. You have a lot of good ideas.
I’m a eighty year old man still fortunate enough to still work part time as a sales associate in a warehouse home store b/c I’m able to keep the smoke coming out of my chimney in December with this January weather.
I feel blessed to have a beautiful wife two grown daughters and two grandchildren in our home where love wait for me and don’t forget to add a four year old Lab adore named Ollie and a yorkie poo named Winnie. My GuideBook says; Cleanliness is next to Godliness.
How the hell did I live to be 74 years old?
A good routine is to put the kitchen sponge in the dishwasher when you run it.
Time???? Who has time to do all this??? I love having a clean house but at 76 I don’t think to do all this and still just am happy to be alive….
2 More Items…. 1. The front and door handle of your microwave and 2. The handles on your refrigerator.
Some are things I don’t think of, like the TV remote. Thanks!
Please send me more.
Don’t forget to vacuum your curtains, and bedspreads , heat creates dust whether it be Winter or Summer !
The routine is tough and impractical so I feel that I keep a bottle of dettol and spray in all the places to disinfect for total hygeine.
Some of these things are so basic that it’s hard to believe everyone isn’t already doing them. I clean my stovetop countertop and sink after each meal. I use the same dishwater that I’ve just used for the dishes, then rinse with clean hot water. Throw sponge in dishwasher a few times a week, or daily if you can remember. Daily use of bleach and disinfectants can create super germs, and should be avoided. If your countertop is contaminated by meat juices, wipe up the juice without spreading it around and use peroxide or alcohol to disinfect the area. Peroxide and alcohol do not create super germs.
….are you kidding me? Sheesh, I suspect not, but you gotta be “kidding” to expect anyone to actually clean even a quarter of these daily items daily. Come onnnn. Most of us might do a couple of these periodically, but no one daily.
And, hey, that Edith you cite might be my sister. She’s as close as anyone to actually buying into these 12 ludicrous suggestions.
You didn’t mention carpeting and floors. People walk around at shopping malls, gas stations, restaurants, grocery stores etc and walk into their home afterward with their shoes on, that have just walked on filthy ground. We do this too at my house and I don’t require guests to take off their shoes either. Hence, I vacuum the living room rug daily and the rest of the house is wood flooring; because we have a dog, I try to clean the wood floors weekly. We also have air purifiers running 24/7. In spite of all this, we still end up with colds and other respiratory issues.
This can sound like an overwhelming list to some. Many are just common sense items very easy to incorporate into your routine, so you dont even see it as some thing “more to do”; its just automatic habit.
1) I do not buy or use nasty sponges. Putting out fresh towels/ dishcloth daily is part of morning routine.
2) purses, keys, phones etc are never allowed on the kitchen counters to begin with. Then you don’t have to worry about what might be on them.
3) If everyone (old enough, like age 6) is taught and expected to leave a space “as clean, or cleaner” than they found it- that solves many problems right there. Of course- provide the tools/supplies necessary for them to do that very easily.
My home is on a 5 acre lot . And on any day, a wind will blow light or strong. So I need to to wipe with damp sponge and vacuum the floors at least every other day. Otherwise my home gets a layer of dried earth (dust) everywhere.
Its not dirt, its dried earth from the parts of 5 acres that are bare.
If I leave it ’till the week- end (6 days ) you can write your name on the layer of dust.
(dried earth) dust any place in my home
But remember it is not filthy dirt like you’d get in a town or city from traffic and pollution.
Its dried earth (dust) an stays If you did do not clean it away,
Eventually one would be able to collect enough in a small bucket.
To grow flowers or potatoes.
I am 91 years old , born in 1934, the year Walt Disney created “Donald DUCK”
My last sunset ain’t too far away now.
And remember nobody gets off Planet alive so so worrying be happy
Humans evolved out of the dust of the Earth. All this fuss about dust/dirt is based on cleaner products the writer wants you to buy. Naturally you don’t want to live in a living pile of dirt, but the advertising gets silly. Our bodies make antibodies to fight dust/dirt exposure so don’t get carried away with your sponsorship of the expensive products you want us to buy. A damp cloth and a mop can do most of the job. Peggy Day, 90 year-old housekeeper (or not).
Hmmmm–and how are you supposed to do this AND hold down a job, sleep 8 hours, sit down to eat 3 meals a day and actually talk to your kids. Not realistic…not in this world.
I’m proud to say I do clean 8 out of the 12. Yay!!!