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Here are a few things ‘not to do’ in your household. Are you committing any of these household crimes?

1)  Washing poultry in the sink

This is bad for many reasons.

First of all, if you think the poultry is dirty, washing it with water near your kitchen surfaces will only spread any bacteria that may have.

Cross-contamination is not uncommon as poultry that has salmonella can only be “cleansed” in the oven.

Instead of washing the poultry cook it at high temperature and cook until it is done well.

Solution: Temperature will kill bacteria, water will just spread it.

2)  Splashing the kitchen sink with water instead of properly cleaning it

Stainless steel is great because it always looks so clean and sparkly.

However splashing it with water won’t kill the bacteria in it. In fact, according the kitchen sink is one of the items at home that has more bacteria even more than the toilet has.

Solution: Scrub the kitchen sink with a sponge and dishwashing detergent after every load of dirty dishes.

3)  Using the same old loofah

According to recent research – that thing is really nasty!

When I found out, I was shocked, because I loved using my loofah! The item itself isn’t gross, but what we do with it kinda is.

When we scrub our bodies, dead cells get stuck in the fibres of the loofah.

What makes matters worse, we leave the loofah in the bathroom, where it is dark and damp and this is when bacteria gets the perfect occassion to breed and spread on the surface of the loofah.

Solution: Use a washable alternative to loofah and wash it once a week in high temperature. You can also substitute the loofah with sugar body scrub.

4)  Not cleaning your pillows properly

Now, I’m not going to use some vague statistics that 1/3 of the weight of an old pillow is made up of dust mites, dead skin and bacteria.I am pretty sure that’s not true.

But, according to latest doctor’s reports old pillows are bad mainly because they change their shape with time and this can lead to neck and back pain.

Additionally, pillows that go unwashed for longer periods of time do get a fair share of sweat and oils. Who loves sweat, dead skin and oils? Dust mites.

Solution: Change your pillows often. Once every year, or two.

5)  Using tea towels more than once

Tea towels almost always get wet when in use (96%) most people continue to use their tea towels in the following days even after they’ve been wet.

The problem of wet tea towels is that they become the perfect breeding ground for bacteria.

Solution: Wash your towels after every use.

6)  Not steaming your carpets

Carpets that are not washed and cleaned often not only become breeding ground for bacteria too, but spoil indoor air quality.

They soak up nasty stuff from your shoes dead skin, pet dander, hairs and dust that falls on the ground.

Solution: Get professionals to steam clean your carpets once every year.

Hopefully I didn’t plant a sense of guilt in you, because that was not my intention.

My intention was to raise awareness of lesser known mistakes we make when cleaning. I was totally guilty of using my tea towels, my loofah and my pillows improperly.

Can you think of any other ‘household crimes’? Please share with us in the comments below.

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  • Guilty of number three, will try and change my ways!

    Reply

  • Yes I am the Chicken Washer under the tap I had No idea thankyou I will now not be doing that anymore

    Reply

  • My downfall would be the carpets and pillows I think. Steam cleaning is expensive so we don’t do it too often. I always wash my tea towels after using them so that’s a bonus.

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  • I’m fairly ocd so can proudly say i do / clean most of these things already.

    Reply

  • I think I am a pillow crimer. Not sure when I last changed them. Oops

    Reply

  • I’m pretty good with most of these except for the tea towels – I probably put them in the laundry after a couple of days ……

    Reply

  • Another crime in my idea is washing eggs. So many people do that!

    Reply

  • Hmmm it would appear I am a criminal. I do several of things especially using a tea towel more than once.


    • Who has time to wash tea towels after using them once or twice?!

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  • If I washed tea towels every time I did dishes I’d be washing 3 – 4 tea towels a day. I don’t own 20 plus tea towels haha

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  • I bet no one has become ill from their failure to do/not to do any of these things. This modern phobia about germs/bacteria is crazy. Let common sense prevail.


    • I was thinking the same thing! I never follow any of the clean things and I’m fine.

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  • Thanks heaps for this, what an interesting read.

    Reply

  • I think l have done very well except steaming my carpets!

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  • Hmm I am guilty of a few of these whoops

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  • I have my own steam cleaner. I’ve never seen a need for washing my chicken, so I’m not guilty of that. I have been guilty of one or two others, but now I know better, they will stop

    Reply

  • This was an interesting mini article. Thanks for posting!

    Reply

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