Keeping your house clean and tidy is important, but you may be overlooking some important places where bacteria is festering the most.
A recent experiment carried out by Compare the Market revealed exactly where filth is hiding around your home. The experiment saw parts of the home swabbed in order for the experts to compare the number of bacteria groups from each area.
Home insurance comparison expert Anna McEntree explained: “While sticking to a regular cleaning routine can help you to keep on top of essential tasks and ensure that your home remains in good condition, sometimes mishaps happen that cause mess or damage that cannot be rectified", reports The Mirror.
So where are the germ hiding around your home? Here is the list of how many bacteria groups were found to be living in each unexpected area.
Bathroom vent - 1,991
You may be missing a part of your home that is full of bacteria. While cleaning your bathroom is obvious - doing things like scrubbing your toilet seat and sink, do not forget the vent!
Bathroom shower screen - 1,921
Another overlooked area in your home is your bathroom shower screen. The experts found lots of hidden bacteria living on these, nearly as many as your bathroom vent.
Inside the washing machine - 1,281
Your washing machine is of course used to clean your clothes. But the experts found that there is plenty of bacteria living in the place we all assume is clean.
The machine is not self cleaning and instead bacteria transfers and lingers.
Kettle handle - 634
We all wash out dishes but may be forgetting to give our kettles a wipe down.
The kettle is handled a lot and assuming you do not wash your hands every time, it is not a shock that a lot of bacteria builds up on it. Just because you are only putting water in it does not mean it cannot get dirty, especially on the outside which is often overlooked.
Front door handle - 503
Cleaning the inside of your home is often what is focused on. But the front entrance of your house should be added to your list too.
Bacteria from both inside and outside the home can build up on your door handle, so it may be worth adding it to your cleaning list.
The experiment also identified a few places that are technically the cleanest spots in the average home. However, even these places were found to have high levels of bacteria living in them.
Even a TV remote, ranked among the cleanest things in a home, was found to have 312 bacteria groups.
Light switches were also identified as relatively clean, despite having 79 bacteria groups on average living on them.
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