How clean is your house?

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  • We are clearly a nation that is very keen on cleanliness. Many of us stick antibacterial surface wipes in our shopping baskets (and then sometimes down the drain, helping cause those giant fatbergs).

    But, quite apart from the environmental cost, is money spent on antimicrobial wipes money well spent?

    Can you really eliminate most of the microbes in your house by wiping down the surfaces, and why would you want to anyway?

    I don't use antibacterial wipes as mentioned in the BBC article, but I do keep my house pretty clean, although things have slipped in recent years.

    I used to hoover the house every day, polish it every day, scrub the bathroom and toilet with bleach and cleaners everyday and give the kitchen a good once over too everyday. Dishes would always be washed and dried as soon as they were used, and still are, but my cleaning regime overall has "altered" a bit in recent times. My oven hasn't been cleaned since before Christmas....

    The hoovering and polishing has changed to a couple of times a week, the bathroom and kitchen still get a though clean everyday, but admittedly I don't keep things as clean as they were.

    As the article says, bacteria and fungi grow back quickly after cleaning and while most bacteria is good for you, keeping a sterile house is potentially bad for your health, but where I really fall short and the article highlighted this, is the dishcloth.

    My old cookery teacher used cloth dish wipes and after use she used to boil them in a pan of hot water with lemon and something else I can't remember. I use disposable sponges and dishcloths, I know, not good for the environment! But despite them being disposable, I can't recall when I last replaced the kitchen and sponge and cloths. At least three weeks ago, if not longer....8|:whistling: And no idea at all about the bathroom sponges!

    As the article says, most people do loads of cleaning but use dirty cloths which in effect undo all the good work they do. Do you use anti-bacterial wipes or cleaners to clean your home? If you use disposable kitchen/bathroom sponges and cloths, how often do you replace them?

    Do you keep a clean house, or are you a lazy bugger?:P

  • I'm very anti commercial cleaning products so I do not use anti-bacterial wipes and try to use natural products wherever possible. I use my steam cleaner on hard floors, ammonia to clean the oven, vinegar on glass and hard surfaces and bleach once a week down the loo. I have tons of dishcloths which are replaced every day and washed weekly in bio washing powder and sponges and scourers get thrown away as they don't wash too well. I think, as you do, that we should rely more on our immune systems and keep them 'fighting fit'. My bungalow is now 'tailored' to make cleaning easy. Everything possible is fitted in the kitchen and bathroom, and I tried to avoid creating those silly little corners and gaps that are difficult to clean.

    I wouldn't say I'm dirty but neither am I the most hygienic. I am an animal fanatic, and have spent my whole life living with, and caring for, animals. I don't wash my hands every time I touch an animal, or a shop door, or anything that is freely touched by members of the public.

    I am very fortunate, as I have no allergies, and although now a pensioner I have only spent one day in hospital during my whole life, for a minor operation. I can't remember what my doctor looks like as I see him so rarely, but I see a nurse each year for my flu jab.

    A little bit of bacteria here and there doesn't seem to have done me any harm.

    Mark Twain — 'Never argue with an idiot. They will drag you down to their level and beat you with experience.'

  • I'm very anti commercial cleaning products so I do not use anti-bacterial wipes and try to use natural products wherever possible. I use my steam cleaner on hard floors, ammonia to clean the oven, vinegar on glass and hard surfaces and bleach once a week down the loo. I have tons of dishcloths which are replaced every day and washed weekly in bio washing powder and sponges and scourers get thrown away as they don't wash too well. I think, as you do, that we should rely more on our immune systems and keep them 'fighting fit'. My bungalow is now 'tailored' to make cleaning easy. Everything possible is fitted in the kitchen and bathroom, and I tried to avoid creating those silly little corners and gaps that are difficult to clean.

    I wouldn't say I'm dirty but neither am I the most hygienic. I am an animal fanatic, and have spent my whole life living with, and caring for, animals. I don't wash my hands every time I touch an animal, or a shop door, or anything that is freely touched by members of the public.

    I am very fortunate, as I have no allergies, and although now a pensioner I have only spent one day in hospital during my whole life, for a minor operation. I can't remember what my doctor looks like as I see him so rarely, but I see a nurse each year for my flu jab.

    A little bit of bacteria here and there doesn't seem to have done me any harm.

    It's actually been proven that those who come in regular contact with animals have greater immunity to germs. The best example of this is children who were brought up on farms, they have the strongest immunity of all.

    I'm very anti-commerical cleaning products too. How do we know what all these chemicals in these things actually do to us? I got a Mary Berry book at Christmas where she gives tips about organising and cleaning n the home using natural products, so when I get the time, I'll have a good read of that.

    I might try the ammonia and vinegar tips you mentioned, but to be clear, you say that you put all your dish cloths in the washing machine each week, is that correct and you don't have sponges at all? Is that right? What do you use in place of the sponges, as I think these are a major germ factory and looking for alternatives?

  • I have those sponges with a scourer on one side. They don't wash well so I throw them out.

    Tip for oven cleaning, get a strong plastic sack and put all the shelves and side supports in it and any bad roasting tins, add an eggcup of ammonia, seal the bag and leave overnight. Meanwhile, warm up the over (not hot) and put a bowl in the bottom of the oven containing an eggcup of ammonia. Leave overnight. Next morning just wipe everything down with clean soapy water and the grease and dirt just wipes off.

    I have a spray bottle with ammonia/water mix. All those greasy areas (like the extraction fan) and any shelves/cupboards close by, just spray and wipe, and the greasy residue comes straight off without any scrubbing.

    Just google on 'cleaning with ammonia'. There's tons of tips. Note: you need good ventilation.

    Mark Twain — 'Never argue with an idiot. They will drag you down to their level and beat you with experience.'

  • That was brilliant set of tips you gave us last year Fidget. I'm going to do that with my oven soon. Meanwhile:

    A new craze has taken over the internet and it even involves filming your toilet.

    Cleaning has become one of the biggest social media trends of 2018, where platforms such as Instagram are now awash with hashtags like #cleaningobsessed.

    Influencers like Mrs Hinch, who to date has 1.4 million Instagram followers, have somehow managed to glamorise typically mundane tasks.

    Looking at the picture of Mrs Hinch, I'm sure everyone is interested in her toilet, not!^^

    If I was going to film something and put it on the internet, I'd choose something other than my toilet. Not that there's much cleaning going on from me at the moment, as my hoover broke last week. Goodbye Henry! Time for a new one.

  • Here's a good oven cleaner, which removes burned on grease instantly. I use it to clean the grill pan and it only takes 2 minutes, unlike the overnight clean with ammonia fumes. It isn't caustic and it doesn't gas you out either. Probably better to wear rubber gloves but I use it without gloves and have had no problems.

    safe oven cleaner

    EDIT: I just use the spray, but have tried the paste on the oven roof and both are excellent.

    Mark Twain — 'Never argue with an idiot. They will drag you down to their level and beat you with experience.'

  • Probably just following on from any social/economic troubled sections of the community type TV program that insists on showing you a shot of the bathroom to enforce that social/economic problems extend to extreme financial hardships that stop you from cleaning a toilet ?.

  • It's actually been proven that those who come in regular contact with animals have greater immunity to germs. The best example of this is children who were brought up on farms, they have the strongest immunity of all.

    I'm very anti-commerical cleaning products too. How do we know what all these chemicals in these things actually do to us? I got a Mary Berry book at Christmas where she gives tips about organising and cleaning n the home using natural products, so when I get the time, I'll have a good read of that.

    I might try the ammonia and vinegar tips you mentioned, but to be clear, you say that you put all your dish cloths in the washing machine each week, is that correct and you don't have sponges at all? Is that right? What do you use in place of the sponges, as I think these are a major germ factory and looking for alternatives?

    Strange how we insist on sterilising babies bottles, but we don't sterilise a woman's breast ?

    The intelligent are being oppressed so the stupid don't get offended

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