- Staff Notice
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.... 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?