Residential house cleaning services are essential! Let us show you why handy house cleaning is so important to clear out bacteria. After reading this you will be thinking, “where are the cleaners in my area?”
Studies have shown that the most contaminated objects in the home have over 340 different types of bacteria on 30 different objects. Not all bacteria are bad. For instance, your body contains bacteria that could be useful. But those that can be found at home and make you sick are:
- Yeast and mould
- Salmonella
- Staphylococcus aureus
- E.coli
- Fecal matter
COVID-19 virus can also be found on many surfaces. Some symptoms of COVID-19 include shortness of breath, fever, and coughing. It can spread quickly because it lives for hours and days. Studies have shown this is how long it can live on different types of surfaces:
- Plastic and stainless steel: up to 72 hours
- In the air: up to 3 hours
- Copper: up to 4 hours
- Cardboard: up to 24 hours
Kitchen
The kitchen is where food is stored and prepared. Yet, it has more bacteria and contamination than other spots at home! More than 75% of dish sponges have salmonella and E.coli compared to only 9% on bathroom handles. There are many kitchen items that need frequent cleaning, such as cutting boards, fridges, coffee makers, kitchen sinks, and countertops.
Here’s how you can keep these areas clean:
- Change dish towels a few times every week
- Use disinfectant wipes to clean countertops, faucet, and the fridge
- Heat damp sponges in the microwaves for at least 1 minute. This helps to kill bacteria.
- Wash your hands thoroughly before or after handling food
- Soak sponges in warm water with half a teaspoon of concentrated bleach
Handles, knobs, switches
Light switches, countertops, and handles are definitely areas that collect germs. It’s not always the bathroom doorknob that is the dirtiest. There are some other spots that have even more bacteria. For instance, bathroom light switches, stove knobs, fridge handles, and microwave handles. It’s best to clean these spots once a week for disinfecting wipes.
Living room and home office
In the living room, there are often family members and house guests sharing computer keyboards, phones, remote controls, and tablets. Different types of surfaces also contribute to bacteria growth and diversity. COVID-19 virus can live on keyboards and plastic remotes for as long as 3 days. Use plain water and soap or disinfectant wipes to clean your items. This is especially if they have come into contact with dirty surfaces like tables or counters. Do wash your hands before touching any household objects if you’ve been out in public.
Personal items
You can bring in bacteria and viruses from the outside to your house through a gym bag, headphones, shoes and many more. There could be contamination on cell phones, keys, lunch boxes, the bottom of purses, wallets. Most disinfecting wipes will be effective against bacteria and viruses on electronics. To be on the safe side, you can look out for cleaning supplies that are specific to electronics.
We can see now how important it is to clean our houses regularly. We live in it all the time and not cleaning it will result in the accumulation of germs, bacteria, and viruses. At Beck and Call, we’ve had many satisfied customers who thank the expertise of our cleaning team for a home that is constantly in mint condition. Check out this article which further expounds on the benefit of residential cleaning services.
