Here’s bad news for all the housecleaners of the world: No matter how hard you’re cleaning, it may not be enough.
An invisible army of nasty germs like salmonella, E. coli, staphylococcus, campylobacter and clostridium perfringens could be lurking in your kitchen sink, washcloth or sponge, ready to send you or a loved one into diarrheal distress.
And that bathroom? Let’s don’t even go there. Even in an otherwise clean one, fecal matter and bacteria sprayed from a toilet flush can land on your toothbrush.
It’s enough to make even the most fastidious cleaner throw in the towel. But Dr. Philip M. Tierno, author of a new study detailing the hidden bacteria in homes, said the information should help us redouble our efforts to be clean.
“Having the knowledge to properly clean is key,” said Tierno, who estimates that 300 million illnesses a year are caused by household bacteria. Tierno wrote “The Secret Life of Germs” and is the director of clinical microbiology and immunology at New York University Medical Center.
The biggest culprit might just be the lowly kitchen sponge, which, according to Tierno, is a veritable petri dish of bacteria. That’s because of cross-contamination from countertops where meats are cut, to cookware, to cutting board.
Tierno, whose study was funded by Brillo, the maker of disposable wool soap pads, recommends, among other things, using disposable soap pads to clean such surfaces. But the diligent housekeeper can clean sponges with an antibacterial agent. Tierno said he cleans his sponges in a bowl of water with bleach in it that he keeps on his counter. Also, allow a sponge to dry before using it again.
Another shortcoming of American housekeeping is the household garbage can. Three out of every four Americans wait more than one month before disinfecting it. Even though most people use a bag to catch the litter, just changing the bag is not enough, Tierno said.
“The roadkill you take from the counter to the garbage can has drippings,” Tierno said. “If you don’t clean the bottom, you’re keeping the germs.”