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What are some of the dirtiest items in your home?

Everything we touch daily is covered in millions of living bacteria but not a lot of us know how often we should clean the items we use all the time. Some bacteria is actually good for our immune system but on the other side of the spectrum some can make us really sick. Germs can spread from person to person and from person to surface. Hand washing is so important and so many still go to the toilet and do not wash their hands.

Did you know?

Your bed

That you sleep in every night is covered in dead skin and your pillow case can contain more germs than your toilet seat.and your sheets can contain more germs than your bathroom door handle!  How disgusting is that. I am always asked about yellow pillows and this explains all, always use pillow protectors and ensure you wash your bedding at least one a week.  Fresh air in the bedroom too can really help and keep the bacteria from spreading and go deeper and deeper into your mattress. You should turn your mattress every six months and get a new mattress every seven years. Over time your mattress can become heavy from dead skin, gallons of sweat and millions of dust mites so make sure you hoover your mattress too or use a mattress cleaning system.

TV remote

Is one of the most commonly overlooked household objects that nearly everyone comes into contact multiple times per day. Your remote gets dropped on the floor, lost in the couch, coughed on, sneezed on, spilled on, and covered with any number of sticky messes. Most remotes are not designed to be easily cleanable and some TV remotes with a lot of nooks and crannies can’t be cleaned well even if you try to do so. ensure you wipe over your TV remote daily and spray with an antibacterial cleaner.  Always wash your hand when you come into the home or after using the bathroom to help keep the build up or germs and bacteria at bay.

Mobile phone and tablet

It’s a well-known fact that phones and tablets are dirty objects, but just how unclean are they? each square inch of your phone or tablet contains roughly 25,000 germs making it one of the filthiest things you come in contact with on a daily basis. That’s something to think about the next time you press your face to your phone. I tend to wipe mine over a few times a day with an antibacterial spray plus I also remove the case and place this in warm soapy water.  If your out and about having a coffee use handy handbag cleaning wipes to clean the table before you put your phone down and have an area in your handbag just for your phone or tablet.

Makeup Brushes

This is an important one. You need to be cleaning your brushes and sponges at least once a week. Among the nasty bacteria living in the bristles on sponge is Streptococcus, which can cause strep throat, scarlet fever and impetigo. If you are suddenly suffering from acne, pimple or an outbreak of spots then your makeup brushes could be the problem. Wash with baby shampoo or swirl in some olive oil.

Dish Cloths

The most important thing you need to know is that your dish cloth is most likely dirtier than your toilet flush handle or button. Soak daily in bleach or an antibacterial cleaner.  Sponges can go in the dishwasher too.

Washing Machines and Dishwashers

You would think that because these are constantly filled with soapy water then they are clean  but your wrong. These items keep your cloths and plates clean so they need to be cleaned on a regular basis. Think of all the dirt they pull off daily! A dishwasher can contain E.coli and pathogens that lead to infections of the urinary tract and skin. You should place a cup of vinegar and run through a hot water cycle weekly add in a drop of lemon juice too to create a fresh clean smell and with your washing machine keep the seal clean and run an empty cycle weekly..Read my Washing Machine Care feature and How to look after your dishwasher

Toothbrushes

In my opinion you need to change your toothbrush monthly as they are pron millions of oral bacteria. Did you know that when you flush the toilet chain and don’t put the lid down first, particles of toilet water, including faecal matter can spray up to 6 feet and land on your tooth-brush! Gross!  But this is true try to keep it in a cupboard or as far away from the toilet as you can. Its important to give your bathroom an Intense clean once a week, take a look at how I do mine CLICK HERE

Good habits like taking your shoes off before walking through the house and washing your hands after using the bathroom or touching raw food can help the amount of germs that build up in your home.

As always Thank you for reading
Lynsey Queen of Clean xoxo

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Dishwasher cleaning

Your dishwasher cleans your plates and dishes so if your dishwasher isn’t clean your plates and dishes certainly aren’t going to be clean.  Lots of people forget about cleaning the dishwasher and washing machine but these items really need to be looked after.

I have covered washing machine care before so todays it’s the turn of the dishwasher.

Cleaning the dishwasher is something I aim to do fortnightly.  I have shown this on my instastoriesbefore so  a lot of you will already know my process.

Before using my dishwasher I always ensure the dishwasher is fully filled and then I  set it on an overnight setting using the ecological wash option.

To clean here is what I do using all natural products.

Empty the filter of your dishwasher (mine simply twists and pulls). You can find how to do this in your instruction manual or on your washer manufactures website.

Wipe down all your seals and around the door with a solution of 50% white vinegar, 20% neat lemon juice and 30% water. I put the solution in a spray bottle as it can be used for other household cleaning jobs. I use Lemon juice as this leaves a fresh clean smell and lemons are also great for breaking down dirt and grim.

Place a cup of white vinegar mixed with lemon juice in the top of your dishwasher and run it on a hot cycle this will help break down any grease and gunk.

Once cycle has completed sprinkle the bottom of your dishwasher with bicarbonate of soda, bicarbonate of soda is great at eliminating any nasty smells.

You do not have to rinse this from your dishwasher just leave until the next time you use.

I hope you have enjoyed this post, this really is a simple cleaning method that takes no time at all.  I love cleaning with natural products especially lemons. Take a look at other ideas I have for cleaning with lemons.

Buying white wine vinegar and neat lemon juice in supermarkets can be expensive or not always easy to find so I have found some cheaper options for you.

White wine vinegar – CLICK HERE

Lemon Juice – CLICK HERE

As Always thank you for reading
Lynsey Queen of Clean xoxo

This post contains affiliate links 

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10 General Cleaning Hacks for around the home.

I have rounded up some of my favourite cleaning tips for you to help keep your home extra clean and pristine. Some of these are so easy and simple to do and will literally take no time at all.

1 – Cleaning cloths and sponges really do harbour germs.  My tip is to pop them in the microwave for 2 minutes to kill all those nasty germs.

2 – Use salt to clean the iron plate on your iron. Pour some salt onto a tea towel or old cloth and iron over this without the steam option this will help release any sticky patches or dirt.

3 – The best way to clean your windows is the old-fashioned way with a newspaper and white wine vinegar.

4 – Pop on you rubber cleaning gloves and dampen one of these and then you pick up stray pet hair from Cats and Dogs.

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5 – Put the kids plastic toys in the dishwasher to get them germ free.

6 – Remove hard water stains with Lemons, cut a lemon in half give the stain a good rub, leave for a while and then rinse with warm water.

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8 – Never leave your toothbrush near the toilet as when flushed the germs will jump up and can land on your brush…. Keep as far away as you can. Toothbrushes are full of bacteria from daily usage to keep them clean you can wash them with mouthwash or add a few drops of white wine vinegar to a glass and sit your toothbrush in it for around 15 minutes. White wine vinegar is a natural cleaner.

9 – When cleaning your make up brushes, got a bowl and add boiling water and a small squirt of your shampoo and then let them swirl around for a while.  You don’t want all the bacteria being spread all over your face so try to make this a weekly job.

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10 – To get your bath towels nice and fluffy put a big heaped spoonful of bicarbonate of soda into the washing machine try or drum and then put on a hot wash. This will help bring your towels back to life and will keep them nice and fluffy.

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I hope you have found this home hacks useful and thank you for reading.

Queen of Clean xoxox