7 Hidden Germs Thriving Spots at Home That You Never Knew Existed

I need to be honest with you about my house: I clean it regularly, but I never really disinfect it until the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. Way before the existence of coronavirus, germs and viruses have always been around us and they have been a threat to us. However, we have underestimated the potential dangers until we learnt our painful lesson through the pandemic. Viral and heartbroken stories on social media warn us how rapidly a virus can infect our loved ones under the same household. Even with only one family member going out for groceries, our loved ones can be in danger without proper disinfection. Staying at home and sanitising your hands regularly is not as efficient as you think if you neglect the importance of cleaning and disinfecting your household. So, how can we protect our loved ones; especially our children? Besides cleaning the common areas at home, it’s time for you to look into these 7 hidden dangers that maybe you never knew existed at home. 7 Hidden Germs Thriving Spots That You Need to Disinfect At Home #1: Kitchen top and sink Image credit: Shutterstock As we often prepare our ingredients and dishes on the kitchen top and sink, we might think that these areas are clean. You might say something like, Of course my kitchen top and sink are clean. I wash the vegetables and dishes in the sink almost every day and I make sure to wipe the kitchen top dry and clean after cooking. We understand how dedicated you are in preparing meals for your loved ones. That is why we need to be very truthful with you. While wiping your kitchen top with sponges and cleaning cloths, you are actually spreading the germs all over the kitchen top. Without proper disinfection, your kitchen top can be contaminated with bacteria. Simply from cutting raw meat, placing grocery bags or even your purse on it. After washing your dishes in the sink, the sink can serve as a breeding ground for illness-causing bacteria, including E. coli and salmonella through food particles from the plates. In fact, 45 percent of kitchen sinks were found to have coliform bacteria. So, we really need to rethink about these germ-infected areas in our kitchen. A disinfectant is necessary for these areas right after they dry. #2: Bathroom (not only the toilet bowl) Image credit: Shutterstock What's your answer to the question below? Where's the dirtiest spot in the bathroom? Undoubtedly, most of us would answer 'the toilet bowl'. It is indeed true that the toilet bowl contains germs like faecal coliform bacteria, E.coli and Salmonella, which are detrimental to our loved ones. But how about the flush handle, our toothbrush holder and tap handles that share the same space with the toilet bowl? Even flushing the toilet bowl with the lid closed, these items are more likely to trap germs and bacteria. Here are the figures. According to this NSF study, 64% of toothbrush holders in households contain bacteria. Among the bacteria-infected holders, 27% contained coliform and 14% contained staph. As for the tap holder, 17% contained yeast and mould, 9% contained coliform and 5% contained staph. Without proper disinfection, the germs would cause diarrhoea, vomiting, fever and even skin irritations. #3: Door knobs Image credit: Shutterstock Here's a hotspot where everybody is touching them but they rarely get cleaned—the door knobs. While concerning about catching the flu virus from your sick colleague, you should start worrying about other possible sources of infection. Don't be shocked to know that a cold is one of the most common illnesses often spread through door handle bacteria. Containing bacteria like E Coli, MRSA and others, a contaminated doorknob can help spread germs throughout a building within mere hours. How is it possible? It simply starts with an individual having direct contact with the door knob and then with another object or surface. Since you exit and enter your home daily, you should equally disinfect your doorknobs as often as possible with a disinfectant. #4: Pet bowls Image credit: xFrame Bacteria present on pet bowls not only harm our pets, but are detrimental to our health, too. This is why pet bowls are the third most contaminated items in the household. As the bacteria such as E.coli, Candida albicans attach themselves to pet bowls, you will notice slimy, gluelike substance on the surfaces. This is the bacterial biofilm. If you do not get rid of this nasty slime in time with a disinfectant, your pets will get infected with an illness. And in no time, the diseases will be transmitted to you and your loved ones, too. #5: Remote control Image caption: Pexels If you disinfect your phone regularly, you might need to consider about the remote control, too. Here's why. Not only does every family member touch it to switch on the television or the air-conditioner, it is also dropped on the floor, put in between the sofa cushions, coughed on and sneezed at by every family member. The remote control is truly a hidden germ carrier. For instance, Staphylococcus aureus that can cause skin infections and E.coli that can give you diarrhoea and infections, can be found here. So, the next time before you switch channels, perhaps you should pull out your disinfectant spray. Disinfect the remote control and get rid of the germs for utmost protection. #6: Living room floor Image credit: xFrame Here's a shocking fact about germs: Salmonella and campylobacter can survive for around one to four hours on hard surfaces. Thus, cleaning and mopping the living room floor is surely not sufficient to protect our loved ones from the virus infection. When you are mopping the floor with the usual floor cleaner, you are just removing dust but not the germs. This puts our children, especially little toddlers, in danger as they always enjoy their play time on the living room floor. As they roll over, lie and move around the floor, the germs would then attach on to their outfits and body parts. To prevent such an occurrence, simply purchase a floor cleaner that comes with a disinfecting feature. If you are uncertain whether you are cleaning, disinfecting or sanitising, read about the differences among them to make sure your house is both clean and germ-free. #7: Kid's toys Image credit: Shutterstock Similarly to door knobs, we are not concerned enough about the hygiene of our children's toys. Don't worry too much when your child tells you that his classmates are catching colds. Instead, worry about the toys that they have been sharing and playing with together. More and more researches have shown that viruses such as influenza and Coronaviruses, SARS or MERS can thrive on plastic toys for up to 24 hours. This time period is more than enough to expose our children towards the virus and get infected. Here's why. The immune system of our children have yet to fully develop. Thus, this makes them to be easily infected as they always put their hands and toys into their mouths. Disinfect Your House Without Worries With Magiclean Multi-Purpose Disinfectant Image credit: Kao Malaysia Image credit: Kao Malaysia In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, we have no other options but to disinfect these germ thriving spots at home. While protecting our loved ones, these frequent sanitisation and disinfection chores have left us with dry, cracked skin. If so, how can we stop our skin condition from getting drier while disinfecting these hidden germ spots regularly? Are you thinking of buying yourself some hand cream or moisturisers to keep your skin hydrated after those chores? Perhaps, it's time to get yourself a better disinfectant instead of spending more on skin care products. You can get a disinfectant that frees you from bacteria and viruses yet protects your skin with its gentleness. The Magiclean Multi-Purpose Disinfectant can help to kills 99.9% germs including bacteria such as E.coli, Staphylococcus aureus and viruses such as the influenza virus H1N1 & H3N2, Human coronavirus 229E and SARS-CoV-2. Yes, you're seeing this right. You can protect your loved ones from the pandemic with the Magiclean Disinfectant as it can kill the coronavirus, too! Coming in both bottle and trigger spray packaging, you can use the disinfectant conveniently to prevent bacteria and viruses’ growth around your household for up to 24 hours. More importantly, the Magiclean disinfectant is dermatologically tested with no artificial colours. You can use this PH-neutral disinfectant all day as it’s gentle on your skin. Simply wash your hands after each disinfection and you will see how your skin remains as well as it is. You can finally free yourself from dry and itchy skin after consistent disinfecting! Since this disinfectant is both friendly and gentle, your children can now pitch in with disinfecting their own toys and belongings, too! And, it's also time to get rid of your strong-scented disinfectant that your loved ones have been complaining about! With the Magiclean disinfectant, you can now own a virus-free house with the nice fragrance of lemongrass. Disinfect for Your Loved Ones from the Comfort of Your Sofa Let's wait no more to own a clean and comfortable home with the Magiclean Disinfectant! You can now purchase the Magiclean Disinfectant Bottle, Refill Pack and Trigger Spray on Motherhood.com.my with 20% OFF from 6-19th September 2021! Your new gentle disinfectant is also available on other e-commerce platforms such as Lazada and Shopee. Simply click on these websites and you'll receive this amazing product at your doorstep in no time! We believe that both you and your loved ones deserve a gentle yet effective protection that gives you comfort, safety and peace of mind. Get one today!

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