Havens for Bugs buildup in your Home and at stores

Before loading the washer, you sort your clothes into whites and colors. Next time, consider also sorting by use: That means putting food-related items like dishcloths and kitchen towels into one load and underwear and bathroom towels into another.

Why?

Most people wash all of their laundry in cold or lukewarm water, which only removes and kills about 80% of bacteria, says Charles Gerba, PhD, a professor of microbiology at the University of Arizona in Tucson. Inside the machine, dirty wash water can spread germs through the entire load, even leaving them behind on the walls of the machine.

Keep It Clean: Wash high-risk items on hot and thoroughly dry them in the dryer. Once a month, decontaminate the washer by running a load (or an empty cycle) with a capful of bleach.

Some people let clothes sit in the hamper for weeks before they clean them. Some germs may survive for that long.

Viruses and fungi may die within days. But E. coli and salmonella, which can cause diarrhea, may survive a few weeks. Staphylococcus aureus, which causes staph infections on skin, may survive a month. If clothes are moist -- think sweaty gym clothes -- germs may breed in the hamper.

You might try to decide if something is dirty enough for the wash by its odor. But your nose can’t detect the scent of germs.

If clothes smell bad, it’s probably from sweat and body oils, not viruses or bacteria.

When in doubt, wash it.

Underwear contains the most germs. This is because it comes in contact with your genitals and anus. As a result, it can contain fecal bacteria and germs from genital infections, like yeast.

Touching Laundry? Wash Your Hands

When you load dirty laundry into the washing machine or move damp items to the dryer, you get germs on your hands.

Wash your hands whenever you touch laundry. That’ll lower the chance that you’ll get sick. You’ll also be less likely to spread the germs around your home, which can help keep your family safe from illness, too.

Sanitize Your Hamper

Each time you take your clothes out of the hamper, clean the inside of it with a disinfectant spray. It’ll minimize the number of germs that will hang around there. This can make illness less likely.

Those plastic covers made for the seat area of the shopping cart were created for good reason: "We find more E. coli on shopping carts than on toilet seats," Dr. Gerba says. "In addition to germs from food, children's dirty bottoms are going in the seat—and the carts are hardly ever cleaned."

Another germy spot: Your reusable grocery bag. Yes, you're being environmentally conscious, but bacteria from meat and produce from your last trip are probably still in there. "Only 3% of people surveyed say they have ever washed their totes, and half use them for carrying other things, like dirty clothes," Dr. Gerba says. "That's like hauling your groceries home in your dirty underwear."

At the Grocery Store

Keep It Clean: Wipe grocery cart handles and seats with a disinfecting wipe (look for a dispenser in your supermarket) and line the seat area with a plastic bag before wheeling it around the store.

After leaving the store, be sure to wash your hands or apply sanitizing hand gel. In addition to washing reusable bags regularly, set one aside for raw meats, or wrap meat packages in a plastic bag before putting them in your tote.

What about money and pens? Yes, they've been handled by hundreds of people, but your risk of contamination from money is low because germs stick to the porous fibers of paper bills and don't transfer easily to your hands, Dr. Gerba says.

Nickel and copper have antimicrobial properties that make coins relatively low-risk. Public pens have also come up surprisingly clean in Dr. Gerba's research. "In some stores, pens are disinfected at the end of the day,"

Disclaimer: The information on this POST is not intended or implied to be a substitute for professional advice. The opinions expressed within this article are the personal opinions of the author. All content, including text, graphics, images and information, contained on or available through this article is for general information purposes / educational purposes only, and to ensure discussion or debate.  

Thank you …You come home after your bag has been in a shopping cart, on the floor and who knows where else and plop it on the kitchen counter.

Get ready for the gross factor: Research shows that bacteria like E. coli cling to the bottom of 18% of bags. Keep bags off the floor and whatever you do, don't set a bag on any surface where food is made or eaten.

The TV Remote

Everyone touches it, but very few people ever clean it. Swab it with a disinfecting wipe or a cloth using a solution of 1 part bleach to 9 parts water.

Detergents Are Not the Answer

You may have been relying on your detergent to get rid of all the dirt and germs, but if you're not using bleach or very hot water, you're not killing the bacteria -- they're getting on your hands and staying in the washing machine.

Most of the hot water people use is not hot enough. You need water that's between 140 and 150 degrees to kill germs.

If you're using cold water, Gerba recommends washing your hands after you handle wet clothes, especially if you're washing children's clothes.

Want to add word or two?  

How often should you wash your bedding?

And what about your towels, tea towels and bras?

Whilst we feel like we’re in a never ending stream of washing, scientists are now saying this probably isn’t enough to combat the amount of bacteria around our homes.

Thanks to a recent study looking into just how filthy everyday objects can be, we were left feeling extremely grubby and wondered… is there such a thing as being TOO clean?

Your comment ….?  

You really need to wash towels after three to four uses: Every time you use your towel to scrub your body, dead skin cells cling to the material and linger there.

If you get a musty smell when you bring the towel up to your nose, that’s bacteria growing on the towel itself.

The expert continued as to why getting into a ritual of regularly washing towels is so important:

Because towels are often damp and warm, they’re the perfect breeding ground for bugs and germs. It’s why you should keep on top of the cleaning schedule.

Failing to wash your towels regularly enough could also cause skin irritation and breakouts.

It’s long been thought that drying your face with a dirty towel can lead to acne outbreaks, in the same way that not changing your pillow case regularly can have the same effect.

When you dry your face, you leave tiny amounts of oil, dirt and make-up deritus on it.

The towel becomes laced with bacteria. And then, later that day, you smear it all back on your face the next time you dry it, transferring Bactria to your pores encouraging pimples and causing irritation.

So even if it means investing in an extra towel or two to swap over when you run your other ones through the wash, it’s well worth it to make sure they stay nice and clean.

Also make sure to wash at a high temperature to kill bacteria!