Here are a few interesting things I found on the web regarding germs, bacteria and cleanliness. Let me assure you, this is internet “fact” gathering, and food for thought, consideration and further exploration by you, the reader. If you disagree or think something is hog-wash, well that’s dandy too. I just found this stuff thought-provoking. (click the topic subheads to link to the full articles)

Hand-washing your dishes may prevent childhood allergies more than dishwashing your dishes.

This is based on a study in Sweden and perfectly props up my excuse to avoid using the dishwasher. I HATE the unload. My general rule is….if it touches someones mouth, it goes in the dishwasher. If you just use it to stir, slice or cook, you can rinse it off or hand-wash. Exceptions are raw meats of course. And also, you CAN use the same glass during the day, like for breakfast and dinner with a hand-wash in between. Just because you take a dish out of the drawer doesn’t mean it has to go straight into the DW when you are finished. Preserve the earth’s resources, save your wife’s (mother’s) sanity and do a quick hand-wash.

That kitchen sponge though.

Oh yeah, it’s potentially a festering petri dish of germs. Mostly that could cause food-borne illness. You already know you have to microwave that thing in a bowl to boiling, but now I found out that we really should be bleaching it. I think I’ll just make sure it dries out, micro after any raw food clean ups and buy them in bulk at Costco so I can throw them away willy-nilly. 

And paper towels, while both tacky and un-evironmentally friendly compared to cloth, are better for many kitchen clean ups.

We are a cloth napkin every day, dish cloth family. I can’t stand paper napkins or paper towels. I am now rethinking my laundry practice, and am going to be sure to use paper towels to clean up after dealing with raw meats. Plus I am not going to feel bad about using those wipes  that are so handy. But not too often, because too much disinfecting is also a bad thing. 

Other than food borne bacteria, your main germiness concerns should be for things that get a lot of contact with the outside world. 

Like your phone. And your water bottle and gym stuff. And anything the general public touches all the time…door knobs, faucet handles, ATM machines, stair and hand railings. And if you even walk BY a lower school, doctor’s office or hospital. Start scrubbing now.

Washing your hands after you “go”, which is a duh of course, cause, gross, won’t save you from the germiest spots in the bathroom.

I may never use a public restroom again. And I am always going to use a paper towel as protection to get out once I’ve washed. And then I am going to call in hazmat to dispose of said paper towel.

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The main thing I gather from reading all these articles is that we should really mostly worry about disinfecting our hands when leaving a public space, as it seems most people pick up dangerous germs (other than food borne) when they’re away from home. By simply washing your hands the moment you walk into the house, you can help cut your odds of you or your family catching something. And also, it’s not the soaping or the water temp that “kills” the germs when we wash our hands, it’s literally the rubbing and scrubbing motion that knocks the germs off. I swear that’s what I read. The soap just makes that process go more quickly.

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