The 10 Germiest Places In Your Home (& How To Clean Them With A Natural Disinfectant)

When we think of tackling germy places in our home, we naturally think of things like the toilet bowl and tub. To our horror, we discovered that many of the germiest items responsible for allowing sickness-causing germs to circulate through your family tree are not ones you’d ever think of! Luckily, they’re all totally simple to keep clean.  Here’s a quick list of the top 10 germiest places in your home and how to keep them clean. 

How To Use A Natural Disinfectant In The Top 10 Germiest Places In Your Home:

1. Kitchen Sponge

It’s not just the stubborn, stuck-on food that gunks up this kitchen workhorse! Sitting wet in a sink or being touched by less-than-perfectly-washed hands means your sponge is likely dirtier than your toilet and could be home to 362 types of bacteria. Yikes! Your best bet is to replace your sponge frequently and spray it down daily (or, even better, fully saturate it) with a natural disinfectant. 

2. Gadgets

If your house is anything like our houses, handwashing is not always completed at surgical scrub levels of germ-reduction! Those grubby little hands that were on the playground are now all over video game controllers, remotes and tablets. One study estimates game controllers to have 7,863 germs for every 100 square centimeters! Give your devices a much-needed daily wipe down: spray a paper towel or cloth with Force of Nature first, then clean and wipe down your tech.

3. Toothbrushes and Toothbrush Holders

They’re in the same room as your toilet which aggressively flushes, flinging particles into the air to land on…your toothbrush! Spray your toothbrush (and its holder) down daily to combatt the 100-200 of types of bacteria (more than the bathroom floor) that exist in your mouth that can cross-pollinate with your family member’s toothbrushes. Toothbrush holders are no better, clocking in at the 3rd germiest object in your house! Double yikes.

4. Coffee Reservoir

For many parents, coffee is life. Unfortunately, the reservoir of your beloved life-elixir is likely teeming with gram-positive strains like staphylococcus, streptococcus and bacillus cereus or bacteria of the intestines, like e-coli. Follow your coffee machine’s cleaning instructions and periodically pour a few ounces of Force of Nature into your coffee reservoir and swish it around.

5. Kitchen Sink

This is where the magic happens. From art projects to food clean up to handwashing, the kitchen sink is the unsung hero of our homes. It’s also home to the fifth-highest microorganisms in the house with coliform bacteria, yeast and mold making an appearance. Spray your sink down with Force of Nature and let it sit! You can do this every day.

6. Your Cell Phone

This is a big one! Our phones come into contact (almost constantly) with our hands and mouth area, leading researchers to identify more than 7,000 types of bacteria including Streptococcus, Staphylococcus, and Corynebacterium families on them, which are typically found in the human mouth and on the skin. This is a big one! Wipe your phone down daily (or multiple times a day) with a cloth or paper towel that you’ve sprayed with Force of Nature. Make it part of your morning and evening routine and keep a travel bottle in your desk for work spray-downs.

7. Cutting Boards

Cutting boards as food prep surfaces, can become a breeding ground for bacteria and allow for cross-contamination and food-borne illness, plus plastic cutting boards may not be better than wood. Plastic cutting boards can be placed in the dishwasher, which allows for a higher water temp. Always rinse cutting boards first before machine or hand washing to remove debris, and sanitize them after by saturating them with a natural disinfectant.

8. Stove Knobs

We touch them every day and to be honest…we don’t clean them that well, making them majorly germy. They’re usually super easy to remove so give them a spa-like soak in hot, soapy water and spray down regularly with Force of Nature.

9. Pet Food Bowls

Oh. Em. Gee. Who knew they were so, so, so disgusting? Pet bowls are amongst the germiest surfaces in our homes harboring yeast, mold, and bacteria like E.coli. Treat your best friend right and wash their dishes in the dishwasher frequently, and spray them down with Force of Nature between washes. Force of Nature is a natural disinfectant and totally pet-friendly. 

10. Microwave Turntable

Speaking of pets, did you know your microwave turntable has 11 times the bacteria of your pet’s food bowl and over 120 times as many as a pet toy? Make sure you’re wiping down your turntable every few days with a natural disinfectant.

Learn More

From cluttered kitchens to grubby hands (and paws!) we’re real people who get that life is messy – and germy. That’s why we’re so passionate about our powerhouse cleaning system, Force of Nature. Starting with the simplest household ingredients, Force of Nature is here to help you keep every surface in your home sparkling clean.