It is the National Spring Cleaning Week from the 14th to the 20th of March. As a market leader we at FastKlean are particularly excited to play an integral part in it by promoting it and creating awareness as to why and how spring cleaning at home is vital. The effect of a spring cleaning to our home is like a deep detox session to our bodies. It is absolutely vital mainly to our carpets, curtains, upholstery and other fabrics which absorb dust and are natural habitat for millions of micro-organisms. It is recommended that a spring cleaning is carried out three times a year to maintain healthy environment for ourselves and to prolong the life of our furniture, carpeting, etc.
Last but not least, we are proud to announce that on March the 15th our Operations Manager Peter was on 7 Live Radio programmes – Fantasy FM, Nu Sound Radio, Radio Yorkshire, BBC Radio Guernsey, BBC Radio Cambridgeshire, Oldham Community Radio, Big City Radio and the whole interview was played on 9 more stations later that day – 91.8 Hayes FM, Forest FM 92.3, Waves Radio, Imagine FM, BFBS, WFM, Beverley FM, 97.5 Kemet FM and Radio Verulam. The feedback we have received on his performance is so, so positive that we have decided it’s a good idea to save a copy here in case you’ve missed it.
Where in the home and office is worst for germs?
As a matter of fact, I could possibly name at least 5/6 spots which are in severe competition being the worst for germs in our home and office;
Generally speaking, our living environment contains hundreds of billions of microbes and germs; Just and example –
Did you know that there are more germs on a £1 coin than a toilet seat and that there are over 20 billion microbes in our oral cavity alone
Having said that, I think we need to work more to raise awareness thereby improve the general cleanliness of all surfaces in our home/office and this is why I am here today.
To answer your question – the kitchen sponge and sink top the list when we look at a recent study carried out in people’s homes. More than 75% of kitchen sponges and rags had coli formed bacteria on them. Following closely is the kitchen sink with 45% of sinks tested having potentially harmful coli form bacteria. It is a common misconception that the toilet seat is the dirtiest area in your home, when in fact it is cleaner than your chopping board.
In the office we have a similar picture. A recent study reveals the following are the dirtiest areas in our offices:
- 75% of break room sinks and taps
- 48% of microwave door handles
- 27% of keyboards, desks and phones
- 26% of refrigerator door handles
- 23% of water fountain buttons
- 21% of vending machine buttons
Why do these tend to be the worst?
The problem with sponges is that we use them to wipe up everything, don’t always clean them, and moisture remains inside them, which creates an environment for bacteria to grow. And just think about what we put in the kitchen sink. We put food scraps, there’s dirt and bacteria from everything we wash off there like potatoes, and other vegetables. People also use their kitchen sinks to wash many other household items. It’s no wonder that 45% of the kitchen sinks tested had potentially harmful coli form bacteria.
What can you do to reduce bacteria in the home and office?
Our main point of reference in this regard must be a simple fact – bacteria are living organisms.
They can rapidly adapt to changes by adjusting their enzyme levels thus becoming resistant to different detergents and disinfectants.
The best thing to do is to regularly steam clean all surfaces. Extremely high temperature is the healthiest and most efficient & effective way to go about it;
We may also regularly change the products we use to eradicate germs and microbes; We should also consider what and where is it that we want to clean.
For example, cleaning the floor and cleaning the shower calls for different methods. In the first instance – we must consider what the floor is made from and clean accordingly,
In the second instance, we must avoid toxic detergents and use organic solutions or apply traditional methods such as scrubbing the shower head with an old toothbrush and then soaking it in vinegar overnight to dissolve and remaining deposits;
A lot of people hate cleaning. How can we make household chores more enjoyable?
A good way to do it is to clean small bits every day or every other day; another option is the team work – if the whole family becomes involved in the process it may even be a lot of fun;
You can have a scavenger hunt. Make a list of everyday items (newspapers, shoes, magazines, etc). Set a timer for 5 minutes, and then have the kids collect stray items throughout the house. The winner is the child who picks up the most (and returns them to their rightful spots).
Show them the money! Some experts believe allowance should be reserved for teenagers. School-aged children will easily get behind the idea that chores are something you do as a member of the family – not money. They will be excited just to show off their skill at completing a task.
Another idea is to put on a heart rate monitor and see how many calories you can burn as you clean. Add jumping jacks between tasks to get your number higher.
We have a dedicated article on how to make cleaning fun in the cleaning news section on our website.
However, the best alternative is definitely hiring FastKlean to do the cleaning for you. This is when the real fun comes your way because you will have your spare time to yourself and your loved ones and, last but not least, the job will be done professionally which makes a big difference;
Why is it so important that we clean regularly?
Very simple – it is crucial to our health. Our home and office is where we spend the most of our time therefore it is the environment which affects us the most;
The way it affects us depends on its hygiene. Poor hygiene means ill health. If dust and bacteria are everywhere, we are exposed to a great risk. Some bacteria
can double their numbers within 20 minutes under ideal conditions. Take a moment to think about it. We are lucky to have some very efficient
cleaning solutions at our disposal.
It only takes a minute to wash our hands, clean a door handle, wipe a surface, sanitize our smart phone screen, etc. It is really easy to make a difference.
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