The four dirtiest places in your house

When it comes to keeping a clean house, most of us tend to focus on the areas we see as visibly dirty, like the floors, but what about those other areas that we use daily but that don't stand out as much or that we just don't think of as dirty and which might get overlooked?

Here are the top 4 dirtiest areas in your house

The Kitchen Sink

Your kitchen sink is a prime breeding ground for germs. Underneath, the taps and the overflow drain are hard to reach and, therefore, to clean. Making sure they're not neglected is essential - to keep your sink clean and in good condition and your family safe too.

To keep your kitchen sink clean and germ-free:

• Wipe the sink down at the end of each day using anti-bacterial wipes or a non-abrasive disinfectant spray.
• Deep clean your sink weekly with freshly boiled water and a gentle cleaning solution. To do this safely, put a few drops of the cleaning solution directly into the drain and overflow, leave for around 20-30 minutes, and pour boiled water directly into the drains.
• Clean around the edges of your drains and taps regularly using a solution of white vinegar, baking soda, and a drop of lemon juice. This prevents build-up from occurring.

Fridge Door Seal

Despite the fridge being something that most of us use daily, it can be surprisingly overlooked when it comes to cleaning. One of the dirtiest areas in the home is not the fridge itself but the rubber seal around the door.

Odours, food particles, and moisture can become trapped in the seal, leading to bacteria growth and mould - neither belonging in your fridge.

To clean it, remove the seal from the refrigerator door by gently pulling away from the door at each corner.

If it doesn't come off easily, you can use an old toothbrush or other small brush to pry between the edges of your refrigerator and freezer doors until you're able to get them loose enough to pull off both sides of the seal at once

Once off, you can wash them separately with warm soapy water, then dry them thoroughly before replacing them in the fridge by following the outline of the door and pressing down until the seal is secure.

To avoid the seal becoming a haven for bacteria, you should include it in your weekly fridge cleaning with warm soapy water or an antibacterial wipe.

The Shower and Bathtub

Showers and bathtubs are the perfect places for attracting bacteria, so if they’re not cleaned properly after use, then things like soap scum, hair, dirt, and even dead skin cells will remain there.

This can cause discolouration of the tub or shower floor and surrounding tiles and even lead to mould forming in the grout between tiles.

To keep your bathtub and shower clean and free from germs, it's not enough to simply rinse down with the shower head after each use - although this should be done to wash away excess dirt.

Your bathtub or shower should be cleaned properly after each use and deep cleaned once per week.

Depending on your preferences and whether you live in a hard or soft water area, you can use an antibacterial cleaning spray for bathrooms, or even a solution of baking soda, white vinegar and lemon juice that you spray onto the tiles, starting at the top, leave to set for ten minutes, and then rinse off.

You should also use a non-abrasive sponge to clean around the surface, sides, and areas like the taps and drains to ensure they’re clean and germ-free.

Kitchen Counters

Kitchen counters are massive breeding grounds for bacteria. Although food is typically prepared on cutting boards and not directly on the counter itself, many things are still coming into contact with your counter.

Things like spills and splashes from raw food being prepared, dust and crumbs that gather underneath appliances, and even germs from plastic bags and packaging can all lead to dirty kitchen counters if not cleaned properly.

The good thing is kitchen counters take very little time to clean, and if done as part of your daily cleaning tasks by wiping down with some antibacterial wipes or spray and a deep clean behind all appliances once per week, you'll have no trouble keeping them clean.

When it comes to keeping a clean house, most of us tend to focus on the areas we see as visibly dirty.

Keeping on top of housework can sometimes feel overwhelming, especially if you don't know which areas of your house to focus on when cleaning. We hope this post has helped you identify the areas of your home that might need extra attention.