There are some filthy habits that we follow without even realizing it. Here is a list of 12 such habits that you need to give up now.
1. Take Your Phone To The Toilet
In your bathroom, there are pathogens such as E. coli, salmonella, C. difficile, norovirus… These could get deposited onto your phone. Even if you wash your hands before leaving the bathroom, that bacteria is still stuck on your screen.
So that, leave your phone behind the next time you make a trip to the restroom.
2. Using bar soap
Sure, soap cleans hands, but bars are actually breeding grounds for germs when they’re used by multiple people. Opt for liquid soap formulas instead.
3. Sharing Hand Towels
Sharing is caring-except when it comes to germs. Do your family a favor and give every member of the household his or her very own hand towel for the bathroom. Launder the towels at least once a week—or more, if you have small kids-to prevent bacteria buildup in the fabric.
4. Not Washing Hands Long Enough
The optimal amount of time you should spend washing your hands (with warm water and soap) to get them squeaky-clean is 20 to 30 seconds. That’s about how long it takes to sing “Happy Birthday” twice. Yes, really.
5. Drying Hands With The Air Dryer
Using a public restroom? You may want to skip the air dryer to dry your hands. Here’s why: A study published in Applied and Environmental Microbiology found that they can disperse bacteria throughout the room, including onto just-washed hands.
Your best bet when in public? Use paper towels (and use them to open many doors to avoid picking up germs on your way out). If there are no paper towels, just shake your hands dry.
6. Not Shutting The Toilet Lit While Flushing
According to the American Journal of Infection Control, when you flush, the contents of the toilet (water and germs) get tossed around in the air. Not closing the toilet lid, can contaminate your hands, bathroom surfaces, and objects kept nearby like toothbrushes and shampoo bottles with bacteria.
7. Chewing On Pens
Though it might sound like a common habit among kids, it is not the case with kids alone. Many of us, even as adults chew on pens, sometimes even when the pen doesn’t belong to us. Eww, gross. Stop this habit right away.
8. Using Your Mouth To Open Things
How many of you open the everyday milk pack with your teeth? It may seem convenient but it’s absolutely unhygienic. If we take the example of a milk pack, imagine the number of people who touch it, the surfaces it is kept on before it reaches you. Keep a scissor in your kitchen and use it for opening things.
9. Blowing Out Birthday Candles
When you blow out candles, you release bacteria that’s been inside your mouth. And guess where it goes? Toward the target of that air: the surface of the cake. While there’s a slim chance of actually getting sick from these germs, it’s still a little icky.
A study showed that blowing out candles causes the number of bacteria on the surface of a cake to increase by 1,400 percent.
10. Eating At Your Desk
Your computer keyboard is most likely home to some serious germs unless you clean it regularly. If you eat your food on the same surface as your keyboard, you run the risk of ingesting those germs, which are definitely not on the menu!
Not paying much attention to it, we all put our bags and purses on the floor many times. Doing this takes a lot of bacteria home along with your bag’s exterior. Do not keep your bag on the floor and disinfect it.
11. Using A Kitchen Sponge For Too Long
If you use your kitchen sponge for not just cleaning utensils but cleaning the microwave spills and more, you need to change your kitchen sponge once a week. The frequency can be increased or decreased depending on the usage.
12. Putting Your Purse On The Floor
Not paying much attention to it, we all put our bags and purses on the floor many times. Doing this takes a lot of bacteria home along with your bag’s exterior. Do not keep your bag on the floor and disinfect it. Not paying much attention to it, we all put our bags and purses on the floor many times. Doing this takes a lot of bacteria home along with your bag’s exterior. Do not keep your bag on the floor and disinfect it.
