Experts Warn to Avoid these Unclean Practices
Keeping Your Sponges & Loofahs Too Long If you want your bath or shower to actually help you get clean, you need to regularly replace your sponges and loofahs. The grooved surfaces and moisture-trapping properties of these bath accessories are ideal for bacteria and mold reproduction. Scrubbing down with all those contaminants means depositing staph, strep, and other pathogens that can cause painful skin infections like folliculitis. Play it safe and toss sponges every month and harder exfoliating loofahs every two months.
Not Cleaning Your Lipstick
The next time you apply your favorite lipstick, make sure it’s nice and clean first. The product is coming in contact with your mouth every day and then harboring those germs, just waiting for the next swipe. Instead of tossing it, dip the tip of the lipstick in alcohol and then wipe the top layer off using a clean tissue. It won’t harm the product, but will help protect you from depositing bacteria on your pout.
Swimming in Public Pools
Sure it beats the heat, but taking a dip in that publicly shared pool also means taking a dip in not-so-refreshing E. coli. That’s right, the E. coli found in feces. A recent study found that 58 percent of public swimming pools were contaminated with the diarrhea-causing pathogen stemming from toddlers swimming with full diapers and people who have upset stomachs or who haven’t showered before diving in. As if devouring US Weekly on a lounge chair instead wasn’t tempting to begin with…
Not Cleaning Your Handbag
The restaurant floor, the kitchen countertop, the bathroom stall—our purses go everywhere with us and because of this, our bags are loaded with germs. A study conducted in the UK found that 20 percent of women’s handbags were covered with bacterial levels higher than toilet seats and toilet handles. Don’t go throwing out your Louis just yet, instead wipe your bag down at least once a week with antibacterial wipes or your leather cleaner, purchase a traveling purse hook, and be mindful of where you set it down. Don’t forget your wallet—think of all the germ-laden money coming in contact with it every day.
Not Cleaning Out the Fridge It’s not enough to wipe down the outside of the fridge each week; the drawers of the refrigerator are major culprits in the transmission of food-borne illnesses. The vegetable compartments designed to properly store fresh fruits and veggies were found to be rampant with salmonella, yeast, mold, and listeria. This leans a bit to explaining why lettuce and leafy vegetables were the leading source for food-borne illness in the last year. To combat this, wash your produce before storing and then again before eating, clean your compartments regularly, and avoid storing unwashed produce with washed produce.
Not Speaking Up During a Pedicure No one wants to be bossy, but if you’re not speaking up at the nail salon you could be subjecting yourself to a plethora of unsanitary conditions. “Outbreaks of serious skin infections on the legs and feet following spa pedicures have occurred from contaminated foot baths that were not properly cleaned and disinfected,” says dermatologist Dr. Debra Price.
Monterey Day Spa takes special care to make sure everything is sanitized. We do not want to risk the health of our clients, but please, feel free to ask if foot baths have been disinfected between clients, if tools are autoclaved, and if your nail tech will wash his/her hands between clients.
Not Cleaning your Mobile Phone
There’s such a thing as cell phone bacteria art. Just knowing that is enough to make you reach for the antibacterial wipes. When you think of how often your phone comes in contact with your face, hands, and various other surfaces it’s easy to see how cell phones have been found to be contaminated with the flu virus, pinkeye and diarrhea-disease causing pathogens—just to name a few. Your best bet is to wipe down with mini alcohol pads—they’re affordable and small enough to carry in your purse or slip in your pocket and you can find them near the first aid section.
Pumping Gas
Forget the old adage about the germy bathroom of the gas station—the real petri dish here is the unavoidable gas station pump. Research revealed that a whopping 71 percent of gas pumps are contaminated with germs connected to high-risk illness—that makes it the most contaminated objected we come in contact with every day. Because you can’t avoid filling up forever, your best solution here is to use hand sanitizer immediately after pumping, followed by a good hand washing when you can. Also, avoid touching and contaminating your face after pumping gas.
For more on why you should avoid touching your face, check out: http://www.chickrx.com/articles/14-simple-ways-to-prevent-crow-s-feet
Using Reusable Bags
Making the switch to reusable shopping bags may be great for the environment, but it’s also good for growing bacteria. The bags are often contaminated with bacteria such as E. coli left behind from groceries and other contact surfaces. Don’t ditch your bags just yet; be sure to wash them regularly after each shopping trip and you’ll be good to go.
Eating at Your Desk The next time you’re crunched for time, think twice about eating at your desk. Numerous studies have shown that office desks, keyboards, and phones are riddled with bacteria and viruses that can lead to diarrheal disease, colds, and even the flu. Women were found to have cleaner desks than their male co-workers—of course—but still even the cleanest was not clean enough. Take a few moment each day to wipe down your work area, concentrating on high-contact areas like the phone, keyboard, and mouse, wash your hands frequently, and try not to touch your face.
Hand Washing Incorrectly
Because reading this has likely sent you into a fit of OCD hand washing, be sure you’re doing it right. To annihilate germs, the CDC recommends wetting your hands and then lathering soap for 20 seconds—the length it’ll take you to hum “Happy Birthday” twice. Don’t forget to get between your fingers, your nails, and the backs of your hands. Rinse with warm water, turn the facet off with a towel, and then dry with a different clean towel. Grabbing the door and opening it with a towel is also a great idea.
If you’re on the go, you can substitute hand sanitizer, but make sure it’s at least 60% alcohol based or you’ll be doing little more than sliming up the germs on your hands. Bottom line: if you can use soap and water, it’s best.
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