If we were to ask you to name the most unhygienic areas of your house we’d guess your answer would be the bathroom and downstairs toilet, I mean it makes sense right? However, you’ll be surprised to learn that the most unhygienic room is actually the one you’d like to think we were keeping the cleanest. Yes that’s right… it’s the kitchen!
We thought we’d take a look at some of the worst offenders, so that every single one of us can go away and give those unhygienic areas in our kitchens a good spring clean.
Extractor Hood
The very aim of a kitchen extractor hood is to remove bad smells and grease from your kitchen, which means you wouldn’t necessarily think of it as an unhygienic area. The thing is, yes it’s doing some cleaning for you, but how often are you cleaning it?
As a general rule of thumb you should aim to clean your extractor hood every three months, which includes checking and possible changing the filter, giving it a good wipe down and if it’s really bad giving the ducts a good clear out too. Now if this last bit sounds a bit too daunting and you’re worried you might end up causing all kinds of damage (to the hood and yourself!) then it’s worth contacting a professional kitchen extractor hood cleaner, such as Expresshoods.com, who can get right on in there and do all the dirty work for you.
The biggest concern with a dirty extractor hood is the potential fire risk it could cause due to blockages. Plus if it’s left to its own devices for too long and those grease residues continue to build up way beyond any filter’s capability there’s only one place all that dirt and grime can go – and that’s dripping down into the food on your hob. Gross!
Fridge
Considering this is the place you store all your fresh food it doesn’t even bear thinking about the fact this could be one of those unhygienic areas, but we’re afraid it is.
From ice and water dispensers, shelves, salad drawers, and doors, almost every single surface of your fridge harbours some kind of bacteria. Ideally you should be giving your fridge a good clean every month and by a good clean we mean completely emptying it of its contents and washing every surface with a mild disinfectant. If you have an ice and water dispenser you can clean it with sterilising solution or with white vinegar mixed with water, making sure to rinse it thoroughly afterwards. To get rid of any nasty whiffs, try sprinkling bicarbonate of soda and leaving for a while before wiping away and then leave half a lemon to help deodorise and freshen up the interior.
To ensure your fridge stays clean, make sure you clear up any spillages as soon as they happen and give the salad drawer a wipe with some kitchen paper every so often to mop up any excess moisture from your fruit and vegetables – this will also help them to last longer too.
Worktop
Without doubt the most used area in the kitchen, we do everything on the worktops. We prepare and serve food on it, we mix and knead dough on it, we eat from it, put our shopping bags on it, the kids might do their homework on it, the kitchen worktop has got it all going on. And yes sure it gets cleaned on the daily, but is that really enough? Well no, as it happens, because the kitchen worktop is one of the most unhygienic areas in your kitchen.
How you look after your worktop will depend on what your worktop is made from. Wooden worktops will absorb liquids so it’s really important you clear up any spills immediately to prevent staining, warping and to minimise the growth of bacteria. It will need to be treated with oil or wax once a year to keep it looking its best. Steel is the most hygienic kitchen surface as it is resistant to heat, water and stains and is the reason this is the material of choice in industrial kitchens. It can be easy to scratch however, especially f you’re wearing your 4th & Avery watch or other jewellery when cleaning it. Always remove jewellery when cleaning otherwise you risk damaging it as well as your lovely stainless steel surfaces.
Sink
Possibly one of the last areas you’d imagine to get dirty, the kitchen sink is actually one of the worst offenders. Impossible to believe we know, after all it regularly has hot soapy water running over it, how could it possibly get dirty? You’d be surprised.
Despite the fact there is regular running water on your kitchen sink there will be plenty of bacterial microbes clinging onto all the nooks and crannies especially plughole seals, corners, and around the taps. Remember it’s not just water being poured down the sink, there’s all those dirty dishes with their leftover food debris going down their too and that’s where things start to get dirty.
You should give the sink a wipe down after every use and you should give it a really good disinfect once a week, including flushing out the drain to help prevent blockages, which can cause nasty smells. Your hands can end up getting quite dry after cleaning especially if the products you use contain lots of chemicals. To prevent this you should wear gloves and then moisturise them with a product designed for sensitive skin, such as the ones available from Reil-cosmetics.at. You might also want to look for more natural cleaning products that are better for you, your home and the environment.
So there you are, some of the most unhygienic areas in your kitchen revealed. Were there any surprises for you? Now that you know where these grimy areas are you can make a concerted effort to keep on top of them and be safe in the knowledge that your kitchen is super sparkly clean.
