Bacteria

Bacteria is everywhere. It is just a fact of life. Yet, there are steps we can take to remove or reduce this harmful substance from our home and life.

By reducing or removing bacteria, we are making our lives not only cleaner, but healthier. We all know this is what helps to spread viruses and what helps to make us sick. But did you also know that bacteria can also be the reason for many other health conditions such as: allergies,

sinusitis, headaches, fatigue, nausea, depression, dermatitis, skin rashes, sore throats, nasal congestion and itchy watery eyes. Plus, if a person a person all ready has a weakened immune system he/she is more likely to develop these conditions quicker when he/she is around bacteria on a regular basis.

For this reason, it is vital that we try to remove or reduce as much as bacteria as we can. Here are some simple steps we can all take in our home in our lives to accomplish this feat.

1. Wash our hands. Yes, this is the simplest step we can take. But it is also maybe the most important one. Bacteria comes into contact to our hands. It hides in the folds of our hands and in between our fingers. We touch something like a doorknob and the bacteria can spread onto it. Then another person comes and opens said doorknob he/she now is has come into contact with the bacteria. If he/she does not wash his/her hands soon, he/she will further spread it.

2. The kitchen is a real good breeding place for bacteria. The reason is clear. It is where we prepare foods such as raw meats, store leftovers and handle fresh produce. For these reasons, we must learn how to disinfect our kitchen properly. Use disinfect cleaners. Wipe your counter tops with sponges or paper towels then throw away or laundry. Watch about cross contamination. Cross contamination can happen for example when you wipe off meat juice with a sponge and then rinse the sponge with water only and then use it again to wipe off the counter top. The water is not strong enough to kill the bacteria in the sponge. The sponge needs to be laundried or put in your dishwasher.

3. Never use the same cutting board for both meats and fresh produce.

4. Refrigerate or freeze food immediately when brought home from the store.

5. Carefully scrub all fresh produce to remove bacteria before eating.

6. Cook all meats, poultry and seafood thoroughly.

7. Spray your trashcans regularly with a disinfectant spray.

8. Wash your towels separately from your other clothes, using the hottest setting on your washer.

9. Dry your clothes completely.

10. At the end of your wash, run a cycle of water and just ads some bleach or other type of disinfectant to it. Let it run through the regular cycles as if their were clothes inside of it. The bleach will clean any bacteria that could be growing inside.

11. Consider hiring a professional to clean your heating and cooling ducts with a professional disinfectant that will help to remove mold and mildew (forms of bacteria).

12. Do you see a greenish tint on the outside of your home? That is mildew. This is a form of bacteria that can gradually harm your home and back you sick. Have it power washed from your home using a cleaning agent made to remove mold.

13. Do you own a cell phone or a computer? Have your ever thought about the germs that our lurking on those keys? You could easily remove those germs and bacteria by simply and carefully wiping down with an antibacterial wipe.

14. What about your makeup? Did you know if that you stored it in a warm room it can become contaminated and bacteria can soon begin growing. This means that the bathroom with all that steam from our hot showers may not be the best room to keep it. Speaking of makeup, those makeup counters where women can get complimentary makeovers for free, may also be a breading ground for bacteria. Women are not supposed to share makeup. If the makeup artists uses the same blush on two women, bacteria can begin to form. Think about how many women may use the same blush each day during a makeover day (it doesn't matter if they switch brushes between each use).

Bacteria grows everywhere. The places we need to be most diligent about reducing it as much as possible are: where we prepare foods, where we eat, things we handle the most (doorknobs, remotes, cellphones, phones, keypads, refrigerator door handles, etc), our bathrooms, and where we sleep. If we do these little things, we may reduce the bacteria and we may become healthier.