The Dirtiest Spots in Every Malaysian Home (It’s Not Where You Think!)

Where are the filthiest spots in your house? What are the grossest items with the most bacteria? On top of the cupboard? Behind the fridge? The answers will surprise you.

These are all good candidates, but people hardly come into contact with such areas on a regular basis.

No, the dirtiest spots are the ones that you touch everyday, but you *think* are clean, so they get ignored. These locations are breeding grounds for bacteria. And Malaysia has a perfect storm of conditions for bacterial growth. 30 degrees Celsius and lots of humidity all-year long.

Let’s discuss some of the dirtiest spots in your home so you can get your home cleaning services underway.

Stove knobs

It’s easy to see why a study found 27 per cent of stove knobs harboring mould and yeast, while 14 per cent had coliform bacteria. They’re constantly touched while cooking and often ignored because they are difficult to clean. So if you’re buying a cooking stove, make sure the knobs are removable and can be washed in warm, soapy water. Photo source

Kitchen cloth

If you go to mamak, you instinctively know that the cloth he’s using to wipe your table is not going to do the job. But when you get home, you end up doing the same thing. Wiping with a kitchen cloth doesn’t adequately clean your kitchen counter. Frequent food contact feeds surface bacteria. In a 2008 study that included Malaysia, 90% of kitchen cloths failed the bacteria test, with over 100,000 bacteria per square centimetre.

Kicap bottle, spices and seasoning containers

Has this ever happened to you; you’re marinating a piece of raw chicken for stir-fry tonight. Then you realise you need more seasoning. Maybe it’s salt, or cumin, or kunyit. What do you do? Quickly rinse your hands and grab the seasoning container, right?

This is not a good idea, as the raw meat that didn’t wash off your hands can transfer to the surface of the containers, and breed salmonella bacteria.

Kitchen Sink

The same study on kitchen cloths also showed that your kitchen sink is pretty gross. In fact, bathroom sinks are cleaner than kitchen sinks. There are a few reasons. First, you use the kitchen sink to wash raw meat. Second, most people pay more attention to cleaning the bathroom than they do their kitchen. As such, 46 percent of kitchen sinks failed the bacteria test. Photo source.

By the way, did you know that you shouldn’t wash raw chicken?

Keyboard / Astro Remote Control

Here’s a bit of irony; I’ve seen people sneeze into their palm, then pick up the Astro remote and change the channel to Discovery Home and Health. And all of us are guilty at one point or another of eating at our computers. Where do you think all those biscuit crumbs went?

The winner: Your dishwashing sponge!

These are by far the dirtiest spots in homes. According to one study, the dishwashing sponge is 200,000 times dirtier than your toilet seat! You will find staph bacteria, yeast, mould and coliform bacteria on them. Ironically, these are what you use to clean with. The best way to disinfect sponges is to put in in the microwave on full power for a couple of minutes. Photo source.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HCeB9WoS60U

Now that you know where the dirtiest spots are in your home, why got help from a professional cleaning service? Recommend.my can find cleaning services in Malaysia for you. Our service professionals can arrange regular visits, or do a one-time spring cleaning. Get quotes  within hours and hire based on customer reviews and recommendations.