Many people believe that they run a perfectly tight ship when it comes to kitchen safety, but a lot of people would also be wrong. Washing your hands often enough is really only half the battle.
Germs and harmful microorganisms can hide out in a lot of different places and cross-contamination can be a bigger issue than you’d otherwise think. Here area few safety tips to follow in order to ensure you and your family are as safe as possible.
Keep Sponges Sanitary
Many people wrongly think that because sponges are used to clean dishes and counters in tandem with one cleaning product or another that they’re always clean. In actuality, your kitchen sponges can be some of the dirtiest and least sanitary items in your kitchen, so it’s important to keep yours sanitised.
You should be either running your sponges through the hot cycle on your washing machine or soaking them periodically in bleach solution to kill germs. Do not wait until your sponges “look” dirty or smell to wash them or replace them. By then, the situation has become pretty dire. In reality, sponges should be replaced frequently and washed multiple times during their lifetime.
Be Careful With Dish Towels and Surfaces
Dish towels can be one of the most common culprits when it comes to the spread of bacteria and other types of contamination. Use different dish towels for different purposes instead of keeping one or two around that are used for multiple purposes. You shouldn’t be using the same towel to dry your hands after washing that you use to wipe down your kitchen counters, for instance.
All surfaces in your kitchen need to be wiped down using clean towels and strong cleaning agents frequently in order to kill organisms – daily if possible.
