The Importance of Sanitizing and Cleaning Around the House

Hardened water and mineral deposits are making your coffee taste funky, which is likely due to the buildup on the knobs on your stove or other frequently touched areas that are often overlooked during cleaning. If your knobs are removable, it's a good idea to remove them and wash them in hot soapy water. On the other hand, if they're not removable, simply make sure you're taking extra time to spray them down and sanitize them.

The same goes for the faucet handles, which contain more household germs than toilet seats or toilet handles. It's essential to regularly clean and sanitize these areas using a rubbing alcohol solution and wiping them down thoroughly. The bathroom faucet handles are particularly prone to harboring germs, so make sure you're taking extra care to keep them clean.

Another frequently overlooked area is the kitchen dish towels. These are hotbeds for bacteria, and it's crucial to run them in a hot water cycle and washing machine to fully sanitize them. Moving on to the bathroom, we start with the toothbrush. If you're keeping your toothbrush out, be very careful, as when you flush your toilet, micro-particles in the air can get onto your toothbrush. An easy way to sanitize your toothbrush is to soak it in antibacterial mouthwash for about 10 minutes.

In addition to using a mouthwash solution, there's also a product called a thermopod that can be used to keep your toothbrush sterile. This device is particularly useful when traveling and can provide an added layer of protection against germs. If you're like me, make it a rule to replace your toothbrush every time you open a new tube of toothpaste. It's also essential to sanitize the holder regularly by running it in the dishwasher.

Retainers and mouth guards require special care as well. After each use, brush them clean with a separate brush, and at least once a week, do a deeper clean using specialized tablets or a diluted mouthwash solution. Letting the retainer or mouth guard soak for about 30 minutes can help kill any remaining bacteria, and make sure to fully dry it before storing.

Finally, let's talk about the toilet bowl itself. While cleaning the toilet bowl is often the most visible part of this task, the real mess is usually found on the rim, base, and surrounding floor and walls. After cleaning the toilet bowl, take a moment to spray down the entire area with rubbing alcohol and wipe it clean. As for the toilet brush, I've moved away from using disposable heads and opted for a new system instead.

If you're like me, you'll appreciate the convenience of replaceable toilet brush heads that can be easily tossed after each use. This eliminates the need to worry about sanitizing a dirty toilet brush. And finally, if you use a loofah in the shower, be sure to regularly clean and sanitize it by spraying it down with rubbing alcohol and wiping it clean.

As we move on to our office space, we find that keyboards are often coming into contact with hands and fingers all day long, making them a breeding ground for germs. To combat this, simply spray your rubbing alcohol onto a cotton pad and wipe down the keys thoroughly. Don't forget to get into the grooves between the keys by using a q-tip and rubbing alcohol.

Finally, we have our cell phones, which are often touched frequently throughout the day and sometimes even brought up to the face. This makes them particularly susceptible to germs, so it's essential to regularly sanitize them using a rubbing alcohol solution and wiping them down thoroughly. And that's all for this week's video – I hope you enjoyed it! If you did, please give it a thumbs up, and don't forget to check out my last video where I helped organize spaces at home.

The subscriber Mia Glen suggested an idea for me to help with home organization, which I love. To start, leave your biggest personal organization challenges in the comments below or send me a picture to this email address, and I may use it in my next video and provide you with some ideas and inspiration for organizing your spaces. And don't forget to check out my blog post, "My Husband's Control of My Life for a Day," where Ryan got to experience everything I do for the day, and he had a really good time doing it.

If you didn't see that video, I have a link to it in the description box below. And that's all for now – thanks for watching, and I'll see you soon with another video!

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enhi everyone and welcome back to my channel so I'm going to start off this video with another quick little story time and it is related to the topic so just hang in there with me when Ryan and I first started dating the first time that I stayed over at his place it was in his bathroom brushed my teeth and out of the corner of my eye I see something on his countertop I am green kind of brown it smelled and frankly I couldn't tell if it was alive or dead so I'd go out into the room I'm like Ryan what is that on your counter oh my mouth guard I'm sorry or mouth guard you put that thing in your mouth have you ever cleaned it oh yeah I rinse it off with water every night I have no words actually this mouth guard still haunts my dreams to this day five years later so today we're gonna be talking about the nastiest dirtiest things that are lurking around our homes and how to clean them and I do want to say as a disclaimer to this video the goal here is not that we are living in a perfectly sterile environment all the time I am fully aware that it is good to have healthy bacteria in the home you don't want to be living in a bubble but at the same time there are some things that can get pretty nasty over time that do need to be cleaned periodically so I'm going to be sharing some of those with you guys today so hopefully nobody else out there is going to have to deal with their own mouth guard situation if you are new to my channel and you enjoy this video I would love to have you as a subscriber press that red subscribe button and you'll be notified of all of my future videos and with all that said let's go ahead and jump into the video so let's start by talking about the cleaning agents we'll be using my number one that I like to use is isopropyl alcohol aka rubbing alcohol this is an effective sterilizer it's antimicrobial against bacteria fungi and viruses you want to look for 70% isopropyl alcohol without getting into the science the 70% is actually the most effective at sterilizing one thing to know is that it is flammable so keep it away from heat or fire sources vinegar is highly acidic and it's great at removing filled-up and crime but it's not as highly effective as a disinfectant so I prefer to use rubbing alcohol all right so we're gonna start in the kitchen and your kitchen sponge is likely the dirtiest item and your entire house the combination of food and moisture here makes it a breeding ground for bacteria so I actually recommend that you toss your kitchen sponge and instead switch to using a synthetic brush they are much less likely to harbor bacteria and you can sanitize them in the dishwasher your kitchen sink also catches a lot of bacteria from washing your produce and meat so at least twice a week I like to scrub out my sink with soap and water and then spray it down with my 70% rubbing alcohol solution let that set rinse it all off and you have a nice sanitizing the compartment that holds water in your coffee maker or your Keurig is dark and moist and a great place for bacteria to thrive I recommend at least once a month filling the chamber with a cup of distilled white vinegar let it soak there for about 30 minutes then run your machine with the vinegar and then run it 2 or 3 more times with water and not only will this sanitize your machine it also will make your coffee taste better because that hardened water and mineral deposits are making your coffee taste funky the knobs on your stove or something that are frequently touch especially as you're cooking and sometimes overlooked during cleaning so if your knobs are removable it's a good idea to remove them and wash them in hot soapy water if not just make sure you are taking that extra time to spray them down and sanitize them next over to the faucet in particular the handles on the faucet your faucet handles contain more household germs than your toilet seat or your toilet handle this also goes for your bathroom faucet handles make sure you are really cleaning these spray them down with your rubbing alcohol and then wipe them to make sure they are sanitized and the last step in the kitchen are your kitchen dish towels these are such hot beds for bacteria so make sure you are running your towels in a hot water cycle and your washing machine to fully sanitize them now moving on to the bathroom is starting with your toothbrush if you're keeping your toothbrush out you have to be very careful because when you flush your toilet there are micro particles in the air that can get onto your toothbrush it is not pleasant to think about an easy way to sanitize your toothbrush is to soak it in your antibacterial mouthwash for about 10 minutes I also use this thing called a theropod to keep it nice and sterile this is great to have in particular while traveling and of course you want to replace your toothbrush often my personal system that I do is I make it a rule to replace my toothbrush every time I open a new tube of toothpaste it's just a good easy reminder and also make sure to sanitize your toothbrush holder regularly an easy way to do this is just to run it in the dishwasher of course I have to mention retainers and mouth guards so after each use brush them clean with a separate brush and at least once a week you want to do a deeper clean they make special tablets for this you could even use denture tablets or you can use a diluted mouthwash solution let it soak for about 30 minutes rinse it clean and fully dry it after and also clean the case that it comes in so don't just clean the toilet bowl and see the real mess is usually on the rim the toilet base and the surrounding floor and walls especially when you have men in the house so what I like to do after cleaning the toilet bowl is I take my rubbing alcohol solution I spray down the entire toilet area let it sit for about ten minutes and then wipe it clean as for the toilet brush this is one thing that I have moved over to a disposable system I used these replaceable toilet brush heads so after each use I can toss it and use a new one so I don't have to worry about sanitizing a nasty toilet brush if you use a loofah in the shower make sure you were placing them often I've actually moved away from using loofah and I switch to just using my hand and my body wash now moving on to your office your keyboard is something that is coming into contact with your hands and your fingers all day long so you want to make sure you are sterilizing it all you need to do for this is spray your rubbing alcohol onto a cotton pad and wipe down your keys and to get in between the grooves of the keys you can put some rubbing alcohol on a q-tip and get in all of the grooves and last but not least is your cell phone you are touching this all day long and sometimes you're even putting that up to your face so it's especially important to sanitize this regularly again here you can just spray your rubbing alcohol onto a cotton pad and wipe it down to clean it all right so that's gonna be it for this week's video I really hope you enjoyed it if you did please give it a thumbs up and also in my last video I had a subscriber Mia Glen give me a video idea suggestion which I love and that is that I would help you guys at home organize your spaces so leaving out in the comments your biggest personal organization challenges that you have in your home or even better send me a picture to this email address and I may use it in my video and give you some ideas and inspiration for organizing your spaces also if you do not see my Thursday flog that I posted a lot of you are saying that is your favorite blog you've seen me do and make sure you check that out it's called my husband control of my life for a day Ryan got to the side everything I did for the day and he had a really good time doing it and I cannot wait for my revenge so I will have a link to that video down in the description box and all that said thank you so much for watching and I will see you soon with a new video bye I don't know what she's talking about my mouth hurts not that badhi everyone and welcome back to my channel so I'm going to start off this video with another quick little story time and it is related to the topic so just hang in there with me when Ryan and I first started dating the first time that I stayed over at his place it was in his bathroom brushed my teeth and out of the corner of my eye I see something on his countertop I am green kind of brown it smelled and frankly I couldn't tell if it was alive or dead so I'd go out into the room I'm like Ryan what is that on your counter oh my mouth guard I'm sorry or mouth guard you put that thing in your mouth have you ever cleaned it oh yeah I rinse it off with water every night I have no words actually this mouth guard still haunts my dreams to this day five years later so today we're gonna be talking about the nastiest dirtiest things that are lurking around our homes and how to clean them and I do want to say as a disclaimer to this video the goal here is not that we are living in a perfectly sterile environment all the time I am fully aware that it is good to have healthy bacteria in the home you don't want to be living in a bubble but at the same time there are some things that can get pretty nasty over time that do need to be cleaned periodically so I'm going to be sharing some of those with you guys today so hopefully nobody else out there is going to have to deal with their own mouth guard situation if you are new to my channel and you enjoy this video I would love to have you as a subscriber press that red subscribe button and you'll be notified of all of my future videos and with all that said let's go ahead and jump into the video so let's start by talking about the cleaning agents we'll be using my number one that I like to use is isopropyl alcohol aka rubbing alcohol this is an effective sterilizer it's antimicrobial against bacteria fungi and viruses you want to look for 70% isopropyl alcohol without getting into the science the 70% is actually the most effective at sterilizing one thing to know is that it is flammable so keep it away from heat or fire sources vinegar is highly acidic and it's great at removing filled-up and crime but it's not as highly effective as a disinfectant so I prefer to use rubbing alcohol all right so we're gonna start in the kitchen and your kitchen sponge is likely the dirtiest item and your entire house the combination of food and moisture here makes it a breeding ground for bacteria so I actually recommend that you toss your kitchen sponge and instead switch to using a synthetic brush they are much less likely to harbor bacteria and you can sanitize them in the dishwasher your kitchen sink also catches a lot of bacteria from washing your produce and meat so at least twice a week I like to scrub out my sink with soap and water and then spray it down with my 70% rubbing alcohol solution let that set rinse it all off and you have a nice sanitizing the compartment that holds water in your coffee maker or your Keurig is dark and moist and a great place for bacteria to thrive I recommend at least once a month filling the chamber with a cup of distilled white vinegar let it soak there for about 30 minutes then run your machine with the vinegar and then run it 2 or 3 more times with water and not only will this sanitize your machine it also will make your coffee taste better because that hardened water and mineral deposits are making your coffee taste funky the knobs on your stove or something that are frequently touch especially as you're cooking and sometimes overlooked during cleaning so if your knobs are removable it's a good idea to remove them and wash them in hot soapy water if not just make sure you are taking that extra time to spray them down and sanitize them next over to the faucet in particular the handles on the faucet your faucet handles contain more household germs than your toilet seat or your toilet handle this also goes for your bathroom faucet handles make sure you are really cleaning these spray them down with your rubbing alcohol and then wipe them to make sure they are sanitized and the last step in the kitchen are your kitchen dish towels these are such hot beds for bacteria so make sure you are running your towels in a hot water cycle and your washing machine to fully sanitize them now moving on to the bathroom is starting with your toothbrush if you're keeping your toothbrush out you have to be very careful because when you flush your toilet there are micro particles in the air that can get onto your toothbrush it is not pleasant to think about an easy way to sanitize your toothbrush is to soak it in your antibacterial mouthwash for about 10 minutes I also use this thing called a theropod to keep it nice and sterile this is great to have in particular while traveling and of course you want to replace your toothbrush often my personal system that I do is I make it a rule to replace my toothbrush every time I open a new tube of toothpaste it's just a good easy reminder and also make sure to sanitize your toothbrush holder regularly an easy way to do this is just to run it in the dishwasher of course I have to mention retainers and mouth guards so after each use brush them clean with a separate brush and at least once a week you want to do a deeper clean they make special tablets for this you could even use denture tablets or you can use a diluted mouthwash solution let it soak for about 30 minutes rinse it clean and fully dry it after and also clean the case that it comes in so don't just clean the toilet bowl and see the real mess is usually on the rim the toilet base and the surrounding floor and walls especially when you have men in the house so what I like to do after cleaning the toilet bowl is I take my rubbing alcohol solution I spray down the entire toilet area let it sit for about ten minutes and then wipe it clean as for the toilet brush this is one thing that I have moved over to a disposable system I used these replaceable toilet brush heads so after each use I can toss it and use a new one so I don't have to worry about sanitizing a nasty toilet brush if you use a loofah in the shower make sure you were placing them often I've actually moved away from using loofah and I switch to just using my hand and my body wash now moving on to your office your keyboard is something that is coming into contact with your hands and your fingers all day long so you want to make sure you are sterilizing it all you need to do for this is spray your rubbing alcohol onto a cotton pad and wipe down your keys and to get in between the grooves of the keys you can put some rubbing alcohol on a q-tip and get in all of the grooves and last but not least is your cell phone you are touching this all day long and sometimes you're even putting that up to your face so it's especially important to sanitize this regularly again here you can just spray your rubbing alcohol onto a cotton pad and wipe it down to clean it all right so that's gonna be it for this week's video I really hope you enjoyed it if you did please give it a thumbs up and also in my last video I had a subscriber Mia Glen give me a video idea suggestion which I love and that is that I would help you guys at home organize your spaces so leaving out in the comments your biggest personal organization challenges that you have in your home or even better send me a picture to this email address and I may use it in my video and give you some ideas and inspiration for organizing your spaces also if you do not see my Thursday flog that I posted a lot of you are saying that is your favorite blog you've seen me do and make sure you check that out it's called my husband control of my life for a day Ryan got to the side everything I did for the day and he had a really good time doing it and I cannot wait for my revenge so I will have a link to that video down in the description box and all that said thank you so much for watching and I will see you soon with a new video bye I don't know what she's talking about my mouth hurts not that bad\n"