GROSS: Four regular household items (making you sick)
Feeling sick this week? Something GROSS or disgusting might be hiding in plain sight, causing germs and infectious diseases to breed.
Feeling sick this week? Something GROSS or disgusting might be hiding in plain sight, causing germs and infectious diseases to breed where you don’t think to look. Towels and dish sponges are meant to clean the average household, but could also be some of the dirtiest things in the house.
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Here are four gross household items that could be making your whole house sick.
1. GROSS TOWELS
A towel is something you can find in most South African homes, but the truth is that a towel can also be one of the grossest things in the house. Towels can become damp and humid, breeding a considerable amount of mold where you don’t want it to have contact with your skin.
Unless your towel is washed after every couple of uses, you’re dealing with something particularly gross. According to Medical Daily, you might not be washing your towel nearly often enough.
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Shared towels are a definite no, too. Infections and skin conditions can transfer from one person to another, and there’s no five-second rule.
2. GROSS BARS OF HAND SOAP
Soap is supposed to keep things clean, but that doesn’t mean soap lacks the ability to become gross over time. Dirty soap is one of the worst culprits for germs and disease, especially if your hand soap is used by several people (or kept in the bathroom).
Soap bars are a worse culprit for potential exposure to germs and other nasties.
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A 1998 study found that soap can spread germs under the wrong conditions.
If you want to avoid this problem, replace your soap often.
3. GROSS DISH SPONGES
Dishwashing sponges can get gross in just a few washing, being dragged through what’s left of meals – or just not being left to dry for long enough. Sponges should be properly wrung out and dried after use, and replace them more often than you would your towel.
Imagine cleaning a dirty dish with a dirty sponge, and then using the sponge again for weeks at a time.
ScienceNews.org says that a dirty sponge is the perfect breeding ground for all sorts of germs you don’t want in your home.
4. USED CREAM
Yes, used body lotion can spread some of that bacteria around, according to Healthline.
If you share your cream with someone, now is the time to stop! Just like towels, cream can develop a pretty gross life of its own. Don’t let someone else touch your cream, and make sure you don’t use the same container of cream for too long.
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That’s just gross!