You probably do a pretty decent job of keeping your kitchen clean – you scrub down the counters, rinse out the sink, mop the floors. But there may be huge amounts of bacteria and mold lurking in the little spots that you forget about. Read on to find out if your kitchen is a potential threat to your health!
Kitchen Spaces
Refrigerator. It’s true that you keep food in the fridge to keep bacteria out of it, but cold temperatures don’t kill bacteria – just slow their growth. And those little crevices in shelves – not to mention the fruit and vegetable drawers – can harbor tons of bacteria if you don’t clean them regularly.
Garbage Disposal. When you use a garbage disposal, most of the food finds its way down the drain. But little bits and pieces can be caught, forming the perfect place for bacteria to grow.
Utensils and Gadgets
Sponges. The sponge in your kitchen sink is likely the germiest item in your kitchen, or even your entire home! To prevent transferring bacteria around the kitchen, keep one sponge specifically for dishes, and another for wiping down surfaces. Don’t forget to replace sponges regularly!
Cutting boards. While it’s a basic food safety rule, most home cooks still use the same cutting boards to prepare raw meat and other items without disinfecting the board first. Even after thorough washing, cutting boards can still harbor bacteria in cracks and pores, so make sure to disinfect them regularly, and always use separate boards for raw meat.
Plastic spatulas. It’s not true of most plastic and rubber spatulas, but most of them have a business end that disconnects from the handle. Unfortunately, most home cooks don’t realize this, and that space never gets washed, trapping all sorts of germs that can make their way into your food.
Sources:
- https://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=50143780n
- https://www.webmd.com/food-recipes/features/germs-in-kitchen
- https://www.webmd.com/parenting/d2n-stopping-germs-12/kitchen-germs