Do Dish Mats Harbor Germs

Your dish rags are really no better than your sponges.

Do dish mats harbor germs.

It is a good idea to cut vegetables on one cutting surface and meats on another. Probably not especially if the bar gets rinsed off between. Thanks to an aerosol effect that happens when you flush a toilet with the lid up bacteria can land on damp dark places. And like sponges using a dirty dish rag to clean a kitchen countertop will only spread germs.

Does each member of the family need an individual bar of soap to prevent spreading germs or do we have to switch to liquid soap. But unlike bath towels bath mats aren t washed frequently. A recent study by the center for innovative food technologies published in the journal of food engineering has shown that milk residues inside of glasses and dishes provide an excellent breeding ground for bacteria so be sure to pay special attention to glasses with those science experiment milk clumps on the bottom. To keep cutting boards clean use a solution of one part white vinegar to four parts water.

Your best bet is to replace rags about once a. A dish towel you know a sponge can harbor nasty germs but a recent study of hundreds of homes across the united states found that about 7 percent of kitchen towels were contaminated with mrsa. The answer is the restaurant menu. Health experts suggest that this goes a long way towards keeping bacteria from spreading.

Specifically the researchers found that towels used for a variety of tasks such as wiping utensils drying hands holding hot utensils or cleaning surfaces had more bacteria than towels. A toilet seat your cellphone or the menu in a restaurant. But those bacteria actually do poorly on those surfaces gibbons says. Also the tines of forks provide a nice protected hiding spot for germs.

Many people dislike glass cutting surfaces because they can dull knives. Like bath towels bath mats are constantly exposed to damp dark environments bacteria love. Anything that touches your food can be a source of contamination and foodborne illness including cutting boards. If you have a cloth bath mat and can t easily wash and dry it completely throw it out.

For example if you cut up a raw chicken and then use the same cutting board to slice a tomato for your salad you run the risk of cross contamination with bacteria from the chicken being transferred to the tomato.