8 Top areas we need to consider cleaning to keep us healthier:)
That’s how I feel often!!
There are so many things that consume our time and cleaning can just be one more thing at times!
The following article covers the 8 TOP AREAS we need to remember that need our attention.
And some ways to keep them more germ free!
Germs, mold and other microbes are always popping up in unexpected places in the home. And it's your job to prevent these pathogens from spreading to your family.
Everyone has an idea of what some of the most bacteria-laden areas of the home may be; the floor, the toilet, maybe the trash can. These are all places that naturally come to mind when deciding where to clean.
But there are eight surprising and cringe-worthy household items you may have overlooked, upon which these microbial invaders all-too-frequently take up residence in massive numbers and can quickly spread to you and your family members and make you sick.
Indeed, researchers say these eight specific household items are absolutely crawling with pathogens such as germs, fungus and even viruses yet they rarely ever get cleaned or disinfected.
Fortunately, instead of resorting to chemical-laden commercial disinfectants, colloidal silver can give you the safe, powerful all-natural antimicrobial "punch" you need to rid these common household items of their unwanted microbial residents and protect your family from the diseases they can so easily cause.
After all, colloidal silver is the world's oldest and most powerful natural disinfectant agent. Yet it's completely harmless to humans.
According to the Kiplinger Letter for Business:
"Silver kills disease-carrying microbes without the harmful side effects of chlorine, or other sanitizing chemicals."
And according to the Wall Street Journal, in an article titled "The War Against Germs Has a Silver Lining":
"Tests show that silver ions kill microorganisms ranging from harmful strains of E. coli that cause food-borne diseases to the staphylococcus bacteria responsible for serious infections."
And according to microbiologist Dr. Richard Hastings…
"Silver…can reduce bacterial levels by 99 per cent. This, in turn, cuts infection risk from superbugs such as MRSA, E. coli and Salmonella."
Indeed, even in infinitesimally small amounts, colloidal silver is so powerful that high levels of fecal bacteria cannot withstand its disinfectant properties.
As The Silver Institute pointed out way back in 1977, silver is such a powerful disinfectant it takes only three hours for an extremely tiny concentration to completely decontaminate a 20,000 gallon swimming pool teeming with raw sewage microbes.
What's more, as you'll learn later in this article, silver disinfectant products are so non-toxic compared to commercial disinfectants containing bleach, ammonia or other chemicals, the Environmental Protection Agency classifies them as "Category 4" substances, meaning they're perfectly safe for use around the home and even in child care facilities.
That makes colloidal silver your #1 choice if you're looking for a safe, natural, non-toxic disinfectant for the home.
8 Overlooked Germ-Laden Household Items
Here's what you need to know about the eight most overlooked items in your home that need extra attention when you're cleaning and disinfecting:
Overlooked Germ-Laden Item #1:
Your Vacuum Cleaner
Although vacuum cleaners are a valuable and useful tool to clean your home, you may be surprised to learn they can carry and spread a host of pathogenic microbes due to contaminated brushes and vacuum bags.
In other words, while your vacuum cleaner is picking up dust, dirt and debris, it's simultaneously spreading potentially infectious microbes around your home.
In fact, according to a 2008 Men's Health article:
"Researchers at the University of Arizona recently found that 50 percent of the vacuum brushes they tested contained fecal bacteria, including 13 percent with E. coli.
And all of them were packing mold.
Vacuuming can transfer the germs from contaminated surfaces in your home to uncontaminated ones…"
In other words, no matter how hard you clean and disinfect, your vacuum cleaner transfers fecal bacteria, mold and other microbes to all areas of your home when you vacuum!
So what's the solution?
First of all, after every use of your vacuum cleaner, take a moment to spray some 10 ppm colloidal silver onto the brush. Use a fine mist pump spray bottle, which can be found at health food stores, pharmacies or some of the online sources listed in this article.
Be sure to manually turn the vacuum cleaner brush while spraying lightly, to cover all of it. There's no need to get it sopping wet. Silver is very powerful. Just spray lightly. Then allow it to air dry. Voila! You now have a pathogen-free vacuum cleaner brush.
Secondly, it's important to know that vacuum cleaner bags are a veritable nest for bacterial growth. And because of that, every time you use your vacuum cleaner, bacteria, mold and even viruses are quite literally spewed into the air and spread throughout your home for you or members of your family to breathe in.
Indeed, a recent study published in the journal Applied and Environmental Microbiology demonstrated that mold and bacteria – including potentially deadly drug-resistant bacteria and microbes carrying the botulism gene – can be found in aerosolized vacuum dust.
This is why experts say you should consider using either a HEPA filter in your vacuum cleaner, or better still, switch to a bagless vacuum cleaner.
Bagless vacuum cleaners use a hard, plastic container with a handle, instead of a paper collection bag. This hard plastic container can easily be dumped after every usage, then wiped down with a cloth lightly moistened with 10 ppm colloidal silver to clean and to kill any lurking pathogens.
Problem solved in seconds!
Finally, for maximum protection, you can use colloidal silver to help keep your carpet germ-free, as well. Just use a large, heavy-duty all-purpose plastic spray bottle filled with a 10 ppm solution of colloidal silver and mixed with a few drops each of gardenia and lavender essential oil.
Shake well before use, and spray lightly over your carpet instead of disinfectant or freshening spray. It will work wonders on the dangerous germs that get tracked into your home every day. And it will leave an intoxicating natural fragrance behind.
Finally, always remember to add a cupful of colloidal silver to the wash water when shampooing your carpets. This will add an extra layer of disinfectant protection to the carpet fabric!
Overlooked Germ-Laden Item #2:
Your Smart Phone
Did you realize that the typical smart phone, tablet or other portable electronic device harbors more bacteria than the average toilet seat?
Seven out of 30 smart phones tested contained high-risk levels of enterobacteria, i.e., food poisoning bacteria. And the keypads on tablets and other portable devices were equally as contaminated.
That's because the touch screen on your smart phone and the key pads on your tablets or other portable devices tend to pick up oils and debris from your skin, leaving that tell-tale film that can be so annoying and unsightly.
Over time, this goopy mixture of body oils, dead skin cells, dust, dirt and other debris becomes the perfect breeding ground for invisible colonies of germs, mold and other pathogens, which are transferred to you every time you use the device.
This pathogenic stew can be transferred to vulnerable parts of your body, when, for example, you hold your smart phone up to your face, touching your ear, cheek or even your lips with it. How many times a day does your smart phone touch your face or your hands… or worse yet, your child's?
Interestingly, the major smart phone manufacturers recommend against using alcohol-based disinfectant cleaners or detergents, because the alcohol can cause damage to the screen.
The simplest and most effective solution for this problem is to use a small fingertip spray bottle and lightly dampen a microfiber cloth with 10 ppm colloidal silver, taking care that the cloth is damp and not soaking wet. Then, simply wipe all surfaces on your smart phone, tablet or other portable device.
Problem solved…family safe!
Speaking of things that get touched frequently but never cleaned…
Overlooked Germ-Laden Item #3:
Your TV Remote Control
Do you wash your hands before watching TV? Of course not. Do you ever eat while watching TV? Everyone does!
In fact, when you're sick, you probably lie in bed or on the couch all day and watch TV, coughing into your hands before picking up the remote control to change the channel.
And if you're like most people, you probably don't clean your remote control afterwards. In fact, most people don't ever clean their remote controls.
What I'm leading up to is a study conducted by the University of Virginia which revealed the startling fact that 50 percent of the TV remotes they tested harbored cold viruses which were later transferred to people who touched the remotes.
This was preceded by a study demonstrating that, even in hospital rooms, the television remote control contained the highest level of bacterial contamination, including high levels of MRSA and VRE, the deadly, drug-resistant pathogens that kill upwards of 90,000 people per year in the U.S. alone.
Later, another study, this one conducted by the University of Houston, found that the TV remotes in hotel rooms were more contaminated than the toilets or the bed mattresses.
I thought about that recently when visiting a neighbor's home. I sat and watched as my neighbor's 5-year old daughter, who had a cold, casually wiped her nose with her fingers before picking up the remote control to change the TV channel.
In short, much like your smart phone, your television remote control is one of the filthiest and most contaminated items in your home – harboring a veritable cocktail of microbes ranging from viruses to bacteria to fungus!
Once again, however, the solution is simple:
Just moisten a microfiber cloth with 10 ppm colloidal silver and wipe down both the front and back of your remote control(s) often.
And definitely don't forget to do it after someone in your household has been sick!
Overlooked Germ-Laden Item #4:
Your Clothes Hamper
The inside of your clothes hamper is another area of the home that probably never gets cleaned. Yet researchers say it's a huge breeding ground for bacteria and germs.
Dirty laundry, particularly undergarments and dirty towels, carry an unusually large amount of pathogenic bacteria.
Indeed, according to Charles Gerba, professor of microbiology at the University of Arizona, "There's about a tenth of a gram of poop in the average pair of underwear."
And that's not to mention the urine that can be found in most underwear and pants or trousers. Nor the sweat, body oils, dead skin cells, food stains, dirt and much more that end up deeply ingrained in the fabric of our clothing, and become repositories for the growth of mold, bacteria and even viruses.
These articles of dirty clothing are usually thrown into the laundry hamper for days at a time, which is often dark and damp, and which becomes the perfect breeding ground for large colonies of microbial pathogens.
From there, the clothing might go into a laundry basket, which in turn becomes contaminated with the microbes.
The laundry basket is then often re-used to hold the clean clotheswhen they're taken out of the dryer, thereby re-contaminating the clothing before they're even hung in the closet or placed in dresser drawers.
So remember to lightly spray the inside of your laundry hamper with colloidal silver, and allow it to air dry, every time you empty it of clothing. And spray your laundry basket, as well, after you've used it to transfer dirty clothing from the hamper to the washer.
You can also safely spray colloidal silver directly onto your dirty clothing before washing, if you want added antimicrobial protection. Which brings us to…
Overlooked Germ-Laden Item #5:
Your Dirty Washing Machine
According to an article on the Medical Daily website, every time you wash a load of clothing, you create a "bacterial soup" in the washing machine that evenly distributes the microbes among all of your clothing and other laundry items (i.e., bed sheets, bath towels, dish rags, etc.), rather than getting rid of them.
Why is that? It's because Americans have shifted from using harsh detergents and high-temperature washes to gentle detergents and low-temperature washes.
According to the Medical Daily article:
"The shift from high-temperature washes and harsh detergents to low-temperature washes and gentle detergents, while good for fabrics, sensitive skin and the environment, is not good for killing laundry bacteria."
Indeed, researchers have found that fecal bacteria, for example, are distributed in the washing machine from underwear to the towels you use to wipe or dry your dishes, or to clean your baby's face.
According to hygiene expert Dr. Lisa Ackerley,
"I am very concerned about bacteria from soiled underwear transferring onto items such as tea towels which are then used to wipe dishes."
What's more, researchers say the "bacterial soup" created during the washing process not only contaminates that load but contaminates the machine itself, spreading the germs and other microbes to subsequent loads of laundry.
According to the MedicalDaily.com article:
"A load of underwear during a wash can contain approximately 100 million E. coli and can then cross-contaminate the next load of laundry…
…Underwear, towels, and face cloths, among other items, were found to be more likely contaminated with pathogens – bacteria that can cause disease."
The simple, effective solution?
Add at least two cups of 10 ppm colloidal silver to the wash during the rinse cycle.
This will embed the fabric with tiny, microscopic disinfectant silver particles that will kill any residual bacteria and help keep the clothing (or bed sheets, towels, dish rags, etc.) fresher and germ-free, longer.
It will also help disinfect the washing machine before your next load.
Also, experts say you should dry your clothes on the highest setting possible for added disinfection.
Before each drying, you can also lightly spray the inside of your clothes dryer with colloidal silver, using a fine mist pump spray bottle. That way, any microbes transferred from the washing machine to the dryer will be killed.
Overlooked Germ-Laden Item #6:
Your Toothbrush and Bathroom Countertop
You might remember the Myth Busters episode on TV in which researchers revealed the fact that there are microscopic bits of fecal matter on toothbrushes, combs, hairbrushes, deodorant containers, and other commonly used items in virtually every bathroom.
That's because when toilets are flushed, many thousands of extremely fine droplets of toilet water are sprayed up into the air, traveling as much as 20 feet. These fine droplets of toilet water can hover in the air for as long as two hours, eventually settling on all surfaces throughout the bathroom.
Not only that, but many people fail to practice good hygiene on a regular daily basis, such as thoroughly washing their hands after using the toilet. Then they handle bathroom items like combs and brushes, transferring fecal (or urinary) bacteria to those items.
(Yes, contrary to the old myth that urine is sterile, in reality, urine can also contain bacteria. Recent studies at Loyola University School of Medicine have demonstrated that most urine contains bacteria.)
Once again, the simple solution (in addition to practicing good hygiene, and teaching any children in the household to do so as well) is to make it part of your daily routine to disinfect the bathroom with colloidal silver.
For starters, keep a fine mist pump spray bottle full of 10 ppm colloidal silver on your bathroom countertop, or under the sink.
Use it to lightly spray colloidal silver over the bathroom countertop, and over sinks and faucets, at least once a day when you're cleaning or using the restroom.
Mist the colloidal silver lightly into the air over areas like countertops, and allow it to gently fall to the countertop and air dry. This will provide many hours of disinfectant protection.
Also, for example, after using your toothbrush and thoroughly rinsing it, spray it lightly with colloidal silver. Store it upright so it can air dry easier, rather than laying it down on the countertop.
You might also lightly spray your hairbrush, combs or other non-electrical bathroom items you or other family members might handle throughout the course of the day.
The disinfectant power of colloidal silver is very strong, even at very low levels. So you don't need to become obsessed with using it every time the bathroom is used.
But if you're looking for a safer, more natural and non-toxic way to disinfect your home, be sure to add colloidal silver into your daily routine in order to help prevent the spread of potentially harmful microbes and the diseases they can cause.
Overlooked Germ-Laden Item #7:
Your Kitchen Cutting Board
Many places in your kitchen can be a hot bed for bacterial growth. But the cutting board is definitely one of the worst.
For example, did you know that 50% of supermarket meat is contaminated with MRSA (see article here), the antibiotic-resistant, flesh-eating form of Staph that causes tens of thousands of deaths every single year?
And did you know that 80 percent of all grocery-store chickens in the U.S. are contaminated with dangerous food poisoning bacteria like Salmonella, Campylobacter or both?
This is extremely serious, because these pathogens can live on cutting boards for hours or even days. Nowadays, it's simply not enough to clean your cutting board, butcher's blocks and kitchen countertops…they need to be thoroughly disinfected.
Colloidal silver is the perfect kitchen disinfectant since it's been proven effective against literally hundreds of pathogens, including E. coli, Salmonella, MRSA, Pseudomonas and other disease-causing microbes, plus various fungal pathogens and many viruses as well.
So after washing kitchen surfaces such as cutting boards, butcher's blocks and countertops, be sure to spray them lightly with colloidal silver to thoroughly disinfect them, as well.
Overlooked Germ-Laden Item #8:
Your Door Knobs
Your door knobs are possibly the worst offenders in your home because they get touched daily by everyone, and they're almost always overlooked when cleaning.
Interestingly, according to research conducted by Chuck Gerba, Ph.D., professor of environmental microbiology at the University of Arizona, bathroom door handles are not as dirty as the doorknobs in other areas of the home, because 68% of people tend to wash their hands before leaving the restroom.
But not so for other door handles. According to Penn State News, a publication of Penn State University,
"Most door handles are teeming with bacteria: Staph, E. coli, Enterococcus and sometimes even Salmonella. That stuff can make you sick."
What's more, according to researchers from the Department of Biology at Drake University,
"…hard, non-porous surfaces, such as door handles, have the highest bacterial transfer rates to hands."
The researchers also found that 49% of the bacteria found on door knobs are gram negative bacteria, which pose a special risk due to the fact that they "show virulent characteristics due to the presence of endotoxins in their outer membranes." These pathogens also display "higher antibiotic resistance, partially due to the presence of an outer membrane."
Thankfully, silver has been demonstrated to solve the problem.
In fact, research students at Penn State University recently used Agion silver – a commercial silver compound – to coat door handles in a popular section of the university.
They then swabbed 50 door handles, measuring bacterial differences on the surfaces with and without the silver compound.
The research students discovered that the doors with the silver-treated handles had dramatically lower levels of bacterial contamination than untreated handles. This, in spite of the fact that literally hundreds of students and university personnel were using these door handles each day.
According to HealthyWaukesha.com,
"When cleaning your home, ensure that door handles are on top of your to-do list. This will not only make your home clean and tidy but will also reduce the risk of family members or other residents becoming ill."
Once again, the solution is simple:
When cleaning your home, be sure to spray some 10 ppm colloidal silver onto a cleaning cloth and wipe your door handles down with it.
And afterwards, just for good measure, you can spray your door handles lightly with a fine mist of colloidal silver, and allow it to air dry.
Why Use Colloidal Silver for Disinfecting in the Home Instead of Commercially Available Products?
With the focus these days on natural, green lifestyles, non-toxic living and environmental sustainability, many people are working to avoid the overuse of chemical-laden home and personal products.
Ammonia, bleach, alcohol and other chemicals commonly used in such commercial cleaning and disinfectant products are known irritants and can be harmful to the respiratory system. Some even produce toxic gases if accidentally mixed together or inadvertently used together.
Bleach, by itself – that mainstay of disinfectants – has been linked to:
Respiratory issues
Skin burns
Damage to nervous system
Asthma (exacerbates)
Headaches
Vomiting
Cancer
What's more, as many as 700 adults per year end up having accidents in which full strength bleach is either ingested or comes into direct contact with sensitive areas of the body such as the eyes. And a whopping 14,000 children per year end up poisoned by chlorine bleach.
Other chemicals found in household disinfectants, such as toluene and xylene solvents, can cause reproductive harm. Phthalates are found in products with fragrance and are known to be endocrine disruptors.
This is just a small list of potentially toxic and unhealthful ingredients that can be found in household disinfectants and cleaning products. Take a look at a bottle of your favorite cleaner and you'll see many more potentially toxic ingredients than this on the label.
Clearly, choosing safe, natural and most of all, effective cleaning and disinfecting products for your home is of paramount importance. And colloidal silver is one of the very best, because it's been nature's most powerful natural disinfectant agent for millennia.
Indeed, silver's disinfecting qualities are so good it's been used by the NASA and the Russian space programs as a safe and natural disinfectant for the water supply on board the Space Shuttle (see here) as well as the International Space Station (see here).
Colloidal silver has also been used to disinfect unsafe drinking water in developing nations (see here), and to disinfect municipal drinking water (see here). And it's been used as a disinfectant for water on board cruise ships for decades (see here).
EPA-Approved Silver Disinfectants
There are several EPA-approved commercial disinfectant products available that utilize silver as their chief active ingredient.
These include brand names such as SilverClene24, Shockwave Green24, Steriplex SD (used in hospitals around the world), Axen 30 and others.
In fact, products like Axen 30 are even EPA-approved for use in child care facilities, preschools, and children's activity centers. This demonstrates the utter safety of such products, as well as their gentle, non-toxic nature.
The EPA regards these silver-based disinfectant products as Category IV substances, meaning they're quite literally among the safest home disinfectant products available.
Bleach, on the other hand, is EPA-rated Category I, described as "highly toxic" and even lethal at levels ranging from a few drops to a teaspoonful orally!
Yet in spite of the non-toxicity and mildness of silver-based disinfectant products, they boast astonishing, clinically proven disinfection properties due to the silver included as the main ingredient.
Indeed, silver-based disinfectant products are clinically demonstrated, based on rigid EPA testing standards, to kill up to 99% of all pathogens – and in most cases, to kill them as much as 20x faster than traditional household disinfectants.