You probably have you household has the basics down:
- doing laundry
- keeping the bathroom clean (especially when guests are coming over)
- wiping the kitchen countertops
- vacuuming once a week, shaking out the rugs
- the garage every springbut dirt and grime have a bad habit of collecting in the strangest places, including the ones you don’t think to look. The Real Estate Nation team thought we would gather on the spots around your house you should consider cleaning more often based on local United Health Group article and New York Times info.
Right out of the gate, we should point out that you should clean these spaces not because they’ll make you sick or anything, but because they’re probably pretty gross and collect dirt and dust easily. They may accumulate bacteria as well, but there’s no reason to be a germaphobe about them now.
Doorknobs and handles
You probably don’t think to clean off the doorknobs and handles around your home very often, (if not ever) but they’re worth a quick wipe the next time you’re cleaning in the same room. When you think about how often we touch the door knobs (inside and out) and handles in our homes, especially with dirty hands or on the way in or out of the bathroom, you may even choose to make a habit of it.
Smartphone
For something we use for hours every day, when’s the last time you did more than just wipe off your smartphone’s screen when it was too smudged to see through? In reality, considering how often we use our phones, and where we use them (yes, that includes checking Facebook on the toilet), our phones deserve a more thorough cleaning from time to time. Use your favorite cleaning wipe or spray some hand sanitizer on a paper towel or kleenex to remove some bacteria.
Computer keyboard
When you’re not using your phone, you’re probably using a desktop or laptop computer, which means your fingers are constantly in contact with your keyboard. And considering many of us snack or take lunch at our desks, drink over our computers, or even spill beverages on them (hope not), you can imagine the gross, grimy world living just below those keys.
And while there’s certainly no shortage of bombastic headlines trumpeting that your keyboard is dirtier than a toilet seat (a bit of a misconception, as toilet seats tend to be fairly clean compared to other bathroom surfaces), so-called high-touch surfaces like keyboards really can harbor and grow harmful bacteria if left uncleaned.
Remote control
Be honest: Have you ever cleaned your TV remote control? Whether you use the one that came with your TV or something complicated that came from your cable company, odds are you pick it up every time you flop down on the couch to Netflix and chill. But you’ve never even so much as wiped the grime and dirt from the valleys between the buttons, have you?
That grime can add up, if you think about how many times you’ve likely snacked in front of the screen. Whether your preference is popcorn, chips or full-blown meals, your remote is likely filthy — and again, while it’s unlikely you’ll get sick from that crusty, grimy thing, it certainly isn’t doing anything for the life of the gadget you rely on to relax after a long day of work.
In reality though, remote controls, especially the ones in hotel rooms that are often used by a rotating crew of people without ever being cleaned, are pretty gross with bacteria. Enough said.
Pillows
You may not know it, but most pillows are designed to be machine washable. You’ll have to fluff them when they come out of the washer (or the dryer, if the manufacturer suggests drying them), and you don’t want to wash them too often or they’ll lose their shape.
And it’s a good thing too, considering pillows tend to be exactly where dead skin, dust, drool and in many cases, dust mites love to hang out. For most people, that’s not a huge deal, aside from the fact that they’re putting their face on a gross, dirty pillow at night to sleep. For people with compromised immune systems or who have allergies, they can be an irritant that makes for sleepless nights, skin irritation and sinus congestion.
Luckily for all of us, whether you have allergies or you just don’t like the idea of a gross pillow under your head while you sleep, the solution is easy: a trip through the washing machine on the delicate cycle, then tumble dry low or air dry. If you like, take things a step further and invest in a quality pillow protector.
Of course we put together this top 5 for an easy read, but New York Times company Wirecutter has an even larger list to Google. Can’t say we haven’t warned you. 
Sources:
Rally United Health Group internal article
Wirecutter, New York Times