Bathroom 1 (Photo credit: A30_Tsitika)
The bathroom is a place where we go to both clean ourselves, and eliminate waste. It is considered a room where hygiene is of the utmost importance. There are two reasons why we are so concerned about hygiene in the bathroom.
- The purpose – there is often a toilet in the bathroom and this can be a source of bacteria
- The bathroom is a wet area. Wet areas mean that fungus, mold and bacteria can breed on the moist surfaces. These can cause some very serious illnesses.
With these things in mind, we need to develop a strategy for keeping our bathroom clean. The super important thing about bathroom hygiene, is that because we are dealing with bacteria that comes from human waste and the like, we are actually dealing with some very serious and harmful diseases. The plus side is that these bacterial diseases are very preventable with basic hygiene unlike airborne viruses such as the common cold which are difficult to prevent.
Always wash your hands after using the toilet
Every now and then, we get exposed to a chilling survey that reveals some people are not washing after using the toilet. This is an essential part of hygiene. Think about this for a minute, you will touch your face and probably your mouth within minutes of leaving the bathroom. People touch their face all the time. You will shake hands with a person perhaps, who will also touch their face. Bacteria that may be on your hands can find its way into your stomach. Not always, but when it does it will make you extremely sick and have effects that may be life-long, painful and serious.
So, rule number 1 is always clean your hands.
Clean all surfaces with Antibacterial products
There are many different compounds on the marketplace that kill germs. Nearly every bathroom cleaner will have an adequate antibacterial effect. Other compounds that are known to kill bacteria include isopropanol, ethanol, bicarbonate of soda, boric acid and simple sodium hypochlorite solution (aka bleach). Simply apply these compounds to the surface and rub vigorously. Germs and dirt will not be a problem if this is performed at least once a week.
The other concern is mold, which can release dangerous biological fumes that can cause serious respiratory problems. The same substances that kill bacteria also kill molds – as well as life in general, such as humans who ingest bathroom cleaners. The main compound on the list of antibacterial cleaners is ethanol alcohol, which would firstly be too expensive to use as a cleaner, and secondly is actually poisonous to humans, we just have built a tolerance to it.
Replace your shower curtain and wash your bathmats
These are items that are made of fabric, and the most likely to grow bacteria or fungus colonies. Wash these in the washing machine regularly (using a little bleach), once a week is good. It is also good to replace them every now and then, because they start to look terrible pretty quickly.
Make sure doorknobs are made from an appropriate copper alloy
While many doorknobs are, it is important to have doorknobs made from copper alloys as they have an antibacterial effect. That is, bacteria cannot live on a copper or copper alloy doorknob. Silver works too but this might be a little bit too expensive.
Conclusion
Bathroom hygiene is an essential part of daily living and staying healthy. If you follow the above 4 tips, then you should be unaffected by most serious diseases that can breed in a bathroom.
This article is provided by Bathroom Renovations Perth, a Perth based service that links you up with the best bathroom renovators in the business.