You could be showering every day, brushing your teeth day and night and still be doing a couple things wrong with maintaining proper hygiene. Don’t worry though, because you’re not alone, most people don’t know half what’s on this list. Here’s a list of the most common things people are still doing while trying to maintain great hygiene.
1. You’re not changing your toothbrush every 3 months
Believe it or not, you’re not supposed to wait till your toothbrush no longer brushes to change it. You should actually change your brush sooner if the bristles got frayed.
2. You’re not using a toothbrush cover
Speaking of toothbrush hygiene, you should use a cover to protect your toothbrush when it’s not in use as if you’re doing this next wrong thing then your brush can get covered in fecal matter. Yes, you read that right. Your brush can be covered in poop and you use it to clean your teeth!
3. You’re not covering the toilet seat before you flush
Now that you’re probably freaking out about poop on your toothbrush, let me tell you how you can prevent it. Just don’t flush the toilet until you have closed the toilet lid. When you flush, actual micro pieces of poop fly into the air and could possibly get onto your toothbrush if it’s not covered. This phenomenon is called “Toilet Plume” and man, do we all need to spread the word about it!
4. You’re not changing your loofah often enough
Just like the toothbrush, the same concept goes for your loofah. If you’ve got a loofah that’s natural, you should get a new one every 3 to 4 weeks. If you’ve got one of the plastic ones then you can wait 2 months before replacing it. Additionally, if you find mold growing on your loofah, you need to get yourself a new one, immediately.
5. You’re not cleaning your bath towels often enough
Bath towels may look clean for a long time but because of the humid nature of where they’re kept (that’s usually the bathroom), they can grow bacteria pretty quickly. You should wash your bath towels after every 3 uses if you want to keep proper hygiene.
6. You’re drying your hand on tea towels
Because we use these towels to clean kitchen surfaces, wipe down the counters after food preparations and for so many other things, they are usually quite dirty. Even if they don’t show it. You should never dry your hands on them as they could easily help transmit food-borne illnesses.
7. You are not washing your bedsheets often enough
Your bedsheets should actually be changed once a week and cleaned at a temperature of 60 Celsius or above to really kill bacteria. This is crucial for proper hygiene, your bedsheets have dead skin cells, sweat and all other kinds of nastiness on them that you wouldn’t see at first glance.
8. You’re changing your pillowcases only once a week
Although most beauty experts and microbiologists would say you can change your pillowcases at the same time you change your bedding, it’s not ideal. You should change your pillowcases every two days. You sleep one side, then sleep on the other side the next night and change it completely on the third. This will help your skin especially if you have oily skin or are prone to acne and breakouts.
9. You’re not cleaning your makeup brushes as much as you need to
In order to prevent product buildup, the makeup brushes that you use on your face need to be as clean as possible everytime you use them. It’s ideal to wash your foundation and concealer brushes once a week (minimum). You should wash brushes that you use around your eye area every two weeks. Every other brush can be washed once a month if you want to keep proper hygiene levels.
