The 13 Dirtiest Spots in Your House—and How to Clean Them (2024)

The 13 Dirtiest Spots in Your House—and How to Clean Them (1)

ByKaren B. Gibbs

Updated: Jul. 19, 2024

    There's dirt and grime lurking around every corner, but which places in the home are the dirtiest? Here's what the experts say about cleaning these overlooked areas.

    The 13 Dirtiest Spots in Your House—and How to Clean Them (2)

    Eduard Lysenko/Getty Images

    When it comes to cleaning places in the home, the spots that are forgotten tend to be harder to reach, germier to deal with and more time consuming to work on. They’re not added to our daily cleaning checklist (or our less ambitious monthly cleaning schedule), and as a result, they get dirtier and dirtier. We know how to clean the basics anddo our laundry, but some of the most overlooked places in the home need a little extra TLC.

    That’s why we asked cleaning pros to identify the germiest spots in the home and share their expert tips for keeping those areas white-glove clean. Here’s what they had to say.

    Get Reader’s Digest’s Read Up newsletter for humor, cleaning, travel, tech and fun facts all week long.

    The 13 Dirtiest Spots in Your House—and How to Clean Them (3)

    Image Source/Getty Images

    Kitchen sink

    According to a study by the National Sanitation Foundation, the kitchen sink has the second-highest concentration of microorganisms in the house. (The sponge is first, so make sure you’re cleaning your kitchen sponge.) Considering the food-prep odds and ends that pass through the sink, it’s easy to see why.

    How to clean it: Daily, you’ll want to wash the sink (strainers, sides and bottom) with a solution of dish detergent and warm water. Once or twice a week, clean the kitchen sink using a disinfecting cleaner or a mild solution of bleach and water (1/3 cup of bleach to 1 gallon of water). Allow the solution to sit on the surface for one minute to give it time to kill the germs. Rinse and let it air-dry.

    The 13 Dirtiest Spots in Your House—and How to Clean Them (4)

    Kirill Rudenko/Getty Images

    Washing machine

    If you’re doing laundry often, you might notice a stench in the washing machine. A buildup of odor-causing residues stuck in the drum is probably to blame, says Clorox’s in-house scientist and cleaning expert Mary Gagliardi. If left untouched, these residues can transfer odors onto your clothes too. And if it’s not properly maintained, you could be shortening the lifespan of your washing machine.

    How to clean it: You have some options, says Gagliardi, also known as “Dr. Laundry.” She recommends running a bleach clean-out cycle once a month with Clorox Bleach. Start with an empty washer, fill the bleach dispenser to the max-fill line and select the heavy-duty cycle, hot water and an extra rinse (or manually run an extra rinse cycle). Then, start the washer. You can also use your machine’s cleaning cycle and a product like Tide Washing Machine Cleaner, says Jennifer Ahoni, the principal scientist for Tide and Downy fabric care.

    If you have a front-loading machine, be sure to wipe down the rubber door seal every now and then to remove residue. And don’t forget to clean the soap dispenser, which will help prevent improper dosing of detergent. Just follow the instructions in your user manual, advises Andrew Leeland, a virtual appliance expert at home repair and maintenance company Frontdoor.

    The 13 Dirtiest Spots in Your House—and How to Clean Them (5)

    whyframestudio/Getty Images

    Blinds

    By design, blinds are places in the home that collect a ton of dust and debris. Not only does this detract from your home’s appearance, it also increases allergens in the air. Dust is any collection of small particles, including skin cells, human hair, pet fur, carpet fibers, dander, pollen and even bacteria. So getting rid of dust everywhere around the house is important.

    How to clean them: A practical solution, according to Fabuloso cleaning expert Sharon Garcia, is to use a microfiber cloth dampened with water to remove the dust and debris—by using only water, you’ll eliminate the need for rinsing. Close the blinds, then wipe each slat clean. Open blinds fully to expose the underside of the blind, then wipe each slat again with a damp cloth. Rinse the cloth thoroughly as dirt and dust accumulate.

    The 13 Dirtiest Spots in Your House—and How to Clean Them (6)

    Spiderstock/Getty Images

    Baseboards

    When you learned how to mop the floor, our guess is that no one told you how to clean baseboardstoo. It’s easy to overlook this chore, but over time, baseboards will show wear. The good news is you only have to clean them once or twice a year. The bad news is there’s no easy way to effectively do this except by hand and from the floor.

    How to clean them: To get the job done, Garcia uses a multipurpose cleaner, a soft-bristle brush (or a microfiber cloth or sponge) and a bucket of warm water. Mix a multipurpose cleaner (such as Fabuloso), using 1 ounce of the solution to 1 gallon of water. Wipe the baseboards clean using a microfiber cloth dampened in the cleaning solution. Rinse the cloth as dirt accumulates.

    The 13 Dirtiest Spots in Your House—and How to Clean Them (7)

    MattKay/Getty Images

    Keyboards and remote controls

    Whether you’re spring cleaning or adding a weekly clean to your routine, give a little love to your keyboards and remote controls—they may be germier than you think. In his study, microbiologist Charles Gerba famously found that keyboards have such high levels of bacteria, it’s often 400 times more than an average toilet seat. Because they’re used every day, they can be laden with crumbs, dust, hair and sticky residue, making them one of the dirtiest places in the home. Indeed, they harbor coliform, yeast, mold and staph.

    How to clean them: Use a toothbrush or other small brush to clean debris from around the keys, suggests Frontdoor virtual handyman expert Bill Munger. Then, lightly spray a clean cloth with a mixture of 1/3 water and 2/3 rubbing alcohol. Wipe the entire device clean. Do this every week, especially if someone in the house gets sick or is immunocompromised.

    The 13 Dirtiest Spots in Your House—and How to Clean Them (8)

    Nikolai Grigorev/Getty Images

    Window tracks

    When learning how to clean windows, it’s more often about getting the glass to sparkle. But don’t forget about cleaning the window tracks—you’ll open the window on a perfect spring or fall day and be shocked to find dead bugs and dried vegetation lying in a thick bed of dirt in the window track. Yuck!

    How to clean them: Start by vacuuming away any loose dust, bugs and debris from the tracks, says Garcia. Next, dilute some multipurpose cleaner in a bowl with water. Dip a cotton swab or a small brush into the mixture and gently scrub away the dirt. Finish by wiping the track and the bottom edge of the window with a damp cloth.

    The 13 Dirtiest Spots in Your House—and How to Clean Them (9)

    Casper1774Studio/Getty Images

    Ceiling fan

    You wouldn’t think that a moving fan would gather dust, but that’s not the case. It accumulates dust whether it’s moving or not, and those particles and allergens sway and spread through the room, wreaking havoc for folks with asthma, allergies and other respiratory conditions. Which is why learning how to clean a ceiling fan is not only good for your home, but also for your health.

    How to clean it: According to green cleaning coach and author of The Joy of Green Cleaning, Leslie Reichert, the easiest way to clean a fan blade is to use an old pillowcase. Place it over the fan blade. Then, with your hand lightly pressing on top of the case, drag the pillowcase off. The dust will fall into the pillow case.

    If it’s been a while since you’ve cleaned the fan blades, a residue may still remain after dusting them. To remove it, wipe each fan blade with a damp microfiber cloth and let it air-dry. While you’re at it, wipe down the fan housing and blade attachments too.

    The 13 Dirtiest Spots in Your House—and How to Clean Them (10)

    -Oxford-/Getty Images

    Garbage disposal and flange

    Consider this: The garbage disposal and the rubber flange that tops the drain are places in the home considered potent sources of bacteria. And even if you are diligent about what food scraps make it down the drain, food particles accumulate and odors happen, making this one of the germier places in the home. To prevent gunk buildup, you’ll want to regularly clean and deodorize the disposal. As Reichert explains, “Even though the disposal chews up almost all the food, it never gets to brush its teeth.”

    How to clean it: For general upkeep, run ice cubes and lemon peels through the disposal to give it a lovely fresh scent, Reichert says. No lemon? No problem. Brian Custer, Frontdoor’s virtual plumbing expert, likes to run a handful of ice cubes and a handful of coarse salt with water through the disposal. Follow that with a cup of baking soda and a cup of white distilled vinegar. Let the mixture sit for a few minutes, then run the disposal with water for a few seconds.

    To more thoroughly clean the disposal flange, use gloves to turn up the ends of the flange, then scrub it clean with a long-handle dish brush and detergent.

    The 13 Dirtiest Spots in Your House—and How to Clean Them (11)

    Thammasak_Chuenchom/Getty Images

    Blender gasket

    Smoothies are a great way to get your daily quota of fruits and vegetables, but make sure you’re not mixing up a side of bacteria. According to an NSF household germ study, 36% of blender gaskets that were tested had E. coli, 36% contained salmonella and 43% had yeast and mold. Time to take a serious look at those small kitchen appliances.

    How to clean it: Follow the manufacturer’s directions when cleaning blender gaskets. Some gaskets can be removed and scrubbed with a toothbrush and warm, soapy water, then rinsed, dried and replaced. Other gaskets, like those on NutriBullet, should not be removed from the blade assembly when cleaning. Instead, wash the entire blade assembly by hand with warm, soapy water and a dish brush to loosen any stuck-on debris.

    If you want a deeper clean, rinse the blade with a 10% diluted vinegar and water solution or lemon juice. Hand-washing is recommended over using the dishwasher, as the heat from some dishwashers may damage the gaskets and cause them to loosen and fall out.

    The 13 Dirtiest Spots in Your House—and How to Clean Them (12)

    MagicBones/Getty Images

    Toothbrush holder

    Cleaning a bathroom from top to bottom includes removing hard-water stains and tackling that pink mold. But there’s likely a small spot in the bathroom you’re forgetting: the toothbrush holder. According to an NSF study, it’s the third-germiest place in the home. You wouldn’t think that something that cleans your teeth could create such a germy environment between uses, but it’s true. Factor in the food particles that may cling to the bristles and the moist, dark environment they pool in, and you have the perfect recipe for breeding germs.

    How to clean it: If the toothbrush holder is dishwasher safe, wash it once or twice a week, either in the dishwasher or by hand in hot, soapy water. Then rinse it, wipe it dry—then wipe it one more time with a disinfectant wipe. And make sure you’re changing your toothbrush often enough.

    The 13 Dirtiest Spots in Your House—and How to Clean Them (13)

    st_lux/Getty Images

    Range hood interior

    It’s easy to wipe down the outside of your range hood because you can see it. But what about the inside, where the grease is trapped? Cleaning this area is key to helping the fan work more efficiently, Gagliardi says.

    How to clean it: Before starting, review the manufacturer’s instructions for cleaning (they are usually available online). Then disconnect the hood from the power source or shut off the circuit breaker. Wipe away excess grease with paper towels. Next, spray the grease trap surfaces (including the screens and the fan blades) with a degreaser, such as Formula 409 Cleaner/Degreaser. Wipe the fan blades with a paper towel and reapply degreaser, if necessary.

    To clean the filter, spray with degreaser and scrub gently with a light-duty sponge or old toothbrush. Rinse with water. Wipe dry with additional paper towels before reassembling the unit. If the filter is very greasy, it’s wise to replace it.

    The 13 Dirtiest Spots in Your House—and How to Clean Them (14)

    Bowonpat Sakaew/getty images

    Area around the toilet

    If you focus on cleaning a bathroom fast, you’re going to miss some very important spots, like the area around the toilet—it’s one of the grossest places in the home. If you really want to prove it, shine a urine-detecting black light flashlight around the toilet seat, the outside of the toilet bowl, the floor around the toilet and the nearby walls—yes, the walls. Talk about a reveal.

    How to clean it: First, pre-clean obviously soiled areas with a disinfectant cleaner. (Gagliardi recommends Clorox Free and Clear products that kill germs and viruses without bleach, ammonia or fragrances.) Then spray the areas listed above until they are thoroughly wet. To disinfect, the surface must remain visibly wet for two minutes. Wipe dry. No rinsing is required. Next, learn how to clean your walls.

    The 13 Dirtiest Spots in Your House—and How to Clean Them (15)

    SolStock/getty images

    The tops of kitchen cabinets

    Cleaning kitchen cabinets takes time and effort, and by the time you’re done, you’ve likely forgotten about the tops of them. Sure, it’s one of those places in the home where no one ever looks. But hop on a stepladder and check it out for yourself. You’ll be shocked. The thick layer of grime you’ll find comes from grease from the stove combined with everyday household dust, making it one of the grimiest places in the home.

    How to clean them: Reichert recommends cleaning the tops of cabinets by spraying the surface with a mixture of half alcohol and half distilled white vinegar—the alcohol and vinegar cut through the grease and loosen the buildup. Allow it to sit for an hour to loosen the grime. Spray it again and wipe it with a microfiber cloth. If the grime is really thick, use a spatula to scrape it up.

    About the experts

    • Jennifer Ahoni is a biomedical engineer and Proctor & Gamble principal scientist for fabric care. She is working with her team and NASA to develop a laundry-care product to use in space.
    • Andrew Leeland is a virtual appliance expert for Frontdoor, an app that offers expert home-maintenance advice and help via real-time video chat.
    • Brian Custer is a virtual plumbing expert for Frontdoor.
    • Mary Gagliardi is known as “Dr. Laundry.” She is the in-house scientist and cleaning expert for Clorox and has more than 24 years of experience in laundry-product research and development.
    • Sharon Garcia is an Instagram and TikTok personality and a cleaning expert for Fabuloso. A successful entrepreneur, her videos reach a wide range of English-speaking and Spanish-speaking audiences.
    • Bill Munger is a virtual handyman expert for Frontdoor.
    • Leslie Reichert is known as the Green Cleaning Coach. She is an expert in green cleaning and is the author of The Joy of Green Cleaning. Reichert knows firsthand the importance of cleaning with environmentally safe products.

    Sources:

    Originally Published: September 26, 2023

    Author

    Karen B. Gibbs

    Karen has 20 years of experience as a lifestyle writer, focused on cleaning and fabric care. A former cleaning writer for Today.com, she published more than 200 articles on the site, including a 60-part series on stain removal. She was also a managing editor for Inside Northside magazine and has written for New Jersey Family, Inside New Orleans, Si...

    Read More

    The 13 Dirtiest Spots in Your House—and How to Clean Them (16)

    The 13 Dirtiest Spots in Your House—and How to Clean Them (2024)

    FAQs

    What is the most unsanitary part of a house? ›

    The kitchen is the dirtiest room in a house, but germs also collect in the bathrooms, particularly in toothbrushes. Home offices are bacteria-ridden thanks to heavily-touched objects like keyboards and phones.

    Where is the germiest place in your house? ›

    The kitchen holds the title for “germiest place in the house”, where bacterial contamination is far more common than in the bathroom, for example: Kitchen rags, towels and sponges are notorious for bacterial contamination.

    What part of the house has the most bacteria? ›

    Drews says that the bathroom and kitchen are the most germ-infested areas, in part because they include many of the frequently touched surfaces that can be loaded with germs. “There are less obvious things to think about like high-touch items, handheld electronics and, yes, your smartphone,” adds Dr.

    What is usually the dirtiest item in our homes? ›

    Bacteria will thrive most wherever there's moisture and nutrients, particularly from food, so it should be no surprise that dishcloths and sponges are the most preferred breeding ground for potentially harmful bacteria, and classed as one of the dirtiest things in your house.

    What part of the house is the hardest to keep clean? ›

    The Kitchen: A Cleaning Challenge

    The kitchen is the home's heart for so many people. Unfortunately, it is also one of the hardest rooms to keep clean. With all those surfaces, appliances, and utensils, it's not surprising that the kitchen often takes the longest to tidy.

    What is the best room in the house to clean first? ›

    Clean Your Home In This Order
    1. Clean The Bathroom First. The bathrooms are usually the hardest room to clean, and so they're a great place to start. ...
    2. The Kitchen. The kitchen is the next hardest place to clean in the house and also one of the most important. ...
    3. Entryways and Hallways. ...
    4. The Living Room and Family Rooms. ...
    5. Bedrooms.
    Apr 27, 2021

    What part of the house should be the cleanest? ›

    The most important part of your home to always keep clean is your kitchen and living room area. Because you need it nice and tidy for any surprise visits. And very simple to keep up with tidying up your home is by always starting the day with making your bed.

    How to completely sanitize your home? ›

    To disinfect, use an EPA-registered disinfecting product or a stronger bleach solution. Clean the surface with soap and water first. Always read the label of disinfecting products to make sure the products can be used on the type of surface you are disinfecting (such as a ...

    Which part of the house takes you the longest to clean? ›

    Bathrooms and kitchens are known as 'wet areas'. These often take the most time to clean. That's why they should be first in the order you clean your house.

    What household item has the most germs? ›

    Clean the Germiest Home Items
    • Kitchen sponge/dish rag. The item most frequently used to clean dishes and countertops was actually the germiest place found in most homes. ...
    • Kitchen sink. ...
    • Toothbrush holder. ...
    • Pet bowl. ...
    • Coffee reservoir. ...
    • Faucet handles. ...
    • Pet toys. ...
    • Countertops.

    How do you test for bacteria in your home? ›

    Bacteria Testing Kits

    Commercially available kits can identify microorganisms on surfaces or in the air at your house. These kits are user-friendly and provide quick results, making them suitable for household use.

    Which part of the body has the most bad bacteria? ›

    Belly button: Again, no amount of time you spend in the shower can help you clean the belly button completely. It has about 2000 plus varieties of bacteria and given its hidden and warm nature (compared to the rest of the body temperature), they are ideal for bacterial growth.

    What is the cleanest part of your house? ›

    What is the cleanest part of your house? Surprisingly, the cleanest part of your house is likely to be your toilet pan. While the bathroom is wrongly thought to be a hothouse of bacteria in your home, the toilet has been proven time and time again to carry fewer bacteria than certain areas of your kitchen.

    What is the dirtiest room? ›

    Kitchen. The kitchen is one of the busiest rooms in most homes and also the dirtiest. All of the elements that encourage bacteria to grow—heat, moisture, and food—are readily available.

    How do you clean the dirtiest room? ›

    Things You Should Know
    1. Divide your room into smaller sections and clean them one at a time. ...
    2. Sort and put all items in their proper place. ...
    3. Dust and clean off all the surfaces in your room, including the ceiling fan, windows, light fixtures, and blinds.

    What is the most neglected part of a house? ›

    If you are cleaning up your house on your own, have a look at the 9 most neglected areas that need extra care or special attention:
    1. Windows and Screens. ...
    2. Window Blinds. ...
    3. Refrigerator. ...
    4. Shower Door. ...
    5. Areas Under Heavy Furniture and Appliances. ...
    6. Kitchen Cabinets. ...
    7. Your Mattress. ...
    8. Baseboards.

    What object in your house has the most germs? ›

    1. Sponges and cloths: a feast in the kitchen. Every day, you use a soft sponge to clean your dishes or a microfibre cloth to make your sink, worktop or table shine. But in reality, these are the household items which hold the most bacteria according to a study by Scientific Reports.

    What is the hardest part in cleaning the house? ›

    Which one is the toughest cleaning task?
    1. Oven. Ovens can become caked with grease and grime over time, making them one of the toughest cleaning tasks to tackle. ...
    2. Bathroom. ...
    3. Windows. ...
    4. Carpets & other floor coverings. ...
    5. Tile grout. ...
    6. Pet messes. ...
    7. Post-construction. ...
    8. Exterior spaces.
    Apr 10, 2023

    Top Articles
    Latest Posts
    Recommended Articles
    Article information

    Author: Greg O'Connell

    Last Updated:

    Views: 5229

    Rating: 4.1 / 5 (42 voted)

    Reviews: 81% of readers found this page helpful

    Author information

    Name: Greg O'Connell

    Birthday: 1992-01-10

    Address: Suite 517 2436 Jefferey Pass, Shanitaside, UT 27519

    Phone: +2614651609714

    Job: Education Developer

    Hobby: Cooking, Gambling, Pottery, Shooting, Baseball, Singing, Snowboarding

    Introduction: My name is Greg O'Connell, I am a delightful, colorful, talented, kind, lively, modern, tender person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.