Latest news with #householditems
Daily Mail
3 days ago
- General
- Daily Mail
Doctor dishes on the five surprising things in your home that are DIRTIER than your toilet seat: 'Gross'
An emergency doctor has revealed surprising everyday household items that are crawling with far more bacteria than your toilet seat - leaving thousands disgusted. Dr Joe Whittington, an emergency medicine physician from California, shared the top five unsuspecting items in your home that are secretly filthy - and some might be within arm's reach as you read this. According to the medical expert, the average toilet seat has just 50 colony-forming units (CFUs) of bacteria per square inch. But what he revealed next has many reconsidering their cleaning habits - or lack thereof. A TV remote contains a staggering 5,000 CFUs, making it 100 times dirtier than your toilet seat. Cutting boards - where many home cooks prepare raw meat and vegetables - have been found to hold up to 10,000 CFUs, making it 200 times filthier. Your mobile phone? That's 25,000 CFUs, or 500 times dirtier than the loo. How often do you change your pillowcase? Dr Whittington pointed out that a single pillowcase, if left unwashed for a week, can harbour three million CFUs. But the worst offender out of the list is the kitchen sponge, which has 10 million CFUs - that's 200,000 times more bacteria than your toilet seat. Dr Whittington simply summed it up: 'I think it's time we all stop scrolling and start cleaning.' How to clean germ-laden items 1. TV remote Wipe down regularly with disinfectant wipes or a cloth dampened with rubbing alcohol. Be sure to get into crevices and under the buttons, where grime and bacteria collect. 2. Kitchen cutting board Wash thoroughly with hot, soapy water after each use. For a deeper clean, sprinkle with coarse salt and scrub with half a lemon to disinfect and deodorise. You can also sanitise plastic cutting boards by running them through the dishwasher. Never use the same board for meat and vegetables - use separate boards for different food groups. 3. Mobile phone Use a microfibre cloth slightly dampened with a isopropyl alcohol solution. Gently wipe the screen and case - but avoid excess moisture near ports and buttons. 4. Pillowcase Wash at least once a week in hot water (60C or higher). Use a hypoallergenic detergent if you have sensitive skin. For extra cleanliness, add a scoop of baking soda or white vinegar to the wash to eliminate bacteria and odours. 5. Kitchen sponge Soak it in a solution of one part bleach to nine parts water for five minutes and replace your sponge every 1-2 weeks regardless of cleaning. The video left thousands in shock - and some a little amused. 'That's it. I'm cutting vegetables on the toilet from now on,' one viewer joked. 'I can't believe my kitchen sponge is 200,000 times dirtier than my toilet seat. Time to clean up,' said another. 'My pillowcase deserves to be tested. I'm not ever going to say how long it's been there,' another admitted. One confessed: 'I will not be showing this to my wife. Me and the bacteria need peace.' Others shared their cleaning hacks. 'That's why I don't use a sponge. I have two spray bottles: one with water and bleach and one with water and alcohol,' wrote one hygiene-conscious commenter. 'This is why my grandma insisted on a cutting board for every food group since the 80s,' added another. Dr Whittington's post prompted people across the country to deep clean their often neglected everyday items. So next time you reach for your phone, grab the remote or wash the dishes with a sponge, spare a thought for the microscopic world living on it - and maybe give it a good wipe-down. Your immune system will thank you.
Yahoo
26-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Bridal bucket is the best wedding gift
Re wedding lists (The toilet roll wedding list – is this the least romantic gift request ever?, 20 May), when my parents announced their engagement in 1951, one of my mother's sisters, then on a low wage, bought a bucket. Each week on payday, she added some household item to it – a scrubbing brush, a mop, a floor cloth, shoe polish and brushes, cleaning products. It was the most useful wedding gift they received, according to my mother. Cliodhna Dempsey Bereldange, Luxembourg • 'We have created incentives to try to retain our most precious resource, which is our management team,' the chair of Thames Water is quoted as saying in your article (23 May). I would suggest their most precious resource is clean water. Their management is pretty inept if they don't realise people reckon their track record warrants no bonus. If anything, they should be paying fines for the DunnSt Andrews, Fife • I wholeheartedly agree with Lucy Mangan in her defence of the semicolon (Digested week, 23 May); however, I note with regret that she has not seen fit to use this valuable punctuation mark in her CopasBrentwood, Essex • At school in the 1950s, we were told that, if in doubt, we should read a sentence aloud and if a pause sounded right with a count to one, a comma was required, two – a semicolon, and three – a colon. It seemed to RowleyDidsbury, Manchester • Stand by for balaclavas becoming ubiquitous fashion wear (Live facial recognition cameras may become 'commonplace' as police use soars, 24 May).Colin Prower Chipping Norton, Oxfordshire • 'Artificial intelligence to play increasing role in armed forces, says defence secretary' (20 May). Could this be one small step on the road to the dystopia envisioned by the Terminator franchise?Tony RimmerLytham St Annes, Lancashire
The Guardian
26-05-2025
- Business
- The Guardian
Bridal bucket is the best wedding gift
Re wedding lists (The toilet roll wedding list – is this the least romantic gift request ever?, 20 May), when my parents announced their engagement in 1951, one of my mother's sisters, then on a low wage, bought a bucket. Each week on payday, she added some household item to it – a scrubbing brush, a mop, a floor cloth, shoe polish and brushes, cleaning products. It was the most useful wedding gift they received, according to my mother. Cliodhna Dempsey Bereldange, Luxembourg 'We have created incentives to try to retain our most precious resource, which is our management team,' the chair of Thames Water is quoted as saying in your article (23 May). I would suggest their most precious resource is clean water. Their management is pretty inept if they don't realise people reckon their track record warrants no bonus. If anything, they should be paying fines for the DunnSt Andrews, Fife I wholeheartedly agree with Lucy Mangan in her defence of the semicolon (Digested week, 23 May); however, I note with regret that she has not seen fit to use this valuable punctuation mark in her CopasBrentwood, Essex At school in the 1950s, we were told that, if in doubt, we should read a sentence aloud and if a pause sounded right with a count to one, a comma was required, two – a semicolon, and three – a colon. It seemed to RowleyDidsbury, Manchester Stand by for balaclavas becoming ubiquitous fashion wear (Live facial recognition cameras may become 'commonplace' as police use soars, 24 May).Colin Prower Chipping Norton, Oxfordshire 'Artificial intelligence to play increasing role in armed forces, says defence secretary' (20 May). Could this be one small step on the road to the dystopia envisioned by the Terminator franchise?Tony RimmerLytham St Annes, Lancashire Have an opinion on anything you've read in the Guardian today? Please email us your letter and it will be considered for publication in our letters section.
Bloomberg
22-05-2025
- Business
- Bloomberg
Dollar Store to Boost Malaysian IPOs With Year's Biggest Listing
Discount-chain Eco-Shop Marketing Bhd. debuts in Malaysia on Friday in a listing that's set to create a billionaire after the nation's biggest initial public offering of the year. Eco-Shop, which sells household items at a fixed price of 2.60 ringgit ($0.60), raised 974 million ringgit in an offering that valued the company at about $1.5 billion. That's the most since an IPO by 99 Speed Mart Retail Holdings Bhd. in September.
RNZ News
22-05-2025
- Business
- RNZ News
PNg government on track to remove GST on 13 essential items
Photo: RNZ Pacific/ Koroi Hawkins Papua New Guinea Prime Minister James Marape has said his government is on track to remove the Goods and Services Tax (GST) on 13 essential household items from 1 June. This was a commitment made in last year's budget. Marape has commended the Internal Revenue Commission for its efficiency in implementing government policy. He specifically acknowledged IRC Commissioner-General Sam Koim and his team, "Sam Koim and his team have shown that when a policy becomes law, departments must act." PNG Prime Minister James Marape said the project ideas were possible mid- or long-term projects. (Reuters: Rungroj Yongrit/Pool) Photo: Reuters/Rungroj Yongrit/Pool Marape emphasised that these tax reforms form part of a broader package of relief measures introduced by his government in recent years to support struggling families. "These include removing project fees from schools, paying tuition fees for elementary to secondary education, supporting higher education through the Higher Education Loan Programme (HELP), and offering scholarships for high-performing students to study overseas. We've also provided tax relief by raising the income threshold for non-taxable earnings to K20,000," he said. He says that next year, the government will remove 10 percent GST from first-time home buyers. Marape said these measures are about helping real people - especially those in the informal sector, in rural areas, and families earning subsistence or low incomes.
