Always Use a Clean Sponge

The kitchen is where we spend so much of our family time together, with meals, homework, etc. Would you believe that the kitchen is the dirtiest room in our home?  This is true according to Phillip Tierno, PhD, director of clinical microbiology and diagnostic immunology at the New York University Langone Medical Center and author of The Secret Life of Germs. “That’s because we deal with dead animal carcasses on our countertops and in the sink.” He goes on to say that the kitchen sponge is “the single dirtiest thing in your kitchen, along with a dishrag.”

Check the Label on Your Soaps

Antibacterial soap is defined as any cleaning product to which active antibacterial ingredients have been added, such as Triclosan, one of the most common. Triclosan can be found in more than 700 antimicrobial-infused products such as deodorants, toothpastes, mouthwashes and over 70% of all liquid soaps.  It can also be found in any number of consumer products marketed under the trade name Microban such as fabrics, cutting boards, kitchen utensils, toys and trash bags, to name a few.

Navigating Cyberspace

Many of us worry about “surfing the net”.  Is it safe? I’m a worry wart, so I worry about viruses; I worry about someone stealing my private information and passwords.   I worry about getting into a bad website.  And to my sons’ amusement, I worry about someone being able to watch me through my computer’s webcam when it is turned off.  So with all my worrying, I decided to educate myself about cyberspace.