With spring cleaning, you might be focused on big jobs that don’t get done that often. Just don’t overlook the germy places hiding in plain sight. “I call ‘points of contact’ anything that people touch frequently: Doorknobs, light switch plates, drawer pulls or any handle. Basically, anywhere hands are going to go and where you could cough and then touch,” Maker says. “If someone comes over who’s got a cold and he’s touching things and then you touch those things, you’ll get sick.”
You’re cleaning the dirty stuff first
Another way to prevent cross-contamination of bacteria is to make sure you’re following the proper order of cleaning. “You want to clean the cleanest stuff first and the dirtiest stuff last,” Maker says. “If you’re cleaning a bathroom counter or the front of cupboards, you’re likely not going to have any freakish bacteria existing in those areas.” You wouldn’t want to start with cleaning a sink (a surprisingly dirty place in your home) or a toilet, she says, and then take that cleaning rag or sponge and use it somewhere else. “You always want to use your tools in the cleanest parts of the house first and then move to the dirtiest parts of the house—and then, of course, there is the option of using paper towels for areas that would make you uncomfortable using a [reusable] cloth.”