Why Your Bathroom Might Not Be as Clean as You Think

Everyone has different ways of keeping the bathroom clean. Maybe you’re following bathroom organization tips to create more storage space. You might even start remodeling your small restroom so it feels less cramped. These methods are sure to keep your space neat and tidy, but what if the grossest part of your restroom were invisible to the eye?

Although stopping the spread of germs has been a major focus during the pandemic, Americans still aren’t doing enough to keep their bathrooms clean. From forgetting to disinfect the shower curtain to skipping hand washing, the thing making your restroom the dirtiest might just be your hygiene habits. 

To find out what’s really going on inside people’s restrooms, we looked closely at a recent bathroom cleanliness survey on American habits. Keep reading to learn the dirty truth.

How Often Americans Clean the Bathroom

Cleaning the whole bathroom can seem like a hassle, which might be why Americans don’t do it as frequently as they should. Here’s a breakdown of how often Americans clean their restrooms:

• At least once a week: 38% 

• Twice a month: 20%

• Once a month: 22%

• Less than once a month: 20%

Although the majority of Americans clean the loo at least every other week, 42% only do the dirty work once a month at most. 

Grossed out yet? Before you rush to scrub the bathtub and disinfect the toilet seat, you might want to know where most of your bathroom germs are actually concentrated.

The Shower Curtain Problem

Even if you think you’re cleaning every surface, you might be forgetting about the part of your bathroom that picks up the most grime: the shower curtain.

When compared to a toilet seat, a shower curtain holds 60 times more bacteria. The higher potential for germs isn’t helped by American bathroom cleaning habits. In fact, 70% of Americans wash their shower curtains less than once a month, and 51% wash them less than twice a year. 

If you fail to clean your shower curtain, the moisture in the bathroom can cause mold and mildew to develop. To avoid this gross buildup, experts advise washing your shower curtain every week. Keeping both your bathroom and your body clean means disinfecting the shower curtain often.

Other Common Bad Habits

In addition to the 29% who ignore the grime on their shower curtains, Americans have loads of other gross bathroom habits. Check out some of the most common ones:

• Reusing disposable razors: 35% of Americans keep their disposable razors longer than they should, which can lead to microscopic tears in the skin that might increase the risk of certain infections.

• Using towels for over a week: Even though experts recommend replacing your bathroom towels every other day, 33% of Americans use their bacteria-filled towels for more than one week.

• Using loofahs for over a month: 22% of Americans reuse loofahs longer than recommended, with women being 80% more likely to do so.

• Not washing hands: 22% of Americans also admit that they’ve skipped hand washing after using the restroom, and men are 40% more guilty of this gross habit.

• Brushing teeth on the toilet: Despite all the germs on a toilet, 11% of Americans brush their teeth while sitting on one.

Now the filthy secret is out — Americans really don’t clean their bathroom as often or thoroughly as they should. 

If you think you fall under this category, it’s easy to change your ways. To level-up your bathroom cleaning habits, be sure to steer clear of the nasty practices that lead bacteria to grow. While you’re at it, do a bit of bathroom reorganization and renovation. That way, you can keep your bathroom both upgraded and clean.

4 Ways Mold Can Grow in Your Basement and How to Prevent It

If you've ever had the unpleasant experience of seeing mold, you know how disgusting the substance is. Chances are that your first instinct was to quickly wash the mold away. Unfortunately, mold can grow in your own basement. As thus, you want to be aware of reasons why mold might form in the basement and how to prevent this occurrence.

Burst Pipe or Leakage

One reason why mold might grow in your basement is due to a leak or a burst in one of the pipes. Sometimes, these leaks can go undetected for a while. For example, if you're like many people, you may very well have a storage closet in the basement packed with items. A pipe could burst or have a leak, and that dripping water could lead to mold. Regularly checking the closet for signs of water damage or mold is a smart move. You can also call 1-800 BusyDog Basement Technologies to inspect the plumbing system in the house.

Flood Damage

Even if you don't live near the water or in an area where floods are a terribly common happening, you still could experience flood damage in the basement. A heavy storm could lead to water getting into the basement. You might think that the issues are over once the water is cleaned up, but mold could grow in those spaces. When you have any sort of flooding, hiring professionals to do the clean up is the right move.

Forgotten Food

Having friends over to watch the big game is certainly exciting, especially when you can escape down to the basement for a relaxing day free of the chores and other household hassles. However, food might get left behind. When you don't regularly spend a ton of time in the basement, you might not notice that the food has started to stink and grow mold. A thorough cleaning after parties is the way to prevent this issue.

Lack of Ventilation

A bathroom in the basement might not have the same ventilation as bathrooms on higher floors of the house. After you take a shower, leave the door open for a while so that the bathroom can air out. All of that moisture building up in the space can certainly lead to recurring problems with mold. Another option is to look into having ventilation professionally installed in the basement bathroom.

When you go down into your basement next, take a look around for signs of mold. Further, make preventative treatment a part of your maintenance routine.

3 Ways to Organize Your Home For Optimal All-Around Health

Year after year, many of us pledge to have a healthier year. Whether it’s for weight loss, better habits, or overall wellness, more often than not it feels like by the second or third month we fall off the wagon. While we may not always notice it, a lot of the time we put ourselves in a position destined for failure. Maybe we continuously keep sugary sweets in our pantry or focus more on a comfy place to lay down as opposed to a space for working out. In order to keep up our resolutions of healthy living, we need to optimize the environment around us for success. There are many modifications that we can do to our homes whether it's a house, a condo, or an apartment that can help us achieve our health goals.

Workout Space

Contrary to popular belief, you don’t need a gym membership or a fully stocked home gym in order to get a good workout. Organizing just a small section of your living room, bedroom, or home office with some simple pieces of equipment like a yoga mat, a couple weights, and a jump rope is all you need. If you feel like you want a little more, there are easily installable pull-up bars that can hang over the door frame. There are plenty of at-home workouts available on YouTube, Google, or even in an app on your phone. Some of which are even equipment-free! Using bodyweight to train has been shown to provide just as good of a workout as using weights. Making working out accessible and easy is the first step to integrating it into our lifestyle. If getting a workout becomes difficult to access and hard to complete, chances are we won’t even start in the first place. Additionally, choose a workout that matches your fitness level. While it’s good to push yourself, if you start with something too intense, you may feel defeated and not want to continue on.

Make Healthy Eating Easier

The kitchen can be a place where all dreams of healthy living can go to die. For many of us, eating well is the hardest part. Especially when life becomes chaotic and time seems in short supply, hitting up fast food joints or reaching for overly processed frozen meals can feel like the only option. But that doesn’t have to be the case. Organizing the kitchen to encourage healthy eating is not as daunting as it may seem. The first step is looking in the fridge. Oftentimes we reach for pre-made foods because of their convenience. But pre-made foods don’t always have to be the only convenient option. By pre-washing and cutting all your fruits and vegetables at the beginning of the week, you can make yourself pre-made healthy, unprocessed snacks that are not only better for you, but often less expensive. If you’re anything like me, the second spot to tackle is the pantry. If you’re really trying to cut back on the sugary and fatty snacks, one option would be to not buy them at all. But if you still want the option to treat yourself, try organizing your healthier snacks like nuts and crackers at eye level, and put the rest of the treats up high and out of your immediate eye-line.

Mindfulness Corner

Mental health is just as important, if not more important, than your physical health. Often when we think of living a healthier lifestyle we only really focus on eating well and working out. But having a healthy and happy mind can help elevate our quality of life more than anything else. Clearing out a corner of your home to put together a meditation space is an excellent way to incorporate mindfulness habits into your life. If meditation isn’t your thing, there are plenty of other mindfulness activities that you can do in this special space. You can opt for reading, journaling, listening to music, visualization, or even painting. There are a few easy tricks to make this space different from the rest of your home. Opt for soothing colors, like whites, greys, creams, and even blues to evoke a feeling of relaxation. Try to make it comfortable and inviting, this is a space that you want to be in. If it’s uncomfortable or not relaxing, you won’t want to spend time there. Some people emphasize the importance of scents to promote a feeling of tranquility. Lavender, sage, juniper berry, and yuzu are all essential oil scents that have been recognized for their ability to relax the mind.

Bottom Line

The beauty of home organization is that you can customize it to facilitate any type of lifestyle that you want. Healthy habits can be difficult to instill, especially if we have spent a lot of our lives putting healthy living on the back burner. But by optimizing our surrounding environment to promote wellness both physically and mentally, our goals can be more easily achieved. These are just a few tips to get you started on a healthier lifestyle. There are plenty of other options and modifications that you can choose to personalize your space to your specific lifestyle.

Guest Post - The Most Common Home Improvement Myths Busted

A home improvement project is one of the best things you can do if you want to increase the value of your property. It’s also an ideal option if you're going to reinvest in your home – remodel, renovate, or update it. While you’re guaranteed to reap benefits from improving your home, there are several things you need to consider before getting into action. You need to know precisely what you are doing or are supposed to do. 

Before anything else, you should go around your property and try to assess its overall condition. If possible, have the exterior and interior parts of your home check. Get a professional to do a roof maintenance inspection, HVAC tests, and even furniture and appliance checks. Once you have an idea of what has to be corrected and improved, you can start planning your home improvement project. 

However, some homeowners hesitate to put their plans into action because of some home improvement myths they’ve heard from family and friends. Myths are widely believed stories and ideas, but they are false. To ensure that you don’t fall prey to misconceptions, it’s essential to know what these home improvement myths are. 

Home Improvement Myths 

Do-It-Yourself home improvements will save you money.  

Home repairs are simpler compared to home improvement projects. So, yes, you can do all the DIY repairs you want and save on your expenses. Home improvement, though, is different; it’s more complex because you’re dealing with the entire house, not just parts of it. While there are numerous tips available online, it’s still best to get help from a professional. If you want to be hands-on on the renovations, the two of you can work together. 

If you prefer to do everything on your own, you may end up spending more when things don't turn out the way you wanted them to (ex. when you add more damage to your roof instead of fixing it). 

All home improvement projects are the same. 

What a home improvement project is to you may not be what it is to your friend or neighbor. You might like the updates and changes, but a potential buyer may look at them in a different light. So, if you’re planning to remodel or renovate for future selling, you should hire a good and experienced contractor to ensure that you’re doing the right thing. 

Anything trendy is good. 

Minimalist, Japanese, and Scandinavian-inspired interiors are trends in home designs. While they all make homes look and feel beautiful, they are not for everyone. You have to consider several factors, like does it suit your personal preferences? If you’re married and have children, is it a practical choice?

You shouldn’t base your home improvement choices on what’s popular or trending; you should match them with what you believe is suitable for your home, for you and your family, and your style. Remember, your home is your sanctuary, so it should be something that you would want to be in. 

Instead of focusing on what’s trendy, find time to do some research by visiting showrooms and going through websites and home improvement magazines. It is also important to get advice from an interior designer and a contractor. 

Home improvement projects don’t take a lot of time to finish.

Home renovations are not a 24-hour, two-days, or over-the-weekend thing; it takes time. Some remodeling projects can take a week or more; others may even take months to complete. It usually depends on your home size or how big the renovation project is. 

The best thing to do is work with a home improvement specialist before getting to work. 

Home improvement projects do not require permits. 

Whether you’re doing a simple or extensive home improvement project, it is vital to follow the law. Be sure to get all the information about building permits and other legal matters. Your contractor can help you secure all these and whatever else you might need. 

Wallpapers will solve the problem. 

No, it won’t. Wallpapers are temporary fixes; anything that’s temporary does not solve problems. Also, if you slap wallpaper on the cracks on your wall, you’ll eventually end up spending more than you expected after a few years (or months). 

If you really want to use wallpapers, have the cracks on your walls fixed first and ask someone to help you install them. 

Paint can hide the damage. 

While a fresh coat of paint can hide cracks and other damage to your wall, it cannot fix the problem. The right thing to do is find the root cause of the problem and have them fixed. If you simply cover your wall with paint, the small crack can develop into more serious issues like termites and molds. 

All renovations and improvements will add value to your home. 

Home improvements and renovations will only add value if they are done right, which is why you should work with a reliable contractor. 

Author Bio:

Rachel Porter is the content specialist for Custom Contractors Insurance, LLC, an Arizona roofing and contractors insurance company. When not writing, she enjoys reading and mountain biking with her friends.