What is the Dirtiest Surface in Your House?

This is Dr. Mercola, and today's video is about how to limit your likelihood
of getting an infection.

Now, there's a huge mistake most people make when they
consider this topic, and they believe that when they get a cough or cold or
flu that it's due to some big, bad bug that got them, some virus or some really
horrible bacteria.

And yes, these infectious agents do play a role in getting
an infection. But it's really important to understand that it's mostly not related
to the infectious agent so much as it is to our behavior, specifically behavioral
and lifestyle choices made within the few days preceding the actual development
of the infection.

Typical challenges that would contribute to getting sick are not sleeping well,
being under a lot of stress or eating lots of sugar. Those are the big ones.
So, if you're doing any of those, your risk of an infection will be radically
elevated. Nevertheless, we do encounter infectious agents in our environment,
and I just wanted to highlight a few of them so that you can be aware of them
and potentially avoid them, because it's really not great to be exposed to these
agents; it's pretty easy to avoid them.

One very common one that many aren't aware of is encountered in the grocery
store. Of course, we all have to purchase food. Most of us get it from the grocery
store, and most of us use shopping carts. Typically, shopping cart handles in
either grocery or department stores are one of the most infected surfaces in
any community. This calls for some caution. A bit later in the video, I'll discuss
some methods for dealing with this, or you can use gloves, especially in winter.

Now, in your own homes, there are some surfaces that could be problematic,
and the first one that often comes to mind might be your toilet seat. Well,
there are a few areas that are much more infected than your toilet seat, and
one would be your kitchen sink. Another though, especially if you're a big computer
user like me, is your keyboard, which rarely gets cleaned (one key reason it's
often so contaminated). There are some simple steps to take to clean it, which
I'll show you shortly.

These simple process, using peroxide especially, can also be used to clean
stains on your clothes. I happen to really enjoy a salad most every day, and
I typically use something like balsamic vinegar. If you've ever used balsamic
vinegar, then you know it's very dark in color and has a tendency to splash
as you're eating it. These little droplets, especially on white fabric like
the one I'm wearing, will create a really stubborn stain.

Through trial and error, and ruining shirts, I learned that peroxide can be
used. I use a little 2x2 gauze pad, but you can use a piece of cloth, saturated
with peroxide and a little soap. As long as you do it immediately after the
clothing is stained, you can actually clean it very effectively.

The peroxide also works really well for blood stains, and as a physician, I've
had my share of encounters with blood in my career and ruined a lot of shirts
before I knew how to remedy stains. But peroxide, especially used when the stain
is fresh, is just beyond phenomenal. It's essentially a light bleach and will
get the stain out. In fact, it's good for most stains I've encountered.

So, use a little bit of peroxide and a little bit of soap and rub it into the
stain with a 2x2 gauze pad or clean cloth. Phenomenal! This way, you can avoid
a lot of toxic laundry stain removers, which are full of chemicals you'll want
to stay away from if you can.
With that, let's have a little demo of using hydrogen peroxide for cleaning.

Now, this is the hydrogen peroxide I use, just a simple, inexpensive bottle;
probably costs about a dollar or so. What I do is, take a 2x2 gauze pad, (which
is handy for me, as I get them at work) and I just invert the bottle and saturate
the gauze (you may use any clean cloth), then just wipe the keyboard. First,
make sure your computer is off before you begin, in case the keys get pressed
down a bit during cleaning. Alternately, just make sure you're in a program
which will be unaffected by pressure on the keyboard. Clean all along the surface
of the keyboard, and it'll do a wonderful job of really taking off all the dirt
and infectious agents that tend to accumulate during the week. Don't forget
to clean the mouse or TrackWell. (I happen to prefer TrackWells. I'm a big fan)

I have a tendency to eat while I'm working. So my keyboard gets pretty dirty,
actually, and would be quite dirty if I didn't regularly clean it in this way.

Another tip is: To get crumbs out of the keyboard, just turn the keyboard over
and tap it a few times. This will help remove other debris that gets caught
in there.

So, if you do this regularly, you'll have a nice, clean keyboard, and impress
those who see it!

Disclaimer: The entire contents of this website are based upon the opinions of Dr. Mercola, unless otherwise noted. Individual articles are based upon the opinions of the respective author, who retains copyright as marked. The information on this website is not intended to replace a one-on-one relationship with a qualified health care professional and is not intended as medical advice. It is intended as a sharing of knowledge and information from the research and experience of Dr. Mercola and his community. Dr. Mercola encourages you to make your own health care decisions based upon your research and in partnership with a qualified health care professional. If you are pregnant, nursing, taking medication, or have a medical condition, consult your health care professional before using products based on this content.

If you want to use an article on your site please click here. This content may be copied in full, with copyright, contact, creation and information intact, without specific permission, when used only in a not-for-profit format. If any other use is desired, permission in writing from Dr. Mercola is required.

Disclaimer: The entire contents of this website are based upon the opinions of Dr. Mercola, unless otherwise noted. Individual articles are based upon the opinions of the respective author, who retains copyright as marked. The information on this website is not intended to replace a one-on-one relationship with a qualified health care professional and is not intended as medical advice. It is intended as a sharing of knowledge and information from the research and experience of Dr. Mercola and his community. Dr. Mercola encourages you to make your own health care decisions based upon your research and in partnership with a qualified health care professional. If you are pregnant, nursing, taking medication, or have a medical condition, consult your health care professional before using products based on this content.

If you want to use an article on your site please click here. This content may be copied in full, with copyright, contact, creation and information intact, without specific permission, when used only in a not-for-profit format. If any other use is desired, permission in writing from Dr. Mercola is required.