Yuck, germs!

7. Your computer
Dirt scale: 9/10
How often do you clean your home computer, especially the keyboard and mouse?

Now how often do you clean your office computer? Lastly, how often have you had the cold or cough and yet kept pounding your keys to finish a report or grow your farm? Scared, already?

Be the Germinator: Keep disinfectant wipes handy at your desk. Make it a habit to wipe down the mouse and keyboard before you start working and before you leave. If you’re coming in sick, wash your hands as much as you can through out the day.

8. Your bed
Dirt scale: 8 of 10
If you’re feeling grumpy in the morning, blame the dust mites. They’re microscopically small. They feed on your dead skin. If that’s not hair-raising enough for you, their dump and the bodies you flatten that remain on your sheets cause asthma and allergies.

Be the germinator: Rejoice all you who hate making your bed. Dust mites need humidity levels above 50 percent for a home—something a moisture-trapping made bed provides. The lesson, don’t make your bed.

9 Your shower curtain
Dirt scale: 8 of 10
Vinyl shower curtains accommodate pathogens like the infection-causing duo of Sphingomonas and Methylobacterium. When you shower, these germs take flight, landing on your body, according a study in Applied and Environmental Microbiology.

Be the Germinator: Opt for fiber instead of vinyl. It’s not bacteria proof, but at the very least, it’s easier to clean. Use hot water when you throw your shower curtain in the washer. Scrubbing down your shower curtain should be done once a month, or more if you want.

10. Your kitchen cutting board
Dirt scale: 9 of 10
It may be your habit to wash your kitchen cutting board every after use. Washing alone isn’t enough. Leftover salmonella and E. coli from cutting meat don’t wash off easily. What makes things worse is the custom in households to use a single cutting board for all the kitchen’s dirt work. You’re just hosting a germ party. And washing it with the same kitchen sponge you clean your plates, utensils, or table even, makes this whole thing messy for you.

Be the Germinator: Use a separate cutting board for meat, and another one for vegetables. It’s a very minimal investment with huge returns on your health. And rinse your board not only with water, but also with a diluted bleach solution to kill whatever germs are clinging on the boards.