We all use our bathrooms every day and there are a wide variety of things that can cause odours to occur in this room. Luckily, there are also a variety of steps you can take to keep this room smelling fresh all day long. Let’s take a look at a few of them.

Damp can be a major issue in bathrooms that don’t receive a sufficient amount of ventilation and cause a musty smell in the room.

After you have had a shower or bath, ensure that the room receives plenty of fresh air, either by opening the window or leaving the fan on until the steam dissipates.

If you do not have a fan or window in your bathroom, use a dehumidifier or small electric fan to help prevent a build up of moisture and damp.

Another way to prevent the smell of damp in your bathroom is to ensure that you hang up towels and bathmats to dry once they have been used to ensure they can dry quickly. Regularly washing your towels so that they are kept fresh is also important.

The floor in your bathroom can become a cause for odour, particularly if you have young children that use the bathroom. Mop the floor once a week (or more regularly if you have a potty training boy) to keep the bathroom space fresh.

Another way to keep your bathroom fresh is to use natural odour absorbents such as white vinegar or baking soda. Fill a vase or glass bowl with the product of your choosing and set it out of the way on your bathroom counter, shelf or a cabinet.

Of course, as well as using products to take odours out of the room, why not add your own fragrance to your bathroom? Popular bathroom scents include citrus smells and fresh cotton scents. Both of these add a natural fragrance to your bathroom, without being too overpowering.

If you suffer from allergies, you will be fully aware of the common culprits: flower and grass pollen, animal fur, food intolerance (particularly, shellfish, nuts and fruit). But are you aware that this little creature – the simple dust mite – is the most common cause of allergies caused by house dust.

These tiny, microscopic creatures belong to the family of eight-legged creatures called arachnids and thrive in warm, humid environments.

10% of the general population are allergic to dust mites – a rather scary statistic when there may be as many as 1,000 dust mites in every gram of dust!

Where do dust mites live?

Dust mites are found in pillows, carpets, mattresses and upholstered furniture. If you thought they were reserved for the home, then think again! Dust mites can be found anywhere where people congregate. They live off the skin shed by humans and animals but only if the skin has been broken down by mould first, which is why humid conditions are the worst for breeding dust mites.

How would I know if I’m allergic to dust mites?

It is not the dust mite itself which causes the allergic reaction but rather the pellets which contain an allergen known as DerP1. Typical symptoms of an allergic reaction are as follows:

• Sneezing
• Wheezing
• Runny nose
• Sinusitis
• Headaches (particularly in the morning after being in bed)
• Dry persistent cough
• Asthma
• Itching
• Eczema and dermatitis.

Why have I never seen a dust mite?

Due to their miniscule size (between 0.25 and 0.3 mm in length) they are not visible to the naked eye – thank goodness for that! But if you live in a carpeted home or office, use a pillow and mattress for sleeping on, then you can bet your bottom dollar, that you have daily contact with these creatures.

During their 3 month life span, each dust mite lays 20-40 eggs and produces up to 2000 droppings. This causes the dust mite allergen to increase rapidly.

How can I get rid of dust mites?

The appearance of dust mites is not the result of a dirty home or workplace. In fact a relatively dusty environment may have no dust mites present, because the atmosphere is not conducive to their habitation. Here are some tips on how to reduce the presence of dust mites:

• Keep the environment well ventilated
• Replace carpets with hard floors and mop regularly
• Use dust mite proof bedding
• Replace your feather pillows with synthetic fillers
• Leave your bed to air in the morning
• Wash your child’s teddies regularly or pop in a plastic bag and freeze overnight
• Wash your bedding every week
• Use non toxic allergy sprays to kill the dust mites
• Vacuum carpets and floors regularly
• Use a steam cleaner to kill dust mites in carpets
• Replace curtains with vinyl blinds
• Remove all sources of damp, rising damp and water leaks
• Invest in a dehumidifier and/or air purifier.

Are you scratching yet? If yes, you’ve got some work to do!

I decided to do some research, to discover hidden places around the home where germs like to make themselves comfortable. The results were quite surprising…

Your Toothbrush

We bank on these bristles to keep our teeth shiny and clean, but have you ever wondered who cleans the toothbrush? The mere fact that your toothbrush resides in your bathroom, where millions of tiny droplets filled with bacteria, spray into the air, covering anything within a twenty feet radius. All this bathroom bacteria in the air settle down on the surface of toothbrushes. What to do? Allow your toothbrush to dry completely, you can also clean it with antibacterial mouthwashes such as Listerine every few days, or put it through a dishwasher cycle. Store your toothbrush in a closed cabinet rather than leaving it on the bathroom sink and purchase a new one every 3 months.

Your Child’s Toys

Due to the high level of use that computer game controllers receive and the type of small people who are likely to be handling them, these (and toys of any kind) are definite germ-magnets. What to do? This one is obvious – give controllers a regular clean with an anti-bacterial wipe and immerse washable toys in warm water and disinfectant, every 6 months.

Your Kitchen Tea Towels

50-80% of food-born illnesses are caught from within the home. It will therefore be of little surprise to find that your kitchen is the most popular place for germs to hide. If you wipe your hands on a tea towel after handling raw meat for example, the bacteria will spread to the towel. If you then use that same towel to dry the dishes, the bacteria is then transferred to the plate. What to do? Make sure you wash your cloths regularly on a 90⁰ cycle. This is the only way to ensure that all germs are killed.

Your Wallet

A recent Swiss study showed that flu germs can remain on paper money for as long as 3 days. If the germs are mixed with mucus, this can increase to 17 days! What to do? Use credit/debit cards as often as possible to avoid contact with real life money!

Your Make-Up Bag

Mascara in particular, is a definite source of infection. Every time you pump the wand into your mascara bottle, air causes it to dry out, creating a dark breeding ground for bacteria. When the wand is transferred from the bottle to your eyelashes and vice versa, the bacteria goes with it. Take extra care when using brushes and any kind of applicator as the same rules apply. What to do? Change your mascara every 3 months and clean make up brushes once a week. If you’ve never considered cleaning your actual make up bag – do it now! The dishwasher is an ideal temperature for cleaning your make up bag, especially if it is made from canvas. Alternatively, put it in the washing machine on a 90⁰ cycle.

Your Shower Head

Due to the moist environment and design of most shower heads, they are unfortunately a breeding ground for bacteria. As soon as the shower is turned on, the force of the water dislodges the bacteria, spraying it directly onto your skin. What to do? A recent study showed that just using bleach does not remove all bacteria. As an alternative, why not try this natural remedy? Fill a plastic bag with white vinegar, tie the bag to the shower head, making sure that the whole head is submerged and secure it with an elastic band. Leave it for at least an hour. This will also unclog your shower head from any limescale build up. I don’t know about you, but I’m off to scrub my house from top to bottom!

We have been researching the use of household products (things that we would all find in our homes) that we can use as cleaning agents. I guarantee there will be a few ‘well I never knew that‘ moments!

1. Baking Powder and Lemon Juice. Combine equal parts lemon juice and baking powder, spread on mildew, leave for two hours and rinse with warm water.

2. Hairspray. Spray on walls and wipe to remove marks such as crayons.

3. Tomato Ketchup. Rub on brass to give it a shine.

4. Tennis Ball. Rub on scuff marks to remove from painted walls, tiles or woodwork.

5. Distilled vinegar. Combine with water and use to remove coffee stains on carpets, marks on laundry, descaling shower heads and taps and cleaning glass.

6. Olive Oil. Use a soft cloth and a little olive oil to remove oil-based paint from your skin.

7. Bicarbonate of Soda. Use in kitchens to sanitise fridges and worktops.

8. White Bread. Small chunks of crustless white bread can be rubbed on wallpaper to remove scuff marks and fingerprints.

9. Shaving Foam. Old-fashioned white shaving foam squirted on the mirror and then wiped off with a soft cloth, not only cleans brilliantly but helps to keep the mirror fog-free after a shower.

10. Banana Peel. Rub the inside of a banana skin on plant leaves to remove dust and encourage shine. Also use to clean silverware, leather shoes and sofas – wipe off with a soft cloth afterwards.

Surprised? We might not be quite ready to throw out all of our cleaning chemicals just yet but it’s definitely worth thinking outside the box – it will not only save you money but the planet as well!