Every time you visit the dentist, you probably have the importance of flossing drilled into your brain. I’m sure you’re also highly aware of how crucial hand-washing is, especially since the pandemic. But the truth is there are countless things we could be doing to improve our hygiene. So if you’re looking to stay fresh as a daisy, you’ve come to the right place! 

Redditors have recently been discussing the most underrated health and hygiene tips that everyone should know. From using a tongue scraper to disinfecting your phone on the daily, enjoy scrolling through this advice that might awaken your inner germophobe. And keep reading to find a conversation about keeping clean in the kitchen with Food Hygiene and Health & Safety Consultant Sylvia Anderson!

#1

Washing your hands frequently for at least 20 seconds wasn’t just a pandemic thing, it’s a generally good health and hygiene thing.

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#2

Wash your belly button.

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#3

A metal tongue scraper for when you wake up. I’d brush my teeth and tongue but still would feel gross and like I had bad breath 20 minutes afterwards. I don’t even rinse my toothpaste out after and it was still bad.

Got the scraper a year ago and it’s completely changed my confidence regarding my oral health and speaking to people. It’s definitely gross though sometimes when I have a lot of build up.

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To learn more about kitchen hygiene specifically, we got in touch with Sylvia Anderson, Director and Food Hygiene and Health & Safety Consultant at Sylvia A Consultancy. She was kind enough to have a chat with Bored Panda and reveal some of the most underrated kitchen hygiene tips.

“Swap out dishcloths/sponges daily as they can harbor more bacteria than a toilet seat,” the expert shared. “Clean your fridge weekly, wipe shelves and store raw meat at the bottom. Avoid cross-contamination, and use separate (ideally color-coded) chopping boards. Wash reusable shopping bags as they collect bacteria fast.”

#4

For long haired people: wash and condition your hair, wash your body while the conditioner sits, but wait to do the part of your back your conditioned hair is laying on until after you rinse the conditioner out, pull your hair up on your head or bend over and wash your upper back/shoulders. This helps prevent the conditioner from giving you bacne.

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#5

Wash in-between your toes.

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#6

Clean behind your ears and put down the toilet lid before you flush.

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When it comes to why cleanliness is so crucial in the kitchen, Sylvia says, “Bacteria like Campylobacter, Salmonella and E. coli are invisible but dangerous. Good hygiene protects health, cuts waste and keeps food fresher. [And] a clean kitchen is a safer, calmer place to cook.”

#7

One hygiene tip that’s often overlooked is cleaning your phone! It’s crazy how much bacteria can build up on screens since we’re always touching them. A quick wipe down with a disinfectant cloth or a microfiber cloth can help keep things a lot cleaner, especially since our phones are always near our face. It’s one of those things people forget about but can make a big difference!

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#8

Everyone needs to exfoliate sometimes.

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#9

If you’ve forgotten to wear deodorant (hopefully this doesn’t happen often), putting hand sanitizer on your pits helps to keep the smells down. Handy tip in a pinch, but shouldn’t be a go-to.

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So if you’re not sure if your kitchen is up to code, Sylvia shared a few hygiene tips to adopt. “Wash hands before and after handling food. Wipe surfaces daily with hot soapy water or antibacterial spray. Separate and label food, keep raw apart from ready-to-eat.” She also recommends writing expiration dates on your leftovers (2 days after they’ve been prepared).

Finally, the expert added that food hygiene isn’t just for chefs. “Everyone has a kitchen and prepares and cooks at home, it’s self-care. When in doubt, clean it!” 

#10

Wash your pillowcases very frequently. Every few days at least.

If you have face acne, this could be the reason.

And if you have dry skin and hair, try a satin pillowcase.

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#11

I find that a bar of soap is far more effective in getting a “clean” feeling than body wash. .

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#12

Floss before you brush, not after.

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#13

Brush your hair before you get in the shower (mostly longer haired people). It prevents forming tangles from getting knotted once wet.

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#14

Glycolic acid is fantastic for controlling sweat smell on the body.

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#15

If you wear glasses, wash the frames and lenses with dish soap periodically.

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#16

Shower before bed. Most people change their sheet once a week (if not longer). I find it pretty gross that people go to bed without showering and sleeping in the same sheet for at least a week.

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#17

Have separate cleansing cloths that are for your face only.

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#18

Dudes, shave your armpits. It’s a game changer. Deodorant covers better and you stink less.

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#19

Don’t just brush your teeth, brush your whole mouth. Started doing this a couple years ago and my dental hygienist has almost nothing to do now.

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#20

Deodorant should go on a clean body after you shower. If not, you are just getting bacteria on your stick. ( from a derm ).

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#21

Urine is not sterile. You have to wash your hands after you urinate.

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#22

– Brush your fingernails and toenails.
– Brush your tongue.
– Use dental floss .

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#23

Chewing gum (sugar free of course) is actually a great way to clean out your mouth / teeth after meals or drinking something acidic. Should always be paired with regular flossing and brushing though!

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#24

Fully dry your feet when you get out of the shower and before you put socks on.

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#25

Rinse your mouth after every meal.
This will keep the cavities away.

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#26

Use/get a bidet. I don’t understand why people are turned off on the idea of having a bidet. Easy hook up, not that expensive.

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#27

Wash your face AFTER you brush your teeth. And scrub your d**n legs.

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#28

Rinse with mouthwash after breakfast (coffee or cereal, etc). My dentist is ecstatic at how little extra work he has when I do it.

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#29

Open your bedroom and bathroom windows every day.

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#30

N95 masks in public. I’ve been sick once in 5 years. *Highly* recommend.

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#31

My personal experience is: Eating healthy does more for your body odor than any deodorant can ever.

I once had a bad phase in my life (depression etc.) and I ate a lot of c**p. I realized during this time, that I began to stink a lot even shortly after showering, wearing all clean clothes, using deo and barely moving. Eating clean took that away immediatly.

#32

Use cornstarch in lieu of baby powder for any areas that retain moisture…. Under b***s, pits, etc. Very inexpensive and completely amazing technique.

#33

If you are going to wear a fragrance and you want it to last, make sure you put it on moisturized skin.

#34

Use a brush to sweep the bed after waking up or before going to sleep, which gets rid of loose skin, hair, and other dust/dirt. the bed feels will feel clean everyday this way since you can’t be washing out sheets everyday.

#35

Check for tonsil stones.
Around 10% of the cases of bad breath originate from tonsil stones and most people are not aware of them.

Had them my whole life. Ironically, after a tonsil removal, they started to build up in the pockets left behind.

Only found out in my twenties, but by now I have this weekly cleaning rituaI with 2 of my children, to get rid of them with a soft dental water jet.

#36

Your washing machine needs a cleansing rinse cycle. Use a cup or two of vinegar and just run your washing machine like that. You may have noticed that the outer drum still sloshes around with water. Yeah…that is not clean water. That is full of whatever grime that’s leftover from all of previous washes.

Same for your clothes as well, especially towels. If they have that mildewy smell, that means you need to run them through a vinegar cycle. And no, the vinegar smell does not stay.

The little grey flies you see in your bathroom are drain flies. It means you have stagnant debris and waste in your sinks and tubs. They are effectively harmless, but you might want to use some drain cleaner and snake out your pipes.

#37

These are more for people with depression, disabilities or other issues that make showering/cleaning up a bit harder… because I see a lot of comments talking about things being gross to not do and I know firsthand that sometimes you just can’t.
– A quick PTA sponge bath or wipe down is still better than nothing at all. Genital safe wipes after you use the bathroom will do wonders if showering is difficult.

– Mouthwash is better than nothing brushing your teeth at all. Keep a pack of toothbrush heads (like for reusable toothbrushes) next to your bed, so if you need. a quick clean you don’t have to go far.

– Wipes are better than nothing washing your hands and work great if there’s no hand washing facilities nearby.

– Keeping your hair in a bonnet can prevent mats and tangles if you can’t brush your hair (or if you’re like me and your hair insists on becoming one entity after a nap)

And wear a mask in public.

#38

Scrubbing under your nails with a nail cleaner

Glycolic acid under your pits before putting on deodorant

Cleaning your piercing holes every few days (no one likes ear cheese).

#39

Figure out how often you need to be washing your hair! Different hair and skin types have different needs, so you may be taking care of your hair sub-optimally.

#40

If you’re sweaty and have stubborn BO, keep your body hair trimmed short (shaving is an option but it tends to irrtate the skin) as it will cling to hair and resist washing.

#41

If your feet sweat a lot use a good foot powder or spray. Always give your shoes time to dry out if they get wet.

*Learned the hard way after getting athletes foot last year for the first time.

#42

Sort of hygiene-tangential: switching to an sls-free toothpaste completely stopped me from getting canker sores.

#43

Don’t forget to scrub your ankles.

#44

Keep your floss in the shower for a reminder and easy access. Has been a game changer.

#45

Do not touch your face with your fingers/hand. Espicially near eyes, mouth, nose. Unless your fingers are really, really clean.

#46

If you have no thigh gap or thick thighs and your inner thighs rub together, it can cause seriously sore rub marks over the course of the day. Not in pants but dresses, skirts, rompers.
Applying solid deodorant stick to the inner thighs prevents it completely:)
You’re welcome 🤓💃🏽.

#47

Remember in chemistry that like dissolves like.

Soap is great and all, but cleaning with oil will really remove any stubborn products like makeup or sunscreen or deodorant.

#48

Before getting down with a partner, wash your mitts, your pits, and your bits. Better for everyone.

#49

Don’t rise after brushing your teeth. It washes away all the protective stuff in toothpaste. Spit out, obviously, but avoid the urge to rinse.

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