A healthy life starts in the kitchen. There is never any doubt about it.
Your kitchen is the heart of your house. This is where you store your food and keep your dining utensils, including cutlery and linen tablecloths. You also prepare your healthy diet and cook your favorite foods there. On some occasions, the kitchen can also be the venue where your family gathers for a small interaction or maybe long, healthy discussions. The very same kitchen is inarguably the most active corner of your household.
With all these activities, your kitchen can be prone to health hazards if not looked after properly. Unclean countertops, overflowing washbasins, and dirty kitchen rags might make homes for unwanted germs and surface bacteria. Flawed cookwares can also contribute to poor kitchen hygiene. An unhealthy kitchen would not be a suitable place to start a healthy life. Therefore, maintaining kitchen hygiene should be the priority if you are keen on a better, healthier life.
Below are some tips that you can follow to promote an excellent hygiene level in your kitchen. By following these tips, you can overcome possible shortcomings that may affect your plan for a healthier life. Additionally, you can improve your quality of life altogether by starting the mission from your kitchen.
Use only Safe Cookware
Cooking in your kitchen is supposed to be healthier than ordering out. However, it can also backfire if you do not use the safest cookware in the process. You need to be aware of the materials used to make your cookware, as some of them might be hazardous to your body and the environment altogether.
One of the most notorious substances found in ordinary cookware is PTFE (polytetrafluoroethylene), known commonly in Teflon. When used at high temperatures, Teflon coating exudes harmful fumes considered unhealthy for human bodies. The risks include cancers, thyroids issues, and fertility problems. This coating has stirred quite controversies in recent years and gone on to become subjects of environmental documentaries.
If you are looking for the safest cookware for your kitchen, you may start shifting away from Teflon-based products. Resorting to safer products from stainless steel, copper, ceramic, and some other environmentally safe elements might be a good start to maintain your credo for a healthy life starting from the kitchen.
Disinfect Kitchen Surfaces Regularly
Unclean surfaces, including the floor and countertops, can be a breeding ground for surface bacteria and unwanted germs.
Those unwanted guests can help to degrade kitchen hygiene and might contaminate foods prepared in your kitchen.
To disinfect the kitchen floor, you can clean it up with warm soapy water. It is an effective measure to eliminate most of the bacteria and germs. However, you also need to deep-clean the kitchen floor every week to prevent the germination of pathogens.
You can add warm water with baking soda and vinegar to do the powerful cleaning.
As for the countertop, the best way to clean it is to rinse the surface after meal preparations. By doing so, you have ensured that any food drops and spilled substances get wiped off completely. You can add an extra touch by spraying sanitizers onto the surface now and then.
Be mindful that dirty rags and sponges can also be a breeding place for bacteria.
Cleanse Your Cabinets & Fridge
Set a specific period weekly or fortnightly to cleanse your kitchen cabinets and your fridge. Make sure not to overstuff them with items. You would need proper air circulation around them to make a healthy environment.
Take out any unused stuff, expired items, and rotten foods. You do not have to wait until the foods are spoiled; once they show any signs of decomposition, you should throw them away before the bacteria contaminate other foods in the vicinity. You must also ensure to empty your trash bins regularly so that they will not get overloaded. By doing so, you have maintained your kitchen hygiene at a high level.
Photo by Obi Onyeador on Unsplash
Conclusion
If you believe your healthy life starts from the kitchen, you need to maintain good kitchen hygiene at all times. It is critical not to let your guards down because the kitchen is the heart of your household. By doing the tips above, you have promoted proper kitchen hygiene to enhance a better and healthier life.
