10 Surfaces to Sanitize Regularly

Germs… we are all thinking about them. And we are more aware of them now than ever. They are everywhere– in our homes, at the grocery store, on our packages, and in our nightmares. While we can’t avoid all germs, we can do our best to protect ourselves from them. How can we best protect our home from these germs? One way is to keep regularly accessed surfaces clean. But how do you know what surfaces to sanitize?
If you are looking for an effective type of disinfectant, check out the list on this EPA website. You will find a list of all EPA approved cleaners to fight viruses like COVID-19.
Remember, the CDC recommends wearing gloves when disinfecting surfaces. Throw away disposable gloves after each use. If you are using reusable gloves, make sure they are used only for disinfecting surfaces and nothing else. Do you have surfaces that are visibly dirty, clean them with soap and water prior to disinfecting. And of course, wash your hands after cleaning surfaces.
Because we have small kiddos at home who are constantly getting sick, I try to wipe down surfaces throughout the day, I also spend 15 minutes before bed wiping down the most touched areas in our home. Here is a list of ten surfaces that need to be cleaned regularly, especially in times like this.
Faucet Handles

We touch the faucet handles all day long. Keeping hands washed after using the bathroom, after indoor activities, after spending time outside, after running errands, after touching our face, and more! We are washing our hands in the bathroom, in the kitchen, and in the mudroom and the laundry room. Our hands are usually quite dirty when we touch a faucet to wash them, so it only makes sense that these need to be disinfected regularly.
Door Knobs

29 times… the number of times I touched the door to my son’s nursery today. Imagine how many germs have been transferred from this door handle to other areas. around the house. I make sure to wipe down doorknobs for both interior and exterior doors that are accessed each day. The most common ones I focus on are doorknobs to the bedrooms, the bathrooms, the backyard, and the garage.
Toilet Handles

No explanation is really needed here. Toilet handles are gross and should be wiped down each day. The last thing we touch after using the bathroom before washing our hands is the toilet handle. It is not a bad idea to store bleach wipes right next to the toilet and wipe the handle down after each use.
TV Remote

If you were to have asked me a year ago, how often I wiped down the remote control, I would have told you almost never. But after reading somewhere that the dirtiest item in a hotel room is the remote control, I only imagined how many germs were on the remote at home? Yuck! I’ve touched the remote while eating, while cooking, while cleaning. I can only imagine the amount of germs that accumulate on our remotes, which is why I try to sanitize them regularly.
Kitchen Handles

Wiping down cabinet handles and appliance handles can seem overwhelming. But it takes like five seconds to wipe down one handle. Let’s say you have 20 handles to wipe down. At five seconds each, that is just over a minute and a half to sanitize them all. But, if you are short on time, focus on the handles that you use regularly like the handle to the refrigerator, the trash can, the pantry, and the utensils drawer.
Soap Dispensers

Along with faucet handles, soap dispensers are a breeding ground for germs. Until recently, I never thought about the germs that collect on the top of the soap bottle. Every time we wash our hands we touch the soap dispenser with germs. So, that is at least a couple dozen times throughout the day. Disinfecting the soap dispenser is key to keeping germs at bay.
Computer Keyboard & Mouse

Do you wash your hands before using the computer? If you are like me, probably not. Using the computer while eating, opening mail, or filing through papers is very common. Therefore, the keyboard and mouse are collecting all sorts of germs. I am guilty of typing on my computer, stepping away to go do something, then coming back and type some more without washing my hands before returning. But, I’ve tried to be consistent about disinfecting my computer keyboard and mouse each day.
Phone

Our phones have so many germs. So. Many. Germs. We use our phones in the kitchen, in the bathroom, in the car. We place them on counters at the grocery store or doctor’s office. We drop them on the floor. We throw them in our purse or put them in our pockets. Our phones have so many germs on them. Honestly, we should be sanitizing our phones multiple times per day. But, it is especially important to give your phone one good disinfecting wipe down before bed.
Light Switches

Light switches are often forgotten when it comes to sanitizing. Even though we touch the light switches multiple times per day, it’s easy to forget to wipe them down. Imagine, you come home in the evening…you open the door and turn on the entryway light. Then you turn on the kitchen light, the bathroom light, the bedroom light, and so on. When you turn down for the night, you touch each of those light switches again. Give the light switches a quick wipe down before hoping into bed.
Your Car: handles, interior buttons steering wheel, and seats

It’s easier to avoid germs when you don’t leave the house. But it is inevitable, we may have to get in the car for some reason or another. The last thing we want to do is bring germs into our homes with us. Keep germs in check by wiping down surfaces in the car. The door handles (both inside and out), the interior buttons and levers (windows, door locks, turn signal), the steering wheel, and the seats can be quickly wiped down to sanitize easily. I like to do this when I leave the car so that when I get back into the car I am not sitting on or touching infected surfaces.
Remember, we can’t avoid all germs, but we can do our best to protect ourselves at home. If you are looking for more details on cleaning and disinfecting, check out the CDC website, for more details.

I thought I was doing really well with sanitizing, but I never thought about the soap dispenser! It’s now on my list.
Right? The soap dispenser is probably the yuckiest one!
There’s so many surfaces that need cleaning
I agree! I didn’t realize how much we touch on a regular basis.
A couple of these I hadn’t thot of.
Glad I could help out, Debbie.
Great list. Great reminder for the remote and computers. I tend to forget those but like 3-4xs a year. That’s pretty gross to think about. lol
haha, writing this article really opened my eyes too!
Thank you for the reminder. I try to get to all of them but there are so many among all the other things to do in a day.
I agree! I have been setting up wipes all over the house so I can just grab and go for like 5 minutes of straight cleaning.
I love those sanitizing wipes but lately I have been using actual cleaner.
That’s a good idea, Lisa. Much less wasteful too!
Great ideas! Also gives us something to do all day at home!
Thanks, Eva!
I totally agree. These surfaces don’t get cleaned nearly enough.
Thanks, Santana
You really can take some things for granted. I have been missing quite a few of these. Thank you for the great reminder You cannot be too safe during these times.
I agree, Candy…the TV remote is a hard one to remember for me.
Great tips and advice! So important to keep thing clean and sanitized especially right now!
Thanks, Holly!
I like to give everyone a disinfectant wipe and send them to their assigned areas of the house to wipe down surfaces once a day. Of course, we’re going to run out of wipes before long, so we need to work on making some of our own!
Great ideas!
This is so important, especially right now. Thank you so much for writing this post!
You’re welcome, Hillari
I never thought about the soap pumps! I mean, they hold the soap!
Right?? And they are always touched with dirty hands.
Thank you for this! Its so important to have a clean house and a healthy family
You’re welcome, Rachel
Thanks for this important information! We all need to keep up on our cleaning game in these crazy times!
You’re welcome, Christina
Thanks for sharing this list. I forget about the car, but it’s definitely a breeding ground for germs too. I need to get out there and give it a good wipedown.
I feel so much better after wiping down the car.
I think our phones have to be the grossest thing in our homes. Great tips!
Oh for sure!
I had not thought of this because I make everyone wash their hands as soon as they come in the house. Great tips!
Thanks, Tricia.
I work at Walmart and we have been disinfecting after every customer. I still got sick though even though I disinfect at home. Fortunately I tested negative and it is only bronchitis. Never can be too careful!
Oh no, Alice. I hope you are on the mend. Thank you for being there for your customers.
This is such a great reminder. Thank you!
You’re welcome, Lina.
A much needed reminder especially in this environment! I never thought to clean the soap dispenser but makes so much sense!
It is so easily overlooked, Ayesha.
Great reminders!
Thank you!
Great advice! I’m going to get right on this!
Thanks, Kendra.
Great reminders! I always forget about the soap dispenser itself!
Thanks, Tara!
Everyone always forgets about the phone! I wipe things down as much as I can and even more so lately!
I agree, Tiffany. The phone is touched all day long and so often forgotten about.
I agree! I’ve been doing all of those EVERYDAY since the beginning of all of this!
It can be time-consuming, but I have gotten it down to a quick routine now too.
Oh boy…you wouldn’t want to come to my house…these things are never wiped down. 😛 And we got a lot of hands all over the place…hmmm…maybe those many hands could get wipe things down. 😉
Haha, great idea to give those busy little a cloth to wipe it all down. Never thought about including the littles, love it!
Great list, perfect for what we all need to remember.
Thanks, Angela!
What perfect timing for this information!
Thanks, Michelle.
Love this post especially during this time of crisis. I have OCD so I make sure everything is clean and sanitize on a daily basis.
Thanks, Jane.