These are some helpful hints to prevent your holiday from turning into disasters. We all vacuum our houses when the floor and carpets and furniture get dirty (well, hopefully you do). Were you aware that the vacuum cleaner, if not properly attended to, can make you and your family sick. A survey of 1000 respondents showed that nearly half of them allowed dust in their vacuum cleaners to accumulate for more than six months. Nearly a third said that they waited until the dust build-up got so bad that it rendered the vacuum inoperable. Are they that inexpensive that you would actually choke the poor thing to death from dust neglect? In a perfect world, your vacuum cleaner should be emptied at least once a month to control the release of bacteria into the air. Did he just say bacteria? Into the air? Why, yes I did. If you suck up nasty stuff like spills and other unidentifiable objects; i.e. food, pet hair, mold, mildew, and such; that stuff is now in the vacuum bag. The air in that bag becomes contaminated and it is forced out behind the vacuum. There is one case of a family who was repeatedly infected by salmonella bacterial spewed out from a vacuum cleaner that was used to mop up a nasty spill containing the nasty germ. Don’t let this happen to you. Are you grossed out yet? Here’s another.

We all have a can opener or two in our kitchen drawer, right? The next time you take it out to use, look at it closely. Most of us do not clean off the can opener after we’ve used it. Just think, we open up the cat food, dog food, peas, corn, carrots, anything in a can and that builds up on the can cutter and the wheel that moves it along. And we stick it back into the drawer, right? Well, next time, clean it off with hot, soapy water and air-dry it. The next time you have grandma open up the can of cranberry sauce, make sure it’s clean, so that grandma is not grossed out!

Still with me? Well, here’s another helpful hint to preventing disaster. You know those kitchen sponges/scrubbers we use to wash off our plates? Research has found that these little momma’s kitchen helpers are the single most infectious source of germs in your house. These things provide the ideal environment to breed germs. With their moist and warm and humid condition, sponges accumulate food particles, whether it is meat or vegetables, and become saturated with really nasty organisms. Most of us even use that same sponge to soak up spills on the stove, counter tops, or the refrigerator. Nearly 50% of all people use the sponge for up to a month! Take a good, long, hard look at that thing. If it doesn’t look clean—chances are it isn’t. Many recommend cleaning the sponge with bleach to disinfect. These things are so inexpensive that it’s probably easier and a lot healthier to buy a pack of replacements. Geesh, the dollar stores sell these things 10 for a dollar. That’s worth it to prevent you family from contracting yucky bacteria isn’t it?

Now, how about that garbage can we all have in our kitchen. That, too, is a breeding ground for bacteria and other bug nasties. Seems most of us are very lax when it comes to garbage can care. Whatever we throw into it can stay there for days. And when we get ready to throw out the contents we can get it all over the can and on ourselves just by touching the trash and the can. Waste and debris can create a breeding ground for bacteria so we have to disinfect the can itself weekly. And that’s even if you put a liner in the can.

Gee, I hope nobody is reading this article while eating breakfast, lunch, or dinner because the next one may be the biggest gross-out I’ve read. But I think you should know it, so here it goes.

Did anyone here sanitize their toothbrush today? Anyone? Nearly 50% of people who responded to a survey said they never sanitize their toothbrush. But it is recommended that you do so using peroxide or even mouthwash to protect from germs—here it goes folks—from the toilet bowl. Oh, yuck! Now how does that happen, you say? Do we rinse off our brush in the bowl perhaps? No. Did we drop our brush into the bowl accidentally? No. Fecal matter and bacteria, it turns out, can spray as much as 20 feet upward when a toilet is flushed. I call that a geyser! And one hell of a flushing action. So, we are reminded to close the lid on the toilet when flushing and to move our toothbrushes off of the counter in the vicinity of the thunder mug.

See, I told you it would be gross, so when your holiday company comes to call, make sure your toothbrush is in a safe place, your vacuum cleaner bags are changed, your trash can is clean and has a liner, and that the sponge used to wash dishes and clean up spills is replaced with a brand new one. That should at least help us all to have a happy, healthful holiday season. See you all next year.