You can smell it before you see it: the tea towel that's hung by the cooker all week, slightly sour and never quite dry. Most of us would still say our hygiene is fine. We shower, we brush, we wash our hands, and the bathroom shelf is full of products that smell of lavender and promise to keep us fresh.
Watch people at a public sink for a minute, though, and it gets more interesting. The habits that matter most are simpler than the shelf suggests, a few of the ones we're proudest of quietly work against us, and the dirtiest thing in most homes sits somewhere you'd least expect.
Hands: longer than you think
Hands carry more colds, stomach bugs and food poisoning from one person to the next than almost anything else, and washing them properly is the single most useful hygiene habit there is. The catch is the word properly. Watch people at a public sink and most of them are done in a few seconds, and only a small minority wash long enough to do much good.
Twenty seconds of scrubbing with soap is the target, about as long as singing "Happy Birthday" twice. The parts people miss are the thumbs, the fingertips, the backs of the hands and the skin between the fingers, which happen to be the parts that touch the most. Water temperature matters far less than people think: cool, warm and hot water remove germs about equally, because the soap and the scrubbing do the work, so there's no need to wait for the tap to heat up. Rinse, then dry thoroughly, because damp hands pick up and pass on germs far more easily than dry ones.
The moments that count are after the toilet, before you eat or cook, after handling raw meat, and when you come home. Plain soap does the job. Antibacterial soaps did so little extra that most of their active ingredients, triclosan among them, were taken out of consumer hand soaps in the United States in 2016. When there's no sink, an alcohol hand gel works well, including against cold viruses.
Frequent washing can leave hands dry and cracked, and cracked skin holds on to germs. A plain hand cream after washing, especially in winter, keeps the skin doing its job as a barrier.
Teeth: what the two minutes are for
Brush twice a day for two minutes, and take your time along the gumline, where plaque collects and gums start to bleed. An electric toothbrush removes more plaque and calms gums more than a manual one, and its timer takes care of the two minutes for you. Then spit, and hold off rinsing with water. Rinsing washes away the protective ingredient in the toothpaste you've just applied, and leaving a thin film on the teeth lets it keep working for longer.
Fluoride toothpaste has the longest and strongest record against tooth decay. Some people prefer to avoid fluoride, and for them a made with hydroxyapatite, a mineral that mirrors the one tooth enamel is built from, has kept up with fluoride at preventing cavities in adults. Either works far better than a toothpaste with neither.
Brushing reaches about two-thirds of each tooth. A or small interdental brushes reach the rest, the tight gaps where food and bacteria sit, and a daily pass is what keeps gums from bleeding. Most bad breath starts at the back of the tongue, so a gentle brush or a there does more for breath than any mouthwash. Replace your toothbrush every three months, or sooner once the bristles splay, and after a bad cold.
Strong antiseptic mouthwash can even work against you. Used twice a day, it wipes out the mouth bacteria that help the body keep blood pressure down, and blood pressure rose within a day in people who used it. Most people need no mouthwash at all.
The shower: less than you think
A daily shower is a pleasure, and plenty of people need one after work or training. Scrubbing all over every day, though, is more than skin needs. Soap matters most where sweat and bacteria collect: underarms, groin, feet and the skin under folds. The rest of you does fine with water most days.
Long, hot showers are the habit that works against us. Hot water strips the natural oils that keep skin soft and sealed, and the result is the tight, itchy, flaky skin many people blame on winter. Warm water for five to ten minutes keeps the barrier intact. Pat yourself dry, and put moisturiser on while the skin is still a little damp, when it holds it best.
Hair is personal. Oily scalps need washing more often than dry or curly hair, which does better with a few days between washes. The scalp tells you: itching, flaking or greasiness by the end of the day means the rhythm needs adjusting.
Ears look after themselves
Cotton buds are one of the most common clean habits that backfire. Ears clean themselves: wax slowly works its way out, carrying dust and dead skin with it. A bud pushes wax back towards the eardrum, packs it tighter and can scratch the delicate skin of the canal. Wipe the outer ear with a cloth after a shower and leave the inside alone, and if an ear feels blocked, have it looked at.
Contact lenses and water
If you wear contact lenses, keep water away from them. Never rinse lenses or their case in tap water, and take them out before swimming or a hot tub, because a rare but serious eye infection is carried in ordinary water. Wash and dry your hands before you touch them, use fresh solution every time, and replace the case every few months.
Makeup brushes and sponges
Makeup tools pick up skin oil, dead skin and bacteria every time they touch your face, then go back into the product and onto your face again. Most used makeup sponges are never cleaned, and plenty get dropped on the bathroom floor and carry on being used. Wash brushes and sponges once a week with a mild soap or shampoo, let them dry in the open air, and replace sponges every few months. Mascara is the one to watch: its wand goes straight to the eye, so replace it every three months and keep it to yourself.
Intimate hygiene
The vagina cleans itself, and it does the job well. Its friendly bacteria keep it slightly acidic, which holds off infection, and scented washes, wipes and douching upset that balance, making thrush and bacterial infections more likely. Plain water on the outside is all it needs. For men, washing under the foreskin every day, with water or a mild soap, prevents the soreness and odour that build up there.
Feet and nails
Feet do best clean and dry. Dry carefully between the toes after a shower, since that damp strip is where athlete's foot starts. Give shoes a day to dry out between wears, which does more for foot odour than any spray, and choose socks that let feet breathe.
Keep nails short, and use a nail brush now and then, because the space under long nails holds on to far more germs than a quick wash removes. Biting them hands those germs straight to your mouth.
Shared showers and changing rooms are where athlete's foot and verrucas spread, so wear flip-flops there. At the gym, put your own towel between you and the benches and mats, and shower soon after training, before sweat and bacteria settle in.
Close the lid
Close the lid before you flush. A flush throws a fine spray of droplets up and across the room within seconds, and anything on the shelf beside the toilet is in range, toothbrushes included. Store toothbrushes upright in the open air so they dry between uses, as far from the toilet as the bathroom allows, and keep them from touching each other.
Towels and bedding
A towel that stays damp is an ideal home for bacteria and mould, and you can smell when it's crossed the line. Hang towels spread out so they dry fully between uses, and wash them every few uses. Keep your own towel, and give anyone who's ill their own too.
Pillowcases collect skin oils, sweat, saliva and hair products every night, and a face pressed into the same pillowcase for a fortnight is one reason for stubborn breakouts along the cheek and jaw. Changing pillowcases twice a week does more for many people's skin than another cream would. Sheets can go weekly. When someone in the house is ill, wash bedding and towels on a hot cycle, at 60°C if the fabric allows.
The kitchen
The dirtiest object in most homes sits by the kitchen sink. A used sponge is warm, damp and full of food scraps, and bacteria pack into it at densities few other places in the house come close to. Microwaving or boiling it kills some of them, and the survivors grow back within days.
Replace sponges every week or so, or switch to a brush that dries out between uses. Wash dishcloths and tea towels hot and often, and keep a separate chopping board for raw meat, so the juices from Monday's chicken never meet Tuesday's salad. And the five-second rule is, sadly, a myth: bacteria jump onto dropped food in under a second, and wet foods such as watermelon pick up the most, while gummy sweets pick up the least.
The fridge matters as much as the sink. Keep it at 5°C, about 40°F, or colder, and get leftovers in within a couple of hours of cooking, since bacteria multiply fastest in food left out at room temperature. One habit many of us grew up with is best dropped: rinsing raw chicken. Cooking kills its bacteria anyway, and rinsing only sends them flying, as the splashes carry them across the sink, the taps and whatever sits on the draining board.
Pets bring their own germs into the kitchen. Wash your hands after feeding them, stroking them or cleaning up after them, and again before you eat, and wash their bowls separately from the family's dishes.
The things you carry
Your phone goes everywhere your hands go, including places you'd rather not think about, and then it goes against your face. Wipe it down every few days with an alcohol wipe, and leave it outside the bathroom. The same goes for keys, the TV remote and anything the whole household handles.
The reusable water bottle deserves the same attention. Wash it every day with hot soapy water, lid and straw included, since that's where a slimy film builds up, and leave it open to dry.
Deodorant and the bathroom shelf
Antiperspirants use aluminium to block sweat, and they've been blamed for all sorts over the years. The concern that gets the most attention, a link with breast cancer, has found no solid support. Choose whatever keeps you fresh and comfortable, and if your skin reacts, a fragrance-free version is usually the fix. For a closer look at the ingredients on the rest of the shelf, the soaps, creams and cosmetics, our guide to personal care products goes through them one by one.
When clean becomes too clean
It's possible to overdo it. Scrubbing hands with harsh products many times a day leads to raw, cracked skin, and the same happens to faces washed twice a day with stripping cleansers. Skin is a barrier with its own population of friendly bacteria, and it works best when it's cleaned, left alone and moisturised.
There's a wider point too. Children who grow up with pets, garden soil and time outdoors tend to have fewer allergies than children raised in spotless, indoor homes. Good hygiene means clean hands before food and a clean kitchen. A sterile life is no part of it.
Small habits, big returns
Good hygiene turns out to be a handful of small habits done well: twenty seconds at the sink, two minutes with the toothbrush and a pause before you rinse, a warm, shorter shower, a fresh pillowcase, a tea towel in the wash before you can smell it, a sponge that goes in the bin on time. None of them costs much, and the bathroom shelf can probably shrink a little too. Together they keep colds, stomach bugs, breakouts and sore gums away more than any product on it.
This week, time your next handwash. If you're done before "Happy Birthday" ends a second time, you've found your first habit to change, and it's one of the easiest wins there is.
Curious about what's actually in the products on your shelf? Hidden Toxins in Your Personal Care Products — the ingredients in everyday soaps, creams and cosmetics worth swapping, and simpler alternatives.
Clean hands and still catching every cold? Why You Keep Getting Sick: The Causes of Frequent Colds — what decides how often you catch a cold, and the habits that stack the odds in your favour.
Know someone who swears by a long, hot shower and a cotton bud? Send them this. A couple of small changes might be kinder to their skin and ears.
Disclaimer: This article is general information. For advice about your own health, talk to a qualified health professional. If you have a skin, ear, eye or intimate symptom that lasts or worries you, get it checked.
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