How hygienic does your kitchen have to be?

Good and bad bacteria
It's no exaggeration to say that, no matter how house proud we are, our homes are teeming with bugs. ‘We live in a sea of bacteria - about 200,000 of them for every square centimetre,' explains Dr Simon Park, a microbiologist at the University of Surrey. It's not a pleasant thought, but not all bugs are bad for us. The average gut contains around half a kilo of 'good' bacteria which play a vital role in fighting infection and keeping us healthy. ‘Most are either friendly or do no harm, but there are a small percentage with the potential to cause illness and the main sources of these dangerous bugs are people, food and pets.'

One in five of us suffer from intestinal infections every year and many of them are caught in our own homes. Experts say that improving our general levels of hygiene could slash infection rates. But the problem is that when it comes to hygiene, we often focus on the wrong areas, explains Professor Hugh Pennington, president of the Society of General Microbiology. ‘People are very concerned about clean toilets, but although this is important for aesthetic reasons, the kitchen is the main risk area for the family in terms of spreading disease.' What's more, he says, we could eliminate the majority of infections caught within the home if people simply washed their hands more often and more effectively.

Can you be too clean?
Some experts say that we have gone hygiene mad, that a bit of dirt is good for you and that our obsession with cleanliness and anti-bacterial products could undermine our immunity increasing the risk of allergies and even more serious illnesses like childhood diabetes and leukaemia. Professor Hugh Pennington doesn't agree. ‘I don't think we are anywhere near the point where we are overdoing hygiene,' he says. ‘The vast majority of bugs do no harm - in fact there are more bacteria on your body then cells in it - but we do need to work harder at controlling the ones that spread disease.'

Most harmful bugs are spread either by indirect contact: with food poisoning bacteria, for example, which are usually transferred from a contaminated item via the hands to food or the body; or, in the case of cold, flu and other viruses, through droplets from sneezing and coughing which are then breathed in by others.

Do you need to go anti-bacterial?
Shop shelves are full of anti-bacterial washing-up liquids, wipes and cleaners. But while they work in a lab, in day-to-day use they probably won't remove more bacteria than your normal brands. The important thing is two-stage cleaning - wash and then rinse, whether it's your dirty dishes or your worksurface. The final rinse is vital to reduce bacteria to a safe level.