By Nicci Micco, M.S., Content Director, Custom Publishing & Licensing for EatingWell

Every year, 76 million Americans get sick from food, according to the Centers for Disease Control. Nothing you can do will ever guarantee 100 percent protection against foodborne illness, but taking certain precautions can help reduce your risk. Some of these protective steps are common sense, like washing your hands before you eat. Others aren't so obvious. Read on to discover five surprising sources of foodborne "bugs" in your kitchen, we've written about in EatingWell Magazine, and how to protect yourself.
Related: 10 Rules for a Healthy Kitchen

Kitchen threat #1: Your kitchen sponge. When participants in a study from NSF International (an independent public health organization) swabbed various items in their houses, the kitchen sponge was by far the germiest. In fact, it harbored 150 times more bacteria, mold and yeast than a toothbrush holder. "You pick up bacteria when cleaning, but be

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Are you making mistakes when it comes to scrubbing, vacuuming, and disinfecting? Here's how to right your wrongs-quick as a (dust) bunny.
By Sarah Stebbins

In the Kitchen

Bad Habit: Using a Funky, Smelly Sponge
You've heard this before, but it bears repeating: You could be spreading mold and illness-causing bacteria around the kitchen.

Good practice: Replace your sponge every couple of weeks, and take care of it while it's active. After each use, rinse the sponge in hot water and wring it out. At the end of the day, and after every raw-meat encounter, sterilize a wet sponge: Pop it in the microwave for one minute (the sponge must be wet-a dry one could catch fire), or run it through the dishwasher. For storage, use a soap dish with holes for drainage, or go with a homemade solution: Set the sponge on a saucer full of small rocks.


Bad Habit: Letting Drips and Drops Harden on the Stove
These splotches are a bummer to look at and can discolor stainless-steel and porcelain surf

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By Arianne Cohen

A few years ago, I found out that I've been cleaning all wrong. I was in a hotel room, when a maid came in and sprayed a solution on every surface…and then left. Right when I thought she'd forgotten, she returned. She wiped for less than two minutes with a thin dry cloth, and the whole place sparkled. It had, frankly, never occurred to me to let one solution do all the work, so I asked her what she'd used. It was something called Butcher's Bath Mate-an industry standby.

Pro cleaners have brilliant tricks to get the job done. We asked three pros to school us.
See 10 surprising things you can clean in the dishwasher.

Change Your Strategy
The biggest mistake people make is cleaning room by room (this is called "zone cleaning"). It's much too

slow! "You can either clean your kitchen in four hours, or clean your entire house top to bottom in four hours," says Lisa Romero, owner of Just Like New Cleaning in Fort Collins, Colorado. "A lot of p

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By Sofie Sausser

You've probably heard the tip about putting dryer sheets in your vacuum or bottom of the trash can to keep things smelling fresh. You haven't? Well, it's true. And here are ten additional ways of fluffing up your abode with downy freshness (we always suggest using non-toxic dryer sheets!)

1. Dusting Use dryer sheets to dust blinds, fans or almost any surface. The anti static properties in the sheets will help repel the dust. They are easy to hold and you can dust your laundry room after folding the clothes. Don't forget to dust the TV and reduce static on the screen.

2. Reduce Static Cling Rub on your dress or stockings to keep your dress from riding up. You can also use them on your computer and TV screen. Even rub on your hair to prevent ecstatic flyaways.

3. Pets Rub a sheet on your wet dog to take away the "wet rug" smell after a swim or bath. Towel him or her dry first. You can remove pet hair from your clothes and furniture with them as well.

4. Fresh

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The quickest, smartest strategies for battling eight universally despised tasks.
By Sarah Stebbins


Dirty Job No. 1 : Changing or Emptying the Vacuum Bag or Bin

Time it takes: 5 to 10 minutes.

Why it matters: When the bag is more than half full, the vacuum loses suction. The fuller it gets, the harder the machine works. Eventually it could work so hard, the motor will burn out.

Step 1: Run the vacuum for 30 seconds to push any residual dirt in the machine into the bag. Unplug.


Step 2:
If you have a disposable bag: Before pulling out the bag, stick a piece of duct tape over the hole where the bag connects to the vacuum, says Louanna Henning, director of housekeeping at the luxury hotel Rosewood Mansion on Turtle Creek, in Dallas. This will prevent a dust cloud from erupting in your face.

If you have a reusable cloth bag or a plastic bin (as on a bagless vacuum): Work outdoors. Put the bag or bin inside a garbage bag and shake out the dust, says Debra Johnson, training ma

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