3 Dirty Items In Your Home You Probably NEVER Thought To Wash | HuffPost Life

When was the last time you cleaned a stove knob?

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Men's Lifestyle Editor, The Huffington Post

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Remote controllers. Salt and pepper shakers. The knobs on your stove.

You might dust your coffee table and vacuum the floor regularly, but those often-overlooked spots in your home need to be cleaned too, and the Today Show shows you how in the video above.

And while science has proven that the most bacteria-laden thing in your home is, in fact, you, there are things you can (and should) clean more often.

Such as stove knobs. Yes, those knobs that turn up the heat also hang on to bacteria, but they’re so easy to clean: Take your knobs off and dunk them in a solution of warm water and soap about once a week. Make sure you dry them thoroughly before placing them back on the stove.

Find out more details in the video above!

Before You Go

6 Tips for Eliminating Food Waste at Home

Buy a Thermometer(01 of06)

"People assume their fridge is cold enough, but in some cases it's not, and that increases risk of spoilage and food-borne illness," says registered dietitian Sara Haas, a spokesperson for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. Bacteria that can make you sick thrive at temperatures between 40 and 140 degrees, so buy a fridge thermometer and stick with a setting no higher than 40 degrees. Even if your high-tech model has one built in, a separate thermometer is good, cheap insurance. (credit:serenethos/iStock)

Make Friends with Your Freezer(02 of06)

Don't be afraid to put the deep chill on cheeses (hard grating cheeses like cheddar thaw best), milk (to bake with), egg whites, tomato-based products (like homemade pasta sauce), broths, wine (for future cooking, not drinking), herbs, and hardy greens like kale (blanching first helps preserve quality). And, of course, leftovers. Note: If you load up on produce at the grocery store or farmers' market, freezing the surplus immediately is the best way to preserve nutrients. (credit:wwing/iStock)

Don't Judge a Fruit by Its Peel(03 of06)

Just because something doesn't look pretty doesn't mean you can't eat it. You can transform bruised or wilted foods by cooking them. Chop squishy tomatoes and simmer them into pasta sauce; they'll gain more lycopene, an antioxidant that may help lower cancer risk. Puree wilted carrots into a soup; when heated, their eyesight-preserving beta-carotene levels rise. Other ideas: Sauté limp lettuce, toast hard bread into croutons, or crisp stale tortillas in the oven. (credit:anandaBGD/iStock)

Remember FIFO(04 of06)

That's restaurant speak for "first in, first out." Stash newer foods in the back of the fridge, saving the front for stuff nearing expiration or that's been in there longest (i.e., Tuesday's leftovers should go behind Sunday's). (credit:melissabrock1/iStock)

Avoid Recipe Regret(05 of06)

Is your fridge stuffed with jars of sauces you've used only once? If you need just a tablespoon or two, you can probably find a simple substitute right in your kitchen, says Haas. When dinner calls for a spoonful of chili-garlic sauce, swap in sriracha. For tartar sauce, combine mayo, relish, and lemon juice. (credit:Rafal Olkis/iStock)

Use Every Bit of Your Veggies(06 of06)

"Too many people throw away parts of produce that are edible," says Dana Gunders, a senior scientist in the Natural Resources Defense Council's Food & Agriculture Program and author of Waste-Free Kitchen Handbook. Her tips: If you don't peel squash before cooking, you'll get an extra dose of fiber. (The same goes for kiwis—eat them fuzzy skin and all.) Turnip greens are bursting with vitamin K. And while you might not want to eat fibrous kale stems in a salad, they're packed with antioxidant vitamin C, just like the leaves, and they make a great pesto.

By the Numbers Americans waste 21 percent of all edible food, according to the USDA. One 2015 survey estimated that the average U.S. household trashes roughly $900 worth of food annually. (credit:Madzia71/iStock)

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