What we do in the bathroom is very much a private matter. And while that’s the way it should be, it also means that there is no-one around to point out our mistakes. The truth there are lots of things that many of us are doing wrong in the bathroom – whether it’s the way we wash our hands or the amount of time we spend in the shower. Here are nine mistakes that almost everyone makes in the bathroom and how to avoid them.
Flushing the toilet with the lid up
When you flush your toilet with the lid up the water sprays bacteria up to 10 inches away from the bowl. You can imagine that this effectively means that you are spending a jet of bacteria to anything within the vicinity of the toilet – even worse for anyone with a smaller bathroom. And the solution to this problem is so simple, it’s surprising that we don’t do it. Simply make sure that you put the lid of the toilet down before you flush.
Not using the space effectively
Many people complain that their bathroom is too small and that they don’t have the room to keep everything in there, or that items that they would like to store in the bathroom have to be placed elsewhere to make up for the lack of space. But in many cases it is simply the case that they are not using the available space in their bathroom effectively.
Modern advances in bathroom design have created space saving features such as back to wall toilets, wall-mounted showers and teardrop-shaped sinks. Simply install features like this and you can free up a significant amount of space.
Washing your hands the wrong way
Everyone knows how to wash their hands, right? Well apparently not. The truth is that the majority of people do not wash their hands thoroughly enough.
To correctly wash your hands you should first wet your hands in clean water, then apply soap and lather up by rubbing your hands together. From here you should make sure that the whole of your hands are covered with lather including the area between your fingers and under your nails. You should then scrub your hands for at least 20 seconds and then rinse your hands in clean, running water.
Using too much water
A standard showerhead can use 2.5 gallons of water per minute or more – when you consider that an average shower lasts eight minutes you could be using 20 gallons of water each time you shower. It’s even more serious if you have extra-long showers; stay in there for 15 minutes and you will have used more than 37 gallons.
You can easily install water-efficient showerheads that use far less water but don’t feel much different to a standard showerhead.
Not cleaning your toothbrush
You use a toothbrush to clean your teeth, but do you ever consider the cleanliness of the brush itself? Over time bacteria gets stored in the brush which makes it very unhygienic. One of the easiest ways to clean your toothbrush is to put in the microwave for ten seconds to kill the bacteria.
Washing your hair every day
While you probably aren’t cleaning your toothbrush enough, there are some things that you are probably doing too much, and one of those is washing your hair. You might well be in a routine where you wash your hair on a daily basis. Washing your hair daily will remove natural oils and lead to your hair drying out and becoming brittle. Instead leave at least a couple of days in between washes. Everyone’s hair is different, but almost no-one requires a daily wash.
Leaving marks on your mirror
Wiping off the condensation on your mirror will cause streaks and marks when it dries. Instead you can use a hairdryer to remove the fog from the mirror without the problem of streaks.
Failing to utilize the steam
Condensation in the bathroom can actually be used for good too. If you have used a tumble dryer and your clothes have come out crimped and wrinkled, you can simply hang them up in the bathroom while you have a shower. The humid atmosphere will remove the wrinkles.
Drying yourself too aggressively
When you dry yourself after a shower or bath, there is no need to rub your skin – it actually damages the skin cells. Instead you can gently pat yourself dry instead. The process is just as quick and doesn’t have any of the side effects.
